2025 was a year that delivered a troubling report on the state of our world. Wars raged, targeted anti-semitic attacks flourished, left-wing violence was praised in the streets, socialism and Islamic ideology gained ground like never before, and the hostility toward Christians increased globally. Yet in the midst of these dark developments, stunning light emerged from those who are willing to be bold ambassadors for Christ.
Below is a list of several Christians who were powerfully used by God in 2025 to make a tremendous impactโall of whom courageously “counted the cost” of being set apart and took the opportunities God placed before them.
Astronaut Butch Wilmore
After nine months of being stranded on the International Space Station, the dangerous situation faced by three astronauts grew increasingly dire. Malfunctions and political games escalated a short eight-day mission into an emergency spanning several months. Shortly after taking office, President Trump gave the green light for Elon Musk’s SpaceX to launch a rescue mission, which successfully retrieved the astronauts in March of 2025.
While the rescue was applauded, the return of one particular astronaut, Captain Barry โButchโ Wilmore, showcased God’s extraordinary hand in the crisis. Captain Wilmore was on the International Space Station with a mission beyond his career: to be an ambassador for Christ.
During the crisis and following his return, the evangelist astronaut took every opportunity to share the faith in Christ that carried him through, defend Biblical creation, and communicate the transforming power of the Gospel.
“I completely understand Godโs sovereignty,โ Wilmore told Decision Magazine. โThat He is in control of all things at all times. And I felt that. I thought that very thing as we were losing those thrusters. The Lordโs got this, and if it means He takes me today, so be it. Even before we launched, my wife and I, our daughters, we understood that… If the Lord doesnโt return first, weโre all going to go one day, and if He chooses to take us in certain scenarios, thatโs OK.”
While stranded on the Space Station was incredibly challenging for Wilmore and his family, God used the global attention to magnify the impact of his faith and bold stand for Biblical truthโincluding through secular media.
In an interview with CBS, Wilmore stated, “My feeling on all of this goes back to my faith. It’s bound in my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. He is working out His plan and His purposes for His gloryโฆ And however that plays out, I am content because I understand that.”
Wilmore, who is now retired, had multiple conversations with Ken Ham from Answers in Genesis while in space, and upon returning home, was eager to come to the Ark Encounter to testify of God’s remarkable promise in Romans 8:28: “we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”
HUD Secretary Scott Turner
After being appointed by President Trump as the new Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary, Scott Turner, was ready for the task that lay in front of himโnot only for the role of his position, but also to use it to be “salt and light” in Washington, D.C.
In an interview with Cissie Graham Lynch, the former NFL player and pastor was clear about his priority as a follower of Christ. Turner viewed his new position as “a mission field to reach people for the Lord.”
“Weโre called to be a light on the hill,” he explained on Fearless. “From the NFL to the halls of Congress, to the State House, to the White House, whatever it is, weโre called to literally be a vessel for Christ and to be ambassadors for Him.”
“Going to Washington, D.C., Iโm excited because itโs another opportunity,” Turner stated. “HUD is a great vehicle, but the Kingdom is the mission. And to be a leader of HUD, a servant leader, a steward of HUD, to pray for people, encourage people, lead people, serve people, thatโs how I look at Washington. I think when we have that kind of view, we can serve in a greater measure.”
โI believe that from before the womb of my mother that [God] was preparing me for this moment, for this day, for such a time as this,โ Turner said.
Since his appointment, Turner has not shied away from sharing his Biblical worldview and witness, setting him apart from many of his colleagues and driving him to take hardline stances on cultural issues.
Turner was asked to deliver the opening prayer at the President’s first cabinet meeting. The HUD Secretary called this opportunity to pray for America “the honor of a lifetime.”
Turner’s prayer was powerful, and his words reverberated throughout the nation.
“I have never seen anything like this before,” Pastor Greg Laurie said of the prayer, noting Turner’s emphasis on restoring faith in Jesus in the United States, understanding God’s righteous sovereignty, and relying upon the Lord to direct the steps of the nation’s leadership.
