When you write a check for “clean water” or “orphans in Africa,” what actually happens on the other side of the wire?

In this episode, Todd Turner sits down with longtime Africa practitioner Jason Miller to talk honestly about the dark side of global generosity: dependency, staged photo ops, buzzword-driven proposals, broken “sustainability” projects, and a charity mindset that quietly damages the very communities we say we care about.

Jason has been working in East Africa since the mid-90s, from backpacking and hauling fax machines into Tanzania to walking slums, village wells, schools, farms, and “sustainable” projects across the continent. Together, Todd and Jason unpack how Western money interacts with local culture, government corruption, and survival ethics on the ground. They tell real stories of empty chicken houses, stolen wells, abandoned greenhouses, and ministries that exploded with donor money and then collapsed under the weight of it.

Most importantly, they explain why U.S. oversight tools like Guidestar, ECFA, and clean audits are necessary but not enough. Once money leaves the country, the paper trail gets fuzzy and the real story is told in dusty fields, rural schools, and village churches, not on a glossy PDF.

In this conversation, you’ll hear:

• Why “don’t feed the bears” is a painfully accurate picture of some mission models
• How well-intentioned donors can destroy local businesses and jobs without realizing it
• Why buzzwords like “sustainability,” “water is life,” and “women’s empowerment” raise money but often hide shallow work
• How cultural views of truth, honor, and family boards can completely change what “accountability” looks like
• Why schools, wells, fish farms, and orphanages often fail once the team flies home
• The limits of 501(c)(3) audits, Guidestar stars, and ECFA seals when funds are wired overseas
• What real donor due diligence looks like when you actually “watch the money in action”
• How Open Trust Global helps close the gap between donor stories and donor reality

If you’re a pastor, foundation leader, missions pastor, family office, or everyday giver who supports overseas work, this episode will help you ask better questions, fund better projects, and avoid doing unintentional harm with generous gifts.

Open Trust Global exists to put eyes and boots where the dollars go so that every gift has a fighting chance to become the good it was intended to be.

William Booth didn’t set out to build a global movement. He walked into the slums of London with a Bible, a stubborn faith, and a burden for people the church had learned to ignore. Out of that simple conviction came The Salvation Army, one of the most influential Christian missions of the last 150 years.

In this episode of HIS Story, Todd Turner sits down with Booth for a first-person conversation that brings his world to life. You’ll hear what shaped him, why he refused to look away from suffering, and how holiness, courage, and compassion fueled a ministry that changed cities across the world.

This episode explores:
• Booth’s early ministry and calling
• The spiritual and social crisis in 19th-century London
• How The Salvation Army began and why it grew
• Booth’s passion for the poor, the addicted, and the forgotten
• What today’s church can learn from his bold, practical faith

If you enjoy Christian biography, church history, classic revival movements, or stories of ordinary believers doing extraordinary things, this conversation will pull you in. It’s a fresh look at William Booth, The Salvation Army, and the kind of faith that still speaks today.

What happens when someone decides to live entirely by faith?
In this episode of This Is HIS Story, Todd Turner shares a compelling conversation with George Müller — the man who cared for more than 10,000 orphans without ever asking for a penny. Through prayer alone, he watched God provide food, shelter, and hope for thousands.

Listen as Müller recounts his rebellious youth, his powerful conversion, and the unwavering trust that shaped every decision of his life. His story still challenges today’s believers to depend on God in practical, courageous ways.

Whether you serve in ministry or simply want to grow your faith, this episode will stir your heart and remind you that God still answers prayer.

👉 Hear more timeless stories of faith at https://hisstorypodcast.buzzsprout.com

What if you could sit down with Charles Spurgeon himself — the Prince of Preachers?

In this episode of This Is HIS Story, Todd Turner guides you through an imagined interview that captures Spurgeon’s wit, humility, and deep trust in God.

Hear how a teenage preacher became one of history’s most influential pastors. Learn about his personal battles with doubt and depression, his bold stand for truth, and the faith that carried him through suffering. This conversation reminds us why his words still ignite hearts more than a century later.

Whether you’re a pastor, teacher, or believer seeking fresh encouragement, this episode will point you back to the same grace that transformed Spurgeon’s life — the grace of Christ alone.

👉 Listen to more episodes and stories of faith at https://hisstorypodcast.buzzsprout.com

Interviewer:

Todd Turner
ToddTurner.com

I'm Todd Turner, Creative Digital Guide. I come along side Christian Non-Profits and churches and help them tell and fund their God-Sized missions using their digital channels. Listen in to learn how we tell our stories with integrity and ask people to join our kingdom stories.

As a former Executive Vice President for an International organization, I have traveled the world learning and teaching digital strategies in various countries and languages. I have gathered the essentials of Digital Strategies and spend my day helping organizations cut out the fads and trends and learn the simple blocking and tackling of their online fundraising strategies.

