In this episode of Sunburnt Souls, the Christian mental health podcast founded by pastor Dave Quak (who lives with bipolar disorder), Dave welcomes Joel A'Bell, former Hillsong Global Director and current Oceania Regional Leader for Convoy of Hope. They dive into the mental and emotional toll of high-capacity Christian leadership and how to maintain integrity and spiritual wellbeing through major life and ministry transitions. What happens when you transition from leading thousands at Hillsong to championing a global mission of hope? Joel shares his remarkable story, focusing on the often-unseen emotional weight of ministry and the importance of spiritual intimacy to prevent burnout.
Together, Dave and Joel explore: How a forgotten exemption note at 14 sparked his faith journey; the unseen emotional weight of megachurch leadership at Hillsong; the key to avoiding ministry burnout and keeping Jesus at the center; finding harmony with his wife Julia in co-leading ministry; and his current work with Convoy of Hope, empowering communities through disaster relief and children’s feeding programs. Whether you’re leading a church, a business, or your family, Joel’s story offers practical insights and encouragement to keep Jesus at the center and stay faithful through every season. This conversation will strengthen your faith and emotional wellbeing! Listen now and find hope for your leadership journey!
Whether you’re leading a church, a business, or your family, Joel’s story offers practical insights and encouragement to keep Jesus at the center and stay faithful through every season. Perfect for anyone seeking purpose with integrity!
Listen now and be inspired!
🌍 Support Convoy of Hope: convoyofhope.org
📧 Connect with us: sunburntsouls.com
💬 Share your thoughts: What’s one lesson from Joel’s journey that hit home for you?
#SunburntSouls #JoelABell #ConvoyOfHope #Hillsong #Faith #Leadership #Humanitarian #ChristianPodcast
☀️ CONNECT with Sunburnt Souls
Discover more from Sunburnt Souls — a Christian mental health podcast sharing real stories of faith, hope, and healing at sunburntsouls.com.
Explore our library of Christian mental health resources, including podcasts, free devotionals, and online courses designed to help you strengthen your faith, overcome anxiety and depression, and experience emotional and spiritual renewal.
🧠 NEW ONLINE COURSE: Loving Life with Faith and Mental Health
A 28-day, $28 journey to help you:
- Embrace your identity in Jesus
- Build life-giving spiritual rhythms
- Navigate anxiety, depression, and burnout with honesty and grace
👉 Start your 28-day journey today
📩 JOIN OUR COMMUNITY
Get weekly encouragement, bonus podcast clips, and faith-informed mental health resources in your inbox. 👉 Subscribe to the newsletter
🙏 SUPPORT THE MISSION
Help us keep producing Christian mental health podcasts and resources that bring hope to listeners around the world and breaks the stigma in the Church. 👉 ...
Popular Podcasts
Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang
Ding dong! Join your culture consultants, Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang, on an unforgettable journey into the beating heart of CULTURE. Alongside sizzling special guests, they GET INTO the hottest pop-culture moments of the day and the formative cultural experiences that turned them into Culturistas. Produced by the Big Money Players Network and iHeartRadio.
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.