US Ambassador To Israel Mike Huckabee
Despite spending decades in politics, former governor Mike Huckabee never lost his heart as a preacher. His background in ministry was further called upon when he was extended the opportunity of becoming the United States’ ambassador to Israel. Though he was content to be out of politics, his Biblically grounded love for God’s chosen people and nation compelled him to take up the role.
In the position, Huckabee has openly used the Bible to defend and support the nation of Israel, at a time when destructive lies continually take aim at the Jewish State.
The impact of Huckabee’s role was maybe most notable during the 12 Day War between Israel and Iran, as the Trump administration faced mounting pressure to stay out of the fight. Huckabee sent a bold message to the president, respectfully imploring Trump to recognize God’s voice as the “one voice that matters.”
“God spared you in Butler, PA to be the most consequential President in
a centuryโmaybe ever,” he wrote in a text message to the President. “The decisions on your shoulders I would not want to be made by anyone else. You have many voices speaking to you Sir, but there is only ONE voice that matters. HIS voice… No President in my lifetime has been in a position like yours. Not since Truman in 1945. I don’t reach out to persuade you. Only to encourage you. I believe you will hear from heaven and that voice is far more important than mine or ANYONE else’s.”
A few short days later, the president gave the order for the United States Air Force and Navy to join the battle with Israel, carrying out unprecedented strikes in Iran, effectively obliterating the Islamic Republic’s nuclear aspirations.
The following month, Huckabee sat down with Chris Katulka and Steve Herzig on the Friends of Israel Jew and Gentile Podcast. In the interview, he emphasized the duty of Christians to stand with the nation of Israel and the Jewish people.
Huckabee pointed to his time as a pastor, which he said was critical in providing him “historical grounding and understanding of why this land is so important and why it is a Biblical homeland for the Jewish people.”
“It’s not just a piece of real estate that can be negotiated away because it is part of a covenant that God made with His people,” Huckabee highlighted. “You just can’t separate that and pretend that somehow this nation does not have the hand of God on it.”
This understanding, Huckabee emphasized, has been vital in his role as ambassador, with his greatest desire being that the United States would continue to fall on the side of God’s hand of blessing described in Genesis 12:3.
Franklin Graham
As the President of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA) and Samaritan’s Purse, Franklin Graham has been making an impact for the Gospel stretching back decades, but in 2025, with a pro-faith administration in the White House, Graham was given the opportunity to stand and influence people for Christ like never before.
From his role in the newly established White House Faith Office, Religious Liberty Commission, and Task Force to Eradicate Anti-Christian Bias, to preaching a sermon at the Pentagon’s first “Christmas Worship Service,” Graham has boldly addressed the challenges facing the nation and the solution found only in God’s Word.
Like his father, Billy Graham, Franklin Graham has been given the ability to reach into the Oval Office and the presidential administration cabinet to be a voice of Biblical truth, encouragement, and warning, with a detailed message of the Gospel always quick to emerge from the evangelist’s lips.
When asked to lead the White House Easter Prayer service, Graham began by addressing the “spiritual drought” in Washington, expressing his gratitude that the administration is once again affording Christians the freedom to share the crucifixion, resurrection, and return of Christ without fear of consequence in the nation’s capital.
Graham has not only used the platform in Washington to speak directly to American leadership, but also to church leadership, calling out apostasy, compromise, and a lack of courage seen in countless churches.
“It’s the Word of God, and that is where many churches are failing… to teach the Word of God,” Graham told the Religious Liberty Commission. “They are great at worship, and they have a great worship experience, but when it gets time for the Word of God, the pastors many times are short. We need to encourage the church to stand on God’s Word, to teach His Word.”
Graham has consistently sought to use opportunities God places in front of him, not to present a message people always want to hear, but to deliver what God’s Word tells them they need to hear. As Graham previously emphasized, “When the Lord puts an open door in front of us, we want to take full advantage of it.”
Charlie Kirk
On September 10th, while speaking at a Turning Point USA campus event in Utah, Charlie Kirk was assassinated. Though the killer may have thought his actions would end Kirk’s life and silence his mission to reach people, especially youths, with Biblical truth, neither assumption was correct.
Through Kirk’s faith in Jesus, his earthly death marked the beginning of his eternal life with Christ. Kirk’s mission was also not snuffed out, with his death powerfully shining a spotlight on the truth of God’s Wordโnot only in America, but globally.