FaceBook Group for Executive Pastors and Executive Directors:
https://creativedigitalguide.com/facebook/

Want to be Interviewed on this podcast?
https://creativedigitalguide.com/podcast/

Harmony Grillo, victim of exploitation turned UCLA honor student, her goal is to help women and girls entrenched in sexual exploitation find freedom.

As a survivor, Harmony is passionate about assisting women in their journeys of healing and transformation. In 2003, she founded Treasures, a faith-based outreach and support group to women in the sex industry and victims of sex trafficking.

Armed with personal experience, a Master’s Degree in Social Work and evidence-based theories, Harmony sheds light on the impact of a pornified culture and the lives of women trapped within it. She has received Congressional recognition for her work and has had the opportunity to train LAPD, LVPD, Department of Justice, and the FBI in best practices for working with victims of sexual exploitation and trafficking. Her memoir, Scars and Stilettos details her harrowing account of moving from victim to survivor to liberator.

Interviewer:

Todd Turner
CreativeDigitalGuide.com

I'm Todd Turner, Creative Digital Guide. I come along side Christian Non-Profits and churches and help them tell and fund their God-Sized missions using their digital channels. Listen in to learn how we tell our stories with integrity and ask people to join our kingdom stories.

As a former Executive Vice President for an International organization, I have traveled the world learning and teaching digital strategies in various countries and languages. I have gathered the essentials of Digital Strategies and spend my day helping organizations cut out the fads and trends and learn the simple blocking and tackling of their online fundraising strategies.

FaceBook Group for Executive Pastors and Executive Directors:
https://creativedigitalguide.com/facebook/

Want to be Interviewed on this podcast?
https://creativedigitalguide.com/podcast/

Wayne Stiles is the host of Walking the Bible Lands (www.walkingthebiblelands.com), an online video experience of virtual tours of the Holy Land. A former pastor and veteran traveler to the Holy Land, Dr. Stiles has served in full-time ministry for more than 30 years. He is the author of Going Places with God, Walking in the Footsteps of Jesus, and Waiting on God. Wayne and his wife, Cathy, have two grown daughters and live in Texas. Visit waynestiles.com for more.

Interviewer:

Todd Turner
CreativeDigitalGuide.com

I'm Todd Turner, Creative Digital Guide. I come along side Christian Non-Profits and churches and help them tell and fund their God-Sized missions using their digital channels. Listen in to learn how we tell our stories with integrity and ask people to join our kingdom stories.

As a former Executive Vice President for an International organization, I have traveled the world learning and teaching digital strategies in various countries and languages. I have gathered the essentials of Digital Strategies and spend my day helping organizations cut out the fads and trends and learn the simple blocking and tackling of their online fundraising strategies.

FaceBook Group for Executive Pastors and Executive Directors:
https://creativedigitalguide.com/facebook/

Want to be Interviewed on this podcast?
https://creativedigitalguide.com/podcast/

Shannon McGraw is a woman in love with God and excited about her faith. But it wasn’t always that way. She was only 3 years old when the abuse began by a family member. While still a teen, her boyfriend was tragically killed in an auto accident, and she began to question a God who would claim a young man with so much life yet to be lived. At the fragile age of seventeen, she was raped and she began to distrust a God who would allow such a thing. Again, as a freshman in college, she was raped a second time, and she began to earnestly put as much distance between herself and God as she possibly could.

It has been said that the best thing about hitting bottom is that, when we do, we have no place else to go but up. Such was the case with mcGraw. Growing up with such evil it is no wonder she struggled with low self-esteem. At the age of 27, having run from God as far as she could go, she found herself at the bottom of a life that was no longer tolerable. Having no place to go but up, she looked to Heaven. And there was God, surrounding her with His peace.

Shortly after her love affair with God began in earnest, Shannon felt a distinct calling to begin teaching the teens at her local church. Not only did this give her an opportunity to share her own struggles as a teen and tell others how God changed her personal tragedy into triumph, but it also allowed her to look beyond the traditions to more deeply explore the intricacies of her faith.

Interviewer:

Todd Turner
CreativeDigitalGuide.com

I'm Todd Turner, Creative Digital Guide. I come along side Christian Non-Profits and churches and help them tell and fund their God-Sized missions using their digital channels. Listen in to learn how we tell our stories with integrity and ask people to join our kingdom stories.

As a former Executive Vice President for an International organization, I have traveled the world learning and teaching digital strategies in various countries and languages. I have gathered the essentials of Digital Strategies and spend my day helping organizations cut out the fads and trends and learn the simple blocking and tackling of their online fundraising strategies.

FaceBook Group for Executive Pastors and Executive Directors:
https://creativedigitalguide.com/facebook/

Want to be Interviewed on this podcast?
https://creativedigitalguide.com/podcast/