Brad Bigney (Part 1): Hope for Parents of Prodigals

What do you do when you’ve raised your children to know the Lord, only to watch them walk away from the faith? In this episode of afterWord, Pastor Kent Dresdow sits down with Executive Pastor Jeremy Pray and guest speaker Brad Bigney Lead Pastor of Grace Fellowship Church, a longtime teacher at NorthCreek’s Counseling Training Conference. Together, they open a heartfelt conversation on parenting wayward children—a subject often overlooked in the church but deeply felt by many families.Brad shares from his own family’s story of walking through years of prodigal rebellion, and the lessons God taught him and his wife, Vicki, through the pain. The discussion addresses the false idea that faithful parenting guarantees godly kids, the unique burdens mothers and fathers carry, and how compassion—not quick fixes—is often the most Christlike response. Passages like Luke 7, where Jesus sees and loves the brokenhearted, and 2 Corinthians 12, where God’s strength is made perfect in weakness, shape the hope and comfort offered in this episode.Whether you’re a parent grieving a prodigal, a pastor counseling families, or a believer seeking to understand God’s purposes in suffering, this conversation offers honesty, encouragement, and the reminder that Christ meets us in our weakness.