In the days that followed the horrific violence, it became clear that God was using the tragedy to amplify the Biblical worldview of Kirk, introducing an astonishing number of people to the Gospel and sparking heightened boldness in the body of Christ.
BGEA sent crisis-trained chaplains to Utah in the wake of the murder to offer prayer to individuals in the community. One chaplain noted the stark difference in the response to Kirk’s death versus other tragedies: โSomething that I found thatโs unique to this deployment [is that] no one has refused prayer.โ
God’s hand was maybe the most evident at Kirk’s memorial service, where hundreds of millions heard the Gospel.
โThe Name of Jesus was certainly heard at Charlie Kirkโs memorial service,” Franklin Graham exclaimed. “Speaker after speaker lifted up Jesus Christ, and this included many of President Donald J. Trumpโs cabinet. The Gospel was clearly shared for all who were listening. As I watched, I couldnโt help but say, โThank You Lord!โโ
Secretary of State Marco Rubio
This year’s list would be incomplete without commending US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who gave a truly remarkable presentation of the Gospel at Charlie Kirk’s Memorial service.
“We were all created, every single one of us, before the beginning of time by the hands of the God of the universe,” Rubio said before the crowd. “An all-powerful God who loved us and created us for the purpose of living with Him in eternity. But then sin entered the world and separated us from our Creator. And so God took on the form of a man and came down and lived among us, and He suffered like men, and He died like a man. But on the third day, He rose unlike any mortal man.”
“To prove any doubters wrong, He ate with His disciples so they could see, and they touched His wounds,” he continued. “He didn’t rise as a ghost or as a spirit, but as flesh. And then He rose to the heaven, but He promised He would returnโand He will. And when He returns, because He took on that death, because He carried that cross, we were freed from the sin that separated us from Him. And when He returns, there will be a new heaven and a new earth, and we will all be together, and we are going to have a great reunion there again with Charlie.”
As noted by Franklin Graham, this clear and passionate presentation of the Gospel was seen by countless millions.
“Our Secretary of State got up there, and he gave the Gospel,” Graham said. “And not just the Gospel, but the resurrection. And not just the resurrection, but the second coming. I’m thinking to myself, praise God! They said that 100 million somewhere in the world were watching that live. I don’t know how many people have watched it since then. I’ve watched some of these clips over and over and over again.”
In an interview with Pastor Greg Laurie, it was highlighted that the Secretary of State did not use any notes when sharing the Gospel at the Memorial service.
“When you don’t write things out, you might forget to say something, but I think what you lose sometimes is the authenticity of it,” Rubio explained, wanting the explanation of the Gospel to be both clear and heartfelt. “I think these things always come best from the heart.”
In the discussion, Rubio also pointed to the hostility and opposition faced by Christians, dispelling the idea that following Christ is all about happiness and prosperity.
“Ours is the faith of the cross,” he explained. “It’s not the faith of winning the lottery. There’s nothing wrong with wealth. There’s nothing wrong with success. There’s nothing wrong with happiness. But I think it’s a misunderstanding of Christianity to believe that it leads to happiness and prosperity. These are things that God may bless you with, but our faith is the faith of the cross. In fact, if you look at the era in Christianity where Christianity has been strongest and most vibrant, it was when it was countercultural.”
Emphasizing the importance of his convictions on political issues, which are based in Scripture, the Secretary stated that he will always prefer to “lose an election than be [Biblically] wrong on those issues in the public stage.”
Bold, Set Apart, And Ready To Be Used
The list above shows how God is moving in our ever-darkening world, using often difficult circumstances and those willing to be courageous ambassadors for Him, to restrain evil and draw more to Himself.
In the case of Astronaut Butch Wilmore and Charlie Kirk, it was God’s sovereignty that permitted tragic events to unfold, knowing the impact of the Gospel would be worth the cost. In other instances, God raised individuals into higher positions of responsibility, knowing that their prioritizing of Jesus above all else would provide opportunities to proclaim Biblical truth in powerful ways.
Wherever God leads, whatever circumstances unfold, let us all go into the upcoming year resolved to stand boldly, set apart, and ready to be used.
