Transforming the Everyday
Finding God in Every Moment with Phil Wickham
Perhaps you grew up in a home where faith was not just something you talked about on Sundays, but a vibrant, ever-present force. That was the reality for Phil Wickham, contemporary Christian musician, singer, and songwriter, whose parents’ radical transformation during the Jesus Movement deeply colored his childhood and approach to faith, especially how the ordinary can become a conduit for the extraordinary when infused with intentionality and love.
Phil recounts his family’s spiritual backdrop, “I grew up in a house that was really full of Jesus. My parents were saved during that 1970s, early 70s, late 60s Jesus revolution thing that the movie was made about.”
“Lonnie Frisbee led my mom and dad to Jesus. There was a character in that movie, [The Jesus Revolution] Chuck Smith, who’s like the pastor of the church in that movie, started Calvary Chapel. I was a little baby, and he dedicated me to the Lord in front of the church. That’s my roots.”
A Home Filled with Faith
His story isn’t about faith inherited, but about faith personalized and lived. As believers, it’s vital to recognize that your environment shapes your spiritual journey. Like the soil nurturing a seed, a home steeped in genuine faith can foster profound spiritual growth.
Deuteronomy 6:6-7, urges Christ followers to keep God’s words in our heart and talk about them at home, “when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up” (NIV). Phil’s life demonstrates that constant exposure to God’s word and worship can lay a robust foundation for personal faith.
The Sacred in the Everyday
Phil’s story also highlights the power of mentorship and active encouragement in spiritual development. He shares how his father’s and mother’s life changes led them to a path of ministry, setting an example for him from an early age. “And so I grew up in this family and singing to Jesus was a very normal thing. Picking up a guitar and writing a song for church on Sunday – that was work. That was 9 to 5 for my dad.”
What many might consider the mundane, Phil’s family reframed as sacred, the everyday activities became worship.
Colossians 3:23 tells us, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters” (NIV). Phil’s parents personified this verse, transforming their daily work into an act of worship and inadvertently sculpting Phil’s view of service and vocation.
Embracing Your Calling
Perhaps one of the most transformative aspects of Phil’s journey was how he embraced his talents and calling through the gentle push of a youth pastor. Despite initial reluctance and shyness, the encouragement to lead worship and even write songs for the youth group became pivotal.
Phil recalls, “I knew two or three worship songs, and it was the worst. I was so bad at it, and he just kept shoving me on stage. And then started saying, ‘Write songs for our youth group.’ And I did, and we started singing.”
God often uses others to nudge us toward our calling.
Sometimes, stepping into your potential requires a leap of faith—encouraged by someone who believes in you before you can believe in yourself.
For you, this might mean stepping out of your comfort zone to embrace the gifts God has given you, even when it feels unnatural or uncomfortable. It’s about finding the sacred in your everyday skills and interactions, using them as instruments of worship and tools for ministry. Phil’s journey from playing simple worship songs in his bedroom to leading worship on grand stages started with a single, small ‘yes’ to trying the guitar over a summer.
A Personal Encounter with God
Phil describes his deeper spiritual awakening with poignant clarity, “My dad gave me one of his old guitars—one we take to the beach, like the beater guitar. He handed it to me and said, ‘Hey, if you want to learn how to play this summer, then it can be yours’ … I fell in love with that guitar real fast. It just came super very quickly to me. And, the way I learned was by singing these songs I knew from church.”
God often meets us in familiar spaces, transforming our everyday environments into places of divine encounters with Him.
“That’s when I fell in love with the presence of God and [experienced] Him as a person. And not just like, ‘This is who I am. This is what my family does … on Sunday.’ But like, I was finding Him and He was finding me – He was revealing Himself to me through those songs in my bedroom.”
God can use the familiar to foster a faith that is anything but ordinary.
As you walk through the routines of your daily life, invite Him in. You might be surprised by how He transforms the commonplaces in your life into a canvas of grace and growth.
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