Pastor Chuck and Cynthia Swindoll have been on what they call “an amazing ride together.” Neither could ever have predicted how amazing it was going to be. Little did they know when they married in June 1955 all of the places God would use them.
Following Chuck’s tour of duty in the U.S. Marine Corps—which included 16 months on Okinawa while Cynthia remained in the U.S.—they were led to Dallas Theological Seminary (DTS) for four years of training, learning, growing, being mentored, and starting their family together . Both agree, “Those were great years!”
Then came more productive years together serving churches in Massachusetts, Texas, and California while raising their children.
In 1977, Chuck’s first book, For Those Who Hurt, was published.
After hearing Chuck preach at his church in California, a Christian radio producer urged Chuck to edit the sermons into radio programs. Chuck was initially reluctant until a few months of test programming on 18 stations received an overwhelmingly positive response. Insight for Living began broadcasting in 1979 with Cynthia serving as executive director.
They were called back to Texas in 1994, where Chuck served DTS, his alma mater, as president; then he founded Stonebriar Community Church in 1998—“More great years!”
Cynthia built and led Insight for Living from the very beginning. Watching God move hearts to support the ministry fueled her faith and determination to ensure the broadcast would glorify God and bless others. In those early days, she would personally thank each person for his or her gift to the ministry. In 2023, she stepped down as president and CEO to serve as cofounder and ministry advisor alongside Chuck who now serves as chairman of the board and CEO.
Currently, Insight for Living is heard around the world, and Chuck has now published more than 100 books, including the 15-volume Swindoll’s Living Insights New Testament Commentary Series, The Swindoll Study Bible, and The Grace Awakening. His book Searching the Scriptures has been translated by IFL’s international pastors for training local church leaders in how to study the Bible and deliver expositional messages.
Chuck and Cynthia are still loving every day . . . laughing, planning, and dreaming new dreams together. They live in the Dallas area and enjoy their family of four adult kids, 14 grandchildren, and 10 great-grandkids.
The words of the late, great missionary Jim Elliot best describe their enthusiastic, nonstop life together: “Wherever you are, be all there; live to the hilt every situation you believe to be the will of God.”
Charissa began serving Insight for Living (IFL) as a teenager. She was one of the first employees to staple together our study guides and stamp each envelope for the daily mailings—all from a folding table in Chuck and Cynthia’s garage! You could say that garage was Insight’s first home.
When IFL relocated from California to Texas, Charissa and her two children moved here as well. She quickly had to train 18 new Customer Services representatives! As IFL grew, Charissa went on to manage the Customer Services Department, and soon became a vice president over Marketing, Communications, the Fulfillment Center, Advancement, and Ministry Events.
After several years, Charissa felt called to leave IFL to serve other ministries and gain a broader understanding of how nonprofits function and how fundraising is carried out within those ministries. She served as a major gifts officer at Wycliffe Bible Translators as well as at Compassion International.
Because of Charissa’s lifelong ministry experience, Chuck and Cynthia are thrilled that she is serving as president of IFL. Charissa is proud of her family’s legacy and grateful for the way God has used this ministry. She plans to hold nothing back as she upholds our convictions and values in pursuit of our mission and vision.
Charissa has been blessed to travel around the world and enjoys public speaking, but her favorite activity is connecting with people on a personal level. She is married to Mark Gaither. Together they have four children and love being grandparents.
Bill has three decades of executive-leadership and business-operations experience with nonprofit organizations. He actually began his career at the young age of 15 when he started his own business, becoming the youngest member of the Jacksonville, Oregon, Chamber of Commerce.
He has served at Insight for Living (IFL) since 1999 and is responsible for leading and managing operations at the international headquarters in Frisco, Texas. Additionally, Bill serves on four boards of directors for IFL’s regional offices.
When Bill isn’t thinking globally, he is ministering locally as a bi-vocational pastor of a country church in Weston, Texas, and the leader of IFL’s The Book Shoppe & Coffee in Frisco, Texas. He enjoys mentoring others while sipping world-class coffee and helping Christians grow through the expositional study of God’s Word.
Bill is married to Nancy, and they have two children and two grandchildren. He likes to travel, restore antique buildings, and ride horses.
