After retiring to St. George, Utah, Joe and Debbie discovered 1517 and were drawn into its clear proclamation of the gospel of grace. Now faithful listeners and supporters, they give so others can hear the same Christ-centered hope that shapes their daily lives.
Meet Joe and Debbie: supporters who found daily hope in the gospel of grace through 1517.
For Joe and Debbie Pedager, retirement didn’t mean slowing down. It meant a new chapter. After years in Pittsburgh, the couple relocated to the mountains of St. George, Utah, where they now spend their days enjoying the beauty of the desert landscape. Each morning they begin their day with the Word.
Debbie’s journey back to Christ began before the move. Raised in the faith, she wandered in early adulthood, exploring different spiritual paths before meeting Joe later in life. “He brought me back to Christ,” she says. And once she returned, she was hungry. “I just wanted to learn everything I could.”
That hunger led her to Christian podcasts, then to Mockingbird, and eventually to Chad Bird. Following that trail brought her to 1517. What she found lit a fire. “I was just taken,” she recalls. She began listening to every podcast she could find—starting, ambitiously, with Steven Paulson. “It was way above my understanding,” she laughs, “but it was so intriguing.”
Joe, who has attended seminary and served on seminary boards, noticed the shift at home. “For three nights in a row, she’s quoting Steven Paulson—talking about law and grace, free will and the bondage of the will,” he remembers. “By the third night I thought, I’ve got to start listening to this.”
Together, they did.
What gripped them wasn’t novelty. It was clarity. The distinction between law and gospel. The bold proclamation of grace. The simple, repeated announcement of what Christ has done for sinners. “This is not the message people are hearing—even in church,” Joe says soberly. “It’s rare. And yet it’s what people so desperately need.”
Through 1517, that message became part of their daily rhythm. On the way to work. On the way home. While cooking dinner. Before bed. “We don’t have to do much work,” Joe says. “We just turn on a podcast.” And what they hear, again and again, is the good news: Christ has done what we could not.
That daily repetition matters. “We have to hear it at least once a week,” Joe says. “With 1517, we can hear it every day.”
Their gratitude turned into support. As they discussed their giving goals for the year, Debbie knew she wanted 1517 to be part of it. “The message of grace that I began to understand through 1517—I think other people need to hear that,” she says. Supporting the ministry became a natural extension of their desire to see the gospel proclaimed clearly.
Joe sees it as stewardship. “We are entrusted with the Word,” he says. “We’re called to keep it for future generations.” If the message of grace is as rare as they believe it to be, then ensuring its continued proclamation matters deeply.
Debbie admits there’s something personal in it too. “I just want 1517 to be viable and continue,” she says with a smile. “It makes my day every day. It’s such a source of understanding of the Bible.” Whether she’s listening while cooking or starting her morning with an episode, the teaching has become woven into her life.
For Joe and Debbie, 1517 isn’t just a podcast network. It’s a daily reminder of hope. A steady voice proclaiming grace in a world often filled with noise and moralism. A place where Christ is preached clearly and without apology.
And they’re proud to be part of making that possible.
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