Beginning In A Desert

Russell Willingham surrendered his life to Jesus in 1978, at just sixteen years old. From that moment, he was hungry to know God more deeply and to immerse himself in Scripture. As a teenager, he would often hike into the desert alone, searching for a quiet place to pray and worship.

That hunger wasn't only about spiritual growth. It was also about healing. Russell carried painful childhood wounds, and even before he had language for it, he was seeking a God who could reach into that pain. For nine years he studied, prayed, and served — assisting his pastor with preaching and teaching, and speaking at open-air events and youth rallies across the region.

Fresno Calling

In 1987, God gave Russell a clear directive: "I have a work for you to do in Fresno." On the strength of that word alone, he packed up his life and moved his wife and small son three hundred miles north, from the California desert to the Central Valley.

In Fresno, God did two things at once. While working in the sheet metal industry to support his family, Russell helped plant a small church and served as an associate pastor at another. At the very same time, the cracks in his marriage began to surface — and with them, all the buried trauma of his childhood came rushing to the surface too.

Everything Falls Apart

With great reluctance, Russell sought out a Christian therapist. He thought his life was falling apart. What he didn't expect was that this was the season his life would actually begin falling into place.

The process was not gentle. It involved deep pain, real depression, and a total re-examination of everything he believed. But Russell didn't walk away from his faith, and he didn't set out to tear it down. Instead, he went back and tested it — determined to find the truth about Jesus and Scripture and to strip away any religious myths or distortions he'd been carrying without realizing it.

The first casualty was his religious pride, as he came face-to-face with the brokenness he'd been outrunning since childhood. And here's the part that surprised him most: the psychological insight he uncovered didn't pull him away from Christ. It drove him deeper into his faith. Slowly, Jesus began touching the wounds Russell had carried for years, remaking him into a healthier, more whole version of himself.

A Ministry Born from Healing

In 1993, Russell was offered a full-time position with New Creation Ministries. In that moment, he sensed the Lord speak again: "This is 'the work' I was referring to back in the desert." He left behind a stable, prevailing-wage job to join a ministry sustained entirely by donations — and he has never looked back.

Since joining NCM, Russell has become a sought-after speaker, traveling across the United States to address groups as varied as Cru, Youth For Christ, InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, The Restored Hope Network, and The American Association of Christian Counselors, along with countless churches, retreats, and conferences.

Writing and Speaking

Russell's first book, Breaking Free, was published by InterVarsity Press in 1999. It has sold over forty-two thousand copies and has been translated into Polish and Dutch. His second book with InterVarsity, Relational Masks, followed in 2004 and was translated into Korean. Now Russell is excited to introduce his newest work, The Relational Revolution — a book that emerges from over thirty years of walking alongside people through their deepest darkness and their greatest breakthroughs.

As much as Russell loves to write and speak, his first love remains counseling. In his own words:

"There's nothing better than sitting down one-on-one with somebody who is broken and looking for hope — and isn't that all of us, sometimes?"

Life Today

Russell lives with his wife, Paula, in Fresno, California. Together they have three grown children, each with families of their own, and they delight in spending time with their five grandchildren — along with the wonderfully quirky friends God has placed in their lives along the way.