The Wake-Up Call: Understanding Your Calling Through the Seasons of Life

Guest: Rich Wilson
Host: JD Walt (Seedbed)
Date: January 21, 2026

Episode Overview

This episode features a heartfelt conversation between JD Walt and Rich Wilson, exploring the journey of understanding one's calling, particularly across different seasons of life. Rooted in Christian faith and practical experience, Rich draws from over 27 years of ministry to the collegiate generation in the UK. The discussion is meant to encourage college students, parents, pastors, and local church members to recognize purpose in every stage of life, build intergenerational connections, and embrace spiritual parenting for the rising generation.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Rich Wilson’s Story and Context ([00:11]–[02:56])

• Background: Rich shares how he came to Loughborough, UK, for university, fell in love, and has spent the past 30 years involved in the local church, Open Heaven. He and his wife have raised three children, two of whom have passed away.

• Experience: Rich celebrates passing the “10,000 days” mark in ministry (27.5 years) and reflects on the significance of each day in God’s plan.

  "All the days ordained for me are written in his book...they've been a mixed bag, but from his perspective they're all important."
  – Rich Wilson ([02:10])

2. Encouragement and Guidance for College Students ([04:05]–[07:23])

• Unique Opportunity: College years (ages 18–25) are times of possibility, spiritual awakening, and the beginning of lifelong assignments from God.

• Practical Advice:

  • Trust God with your path, and don’t be afraid to “test” Him—pray boldly and expect God to respond.
  • Recognize your life is divinely crafted, not an accident.
  • Find a couple of friends hungry for God and journey with them.

  "Your life is not your idea. It's been crafted by a divine creator."
  – Rich Wilson ([05:20])

  "Carpe diem...More literally, it means pluck the day or harvest the day. There's fruit in each day because each day is ordained."
  – Rich Wilson ([06:32])

3. Discerning Calling and Purpose ([07:23]–[10:25])

• Avoid Comparison: Don’t measure yourself by the apparent success of others, especially as seen on social media.

• Experiment and Observe: College years are for “experimentation”—try things, notice what resonates, see where your passions and strengths come alive.

• God in the Ordinary: Trust that God works through every experience, even the mundane or difficult ones.

  "Our deepest purpose is to know God and be known by him...But around that is this sense of we are made for more."
  – Rich Wilson ([08:36])

4. The Power of Intergenerational Relationships ([12:26]–[16:23])

• Spiritual Parenting: The importance of older generations opening their homes and lives to younger adults, modeling faith, and giving encouragement.

• Mutual Blessings: Such relationships strengthen both parties—younger people find guidance, and elders discover new purpose.

  "This is where the magic happens. Something happens...where generations come together and particularly young adults are seen, valued and welcomed."
  – Rich Wilson ([14:16])

• Role for Churches: Not only campus ministries but local churches should recognize and act on the strategic opportunity to serve students in their midst.

5. Fusion: Awakening Local Churches to Student Ministry ([20:30]–[23:32])

• Mission of Fusion: Helping students find hope in Jesus and home in the local church.

• Bridging Gaps: Fusion bridges the disconnect between churches and students, encouraging churches (near any college/university) to play an active role.

  "If you're within 5, 10 miles of a campus or a college, you've probably got a role to play. There's a whole generation coming through your town."
  – Rich Wilson ([22:09])

6. Practical Steps for Local Churches ([23:32]–[25:25])

• Start Small: Identify those in your church with a heart for young adults and begin to engage—walk the campus, pray, have conversations.

• Support and Empower: Encourage young adults to lead and support them with resources.

• Invitation for All: Every church member can play a role; God is placing assignments on many hearts across generations.

  "It starts with a sense of conviction. We must do something...The good news is it's a conversation that God loves."
  – Rich Wilson ([24:07])

7. Critical Life Choices in the College Years ([25:25]–[28:43])

• Three Core Decisions: Students will choose a mission, a master (who or what they serve), and often a mate for life during these years.

• Pitfall of Generational Isolation: Encourage intergenerational connection to avoid being “prisoners of their own generation.”

  "We're not trying to give you something to do. We're trying to say, would you ask the Lord to bring to you, open your heart to the young and be ready when they come."
  – JD Walt ([26:18])

8. The Power of Simple Encouragement ([28:43]–[32:27])

• Small Acts, Big Impact: Handwritten letters, phone calls, and simple acts (like sending $5 to a student) can have a profound encouragement and lifelong impact.

