What Makes Faith Credible Today? A New Podcast Showcases Stories That Offer Hope.
Born out of an unlikely convening of church leaders at Fuller Seminary by Mark Labberton in 2020, this weekly podcast sidesteps spiraling debate in favor of deep listening and hard-won hope from across the Christian landscape.
Trailer Out Now—Weekly Episodes Begin July 28 at crediblewitness.us
LOS ANGELES, CA — July 15, 2025 — In a time when many are questioning the church’s moral credibility, a new podcast asks: What if the most faithful answers come not from arguments, but from stories?
Launching July 28, Credible Witness is a weekly podcast hosted by public theologian and executive director of Christians for Social Action, Nikki Toyama-Szeto, featuring intimate, story-driven interviews with Christians across the theological and political spectrum. The show grows out of the ReThinking Church initiative, a unique convening hosted at Fuller Seminary in 2020. That project focused on deep listening among an unlikely collective of Christian leaders—ones who don’t usually share the same table—and inspired participants to share their experiences with a broader audience.
“We started with a gathering,” says Toyama-Szeto, “but what happened felt more like a kind of spiritual reawakening. People who might never share a stage were listening to each other, being changed. This podcast is how we extend that invitation to others.”
The show avoids dogmatic talking points and instead amplifies first-person stories of Christian faithfulness, marked by joy, doubt, courage, struggle, and grace. Each episode features one guest, one journey, and one honest attempt to bear witness to Jesus in the complexity of today’s world.
“This isn’t about defending the church,” says Mark Labberton, president emeritus of Fuller Seminary and senior consultant to the show. “It’s about recovering the church’s credibility through the witness of ordinary people living and demonstrating credible Christian lives.”
The name Credible Witness reflects both a hope and a challenge. In a culture where many now associate Christianity with political agendas, hypocrisy, or harm, the podcast explores what kind of Christian lives still offer a glimpse of something real—something worth believing—something true.
“These aren’t sanitized stories,” says Toyama-Szeto. “They’re lived ones. What unites our guests isn’t agreement—but integrity, humility, and the courage to keep showing up in faith.”
Season One features conversations with leaders including Walter Kim, Jemar Tisby, Tara Beth Leach, Santiago “Jimmy” Mellado, Mark Labberton, Brianna Parker, Robert Chao Romero, Alexia Salvatierra, Kenny Wallace, Soong-Chan Rah, and John Witvliet. Topics range from racial justice and church leadership to spiritual formation, grief, and hope.
The trailer is available now—listen today at crediblewitness.us. Full episodes release every Monday beginning July 28. Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.
ReThinking Church: Credible Witness is produced by the ReThinking Church Initiative, a project born out of a 2020 convening at Fuller Seminary, dedicated to listening deeply and reimagining the church’s public witness in a complex world.
Media Contact:
Sarey Martin Concepción
Co-Producer, Credible Witness