For decades, Tom has focused on reaching the unreached and strengthening the global church. He’s grateful to serve Insight for Living’s regional offices around the world as they translate, contextualize, and share our Bible-teaching resources while representing our presence in their respective countries.
Currently, IFL ministers in ten languages in more than 70 countries with our reach continually expanding as part of IFL’s Vision 195. Tom and his team hope to broadcast the simple yet life-changing message of the Bible in every country and every language of the world as well as to equip local pastors through IFL’s pastor-training materials.
Tom and his wife Katie were married in 2001, and they have two teenage sons who provide constant entertainment. Tom and Katie love to travel. In fact, Tom has been to 45 countries and preached in 42 of them!
Linda raised two rambunctious boys and served in the corporate world before joining Insight for Living (IFL) in 2015. At IFLM, she wears many hats serving a number of departments. On any given day, you might find her coordinating the production of the ministry’s next newsletter, preparing meaningful experiences for event guests, mobilizing our engagement team, or sitting in a meeting room encouraging colleagues in the Lord.
It was Linda’s love for people and passion for the Great Commission that led her to IFL. She considers it a great privilege to help encourage others with the Word of God.
She and her husband Warren have been married since 1984. Both sons are married. Linda and Warren recently welcomed their first grandchild. They enjoy neighborhood parties, outdoor adventures, and college football—especially cheering on the Baylor Bears!
Bryant serves in Insight for Living’s (IFL) Advancement Department, which gives him the joy of connecting with many of the ministry’s supporters. He loves the opportunity to pick up the phone and speak personally with donors and pray for them.
Before joining IFL, Bryant lived all across the US working for a national framing and art company until he opened his own shop, Prestige Galleries, in 1994. Then, Bryant closed his successful gallery in 2007 to embrace God’s call to ministry and join the IFLM family.
Bryant is a charter member of Stonebriar Community Church in Frisco, Texas, and has been an usher from the very beginning in 1998! Bryant loves to bass fish. One of his favorite memories comes from Texas’ Holly Lake Ranch where he landed his biggest catch at 7.9 pounds!
Joel joined Insight for Living (IFL) in 2002 as the ministry’s first bilingual broadcast editor. He has held different roles since then, including producer and announcer of the Spanish-language broadcast, Visión Para Vivir, and his current responsibilities leading Living Bridge Media—IFL’s media-production department.
Joel and Living Bridge Media help oversee all of IFL’s audio-visual content, such as the Insight for Living broadcasts and Paws & Tales children’s programs, to offer the smoothest listening and watching experience possible. They also help support IFL’s international offices with their audio-visual needs.
Joel was born in Puerto Rico and moved to the US when he was in the fourth grade. Joel and Tanya, his wife, began dating in college and were married in 1999 soon after graduation. They love spending time with their son as well as watching a sports game or trying out new eateries.
Brian joined Insight for Living (IFL) in 2008. He leads the Biblical Counseling department which offers spiritual guidance and encouragement to listeners as they call or write. He relishes sharing the depth and renewal of the gospel in conversation with correspondents of the ministry.
Over more than 30 years, Brian has pastored in single-adult, marriage reconciliation, missions, and international pastor-training ministries. You also might have seen him on the live stream of Stonebriar Community Church playing trumpet with the orchestra and brass. A native of Nebraska, he was a member of the Cornhusker Marching Band.
Brian and Bonnie, his wife, share a life full of music and ministry. They met while planning a musical fund-raising event for missions. The Leichts have three grown sons. Brian loves meaningful conversations with his family, teaching theology, and any opportunity to perform in a good brass or choral group.
Aaron has served at Insight for Living since 2013 in a variety of departments such as International, Operations, and Human Resources. He had the joy of helping IFL construct its international headquarters in Frisco, Texas, which was completed in two phases from 2015 to 2019.
Now, he spends his days in IFL’s writing department, Searching the Scriptures Ministries, which helps oversee the creation of Bible-teaching materials as well as the publications and communications of IFL.
Aaron and Megan, his wife, were married in 2014. In 2020 and 2021, they welcomed into their lives two little boys who instantly captured their hearts and constantly occupy their days. Aaron is a former competitive golfer, but he rarely pulls the sticks out of the closet. He loves to read, write, and exercise.