  "We're not asking people to volunteer for this program or that program. We're asking them to talk to the Lord and say, I'm here. I don't know what I got, but what I got, I have treasure."
  – JD Walt ([29:25])

9. Seasons of Calling: Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter ([33:19]–[36:36])

• Understanding Seasons: Calling is cyclical, not linear—there are seasons of growth, fruitfulness, challenge, and apparent dormancy (winter).

• Navigating Winter: Winter seasons are hard and involve loss, grief, or setbacks, but they are often where the deepest spiritual growth and richest treasures are found.

  "There’s opportunity for us to discover things in God in winter that we can’t possibly discover in any other season."
  – Rich Wilson ([38:35])

  "If there’s purpose and meaning in Christ’s suffering, then there’s purpose and meaning in our suffering. It’s only because of the cross we can make sense of our winters."
  – Rich Wilson ([39:44])

10. Reframing Hope and Trust Through Winter ([40:34]–[44:29])

• Shifting Anchors: Realizing one’s hope may be anchored in outcomes; winter invites re-anchoring hope in Jesus Himself.

• Faith after Disappointment: Learning to trust God’s presence and larger purposes, even when outcomes are deeply painful.

  "My hope had to be rebuilt in Jesus himself."
  – JD Walt ([42:05])

  "Trust me...I knew I wasn’t trusting him for an outcome...I was trusting him."
  – Rich Wilson ([42:45])

11. The Call and Joy of Spiritual Parenting ([46:07]–[50:19])

• Book on Spiritual Parenting: Rich is writing a book to encourage this calling, born out of personal experiences and conviction.

• Personal Example: Rich shares honoring a promise to his late brother, playing a role in his nieces’ lives, illustrating spiritual parenting in action.

• Second Chances: Even those who feel they have failed in parenting can find new purpose in investing in others’ children.

  "If anything, it means you’re qualified in a different way and there’s a new opportunity...He was a terrible father, but then he gets given Samuel."
  – Rich Wilson ([50:19])

Memorable Quotes & Moments

• On Days Ordained:
  "None of them go by without purpose and meaning. And when we get a sense of that, we might want to shout Carpi Diem...more literally, it means pluck the day or harvest the day."
  – Rich Wilson ([06:12])

• On the Role of the Church:
  "Fusion is looking still to encourage local churches to think about the role that they must play with college students and to give them some tools and resources. But it starts with a heart."
  – Rich Wilson ([22:43])

• On Generational Impact:
  "You can plant seeds today that years after you’re in the balcony, you’re in the great cloud of witnesses, those seeds will have become trees."
  – JD Walt ([31:03])

• On Winter Seasons:
  "The winters are the hardest season, but they are also the season that have the most impact; it’s where the roots go down deepest."
  – Rich Wilson ([40:24])

• On Spiritual Parenting:
  "There's new opportunities, second chances, third chances."
  – Rich Wilson ([50:49])

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [01:07] – Rich’s background and family
• [04:05] – Encouragement to college students on calling and purpose
• [07:23] – How to discern calling and avoid comparison
• [12:26] – JD’s personal story of spiritual parents during college
• [14:02] – The profound value of intergenerational relationships
• [20:30] – History and mission of Fusion
• [23:32] – How local churches can start small in student ministry
• [28:43] – The impact of simple encouragement, like handwritten letters
• [33:19] – Introduction to the book “A Call Less Ordinary” and the metaphor of seasons
• [36:36] – Deep dive on winter seasons and calling
• [42:26] – Rebuilding hope and trust after disappointment
• [46:07] – Spiritual parenting: personal and theological reflections
• [47:54] – Story of Rich’s promise to his late brother

Tone & Language

This episode is marked by warmth, vulnerability, and spiritual encouragement. Both JD and Rich are candid about joys and pain—drawing lessons from loss, disappointment, and healing. The language is faith-centered, conversational, and accessible, drawing on scripture and personal story to illustrate practical wisdom.

Conclusion

Rich Wilson and JD Walt deliver a moving call to action: for students to seize their days with faith and curiosity, and for older generations, especially within the church, to show up as spiritual parents and encouragers. Through stories, practical steps, and scriptural perspective, the episode highlights that every season—sunny or wintry—has purpose in God’s unfolding story, and that building intergenerational relationships multiplies hope and awakening for everyone involved.