Proud Parents: Zach Williams and His Mom and Dad Share the Redemptive Road that Led to Their New Devotional ‘God’s Heart for the Prodigal’
GRAMMY® Award-winning artist Zach Williams wouldn’t be where he is today without the faithful prayers of his parents, Steve and Jenia (pronounced Jee-nee). They supported Zach for more than a decade as he entertained a stereotypical rock ’n’ roll lifestyle that took him farther and farther away from his Christian upbringing. Through the years, countless fans have asked the couple, who has been married for nearly 54 years, how they survived the long season of their son’s rebellion. Now, for the first time, they’re telling their story in a new read from K-LOVE Books, “God’s Heart for the Prodigal: A Devotional Journey of Mercy, Redemption, and Unfailing Love.”
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Truth be told, Steve and Jenia’s devotional might not have become a reality without “Rescue Story,” Zach’s 2024 memoir named after his hit song. The book vulnerably detailed his rocky road to redemption that saw the “Wait For Me” singer move from a cycle of addiction and self-loathing to a new life of health and surrender. Zach’s honesty gave his parents the courage to disclose their own experiences.
Incidentally, Zach followed his personal story with a book especially for kids, titled “A Little More Like Jesus.” After his parents donated a copy of their son’s children’s book to their local elementary school in Bono, Arkansas, a second grader encountered God through its illustrated pages.
“He checked out this book from the library and went home and read it and ended up giving his life to Jesus that night before bed,” Steve shares via Zoom from the couple’s Arkansas home.
The little boy’s experience is a perfect example of why Steve and Jenia agreed to write a devotional in the first place. “I don’t want to do anything unless it’s going to help people,” Jenia affirms of her decision to share even the messiest parts of their journey publicly.
That’s the ultimate goal of “God’s Heart for the Prodigal.” Across 30 chapters, Steve and Jenia offer practical action steps, tender encouragement and enduring hope for fellow parents who are waiting for their loved one to return.
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Before Zach and his sister were ever born, however, Steve had his own prodigal season. Early in their marriage, alcohol became a problem for the construction worker; and he and Jenia separated for a six-week period.
“Those were probably the worst six weeks of my life,” Steve says. “And it was my fault that we were separated anyway, because I was 20 years old and selfish, and I wanted everything my way. I had a pretty bad attitude.”
Jenia has difficulty even recalling the specifics of that time. “To be honest, I can’t remember. It’s been so long ago. I mean, he was the love of my life,” she says, lost in thought before circling back to the crux of her fuzzy memories: “When you forgive, you forget, or you’re supposed to anyway.”
What she does remember is discovering a real relationship with Jesus soon after they got back together. “I was raised in church, but I can honestly say I don’t ever remember a moment that I really gave my life to the Lord until after we were married,” Jenia shares.
A turning point came when a man Steve worked with invited the Williams to church. By that time the Jesus Movement had made its way from California to Arkansas, and a band was performing at the service that evening. “That was our introduction [to] Contemporary Christian Music,” Steve shares. “All we had ever known was Southern Gospel — that was it — and singing hymns in church.”
After the musicians presented their testimony and their music, Steve and Jenia committed their lives to Jesus; and that launched a life-changing journey for the couple that eventually led them to Florida, where Steve attended Bible college and where Zach was born.
Their faith adventure began with Christian music; and ironically, Zach’s turnaround started in a similar fashion. While on tour with his secular band in Spain, he heard Big Daddy Weave’s signature anthem, “Redeemed,” marking a dramatic shift in his life. Today, in a full-circle moment, he’s the artist behind the songs that are intersecting with people’s lives on Christian radio.
“Even when Zach was singing in the rock ’n’ roll bands, and he would write songs, God was in some of those songs. He had a call,” Jenia observes. “I’m just thankful he listened to that still, small voice. And I’m just amazed at how many people he reaches and how many people we know who have said how his songs minister to them and touch them and lift them up, and this and that.”
In turn, Zach says he’s grateful his parents refused to give up on him. “I probably pushed them about as far as you could push somebody. I probably should have had it a lot worse than I did for some of the stupid stuff I’ve done over the years,” he says. “They took it pretty easy on me.”
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The chart-topping musician says he doesn’t remember his relationship with his mom and dad being strained, necessarily, but that was partly because he was a pro at managing a double life. “I’d gotten really good at living a different lifestyle around a group of friends and then a different lifestyle around my parents and their friends. I could turn it on when I needed to turn it on or straighten up when I needed to straighten up,” the hitmaker confesses. “There did seem to be a lot of emphasis and pressure put on coming to church, which wasn’t a bad thing; but at that time, I didn’t want to hear it… I had some growing up to do.”
Meanwhile, Zach’s parents had no idea how long his growth would take, but they continued to trust that God would intervene and protect him in the interim. “When he was back in his rebellious rock ’n’ roll days, I heard him say several times that he would never change: ‘This is who I am. This is what I’m going to do.’ And for a long time, we didn’t know if things would ever be different,” Steve says, visibly emotional.
As they reveal in “God’s Heart for the Prodigal,” Steve and Jenia’s own spiritual foundation helped them endure the agony of watching their son spiral. “If you don’t know Jesus, you need to find Him for yourself and then put your trust in Him,” Jenia says of her paramount piece of advice for any parent whose child has strayed from the values that raised them. Additionally, she says, “Don’t give up. Never give up. Keep praying… It’s hard to hang on, but then, what do you have if you don’t?”
“You can’t preach hellfire and brimstone to them either — that doesn’t work,” Steve adds of their efforts to help their son. “You’ve got to love them into the Kingdom.”
The Williams’ steady love and support and their persistent prayers reaped a huge harvest in time, but it doesn’t mean the pain and uncertainty of the wait was any easier — something they’re incredibly candid about in “God’s Heart for the Prodigal.”
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The virtue his parents modeled, however, now impacts the kind of dad Zach aims to be for his own kids. “I got to see them live out their faith in real life. It wasn’t just something they were talking about,” he says, “it was a real thing, which makes it tough as a parent, because it’s hard to live up to.”
They may have set the bar high, but Steve and Jenia assure their son he’s already exceeded any expectation they might have had for him. Meanwhile, Zach doesn’t just credit his parents for their example; he also appreciates the choices their parents — his grandparents — made that paved the way for him to come to know the Lord generations later.
“The town we grew up in was 1,200 people when I was growing up there,” he says of Bono, where he was at the center of a drug scandal that got him and his teammates expelled during his senior year of high school. “I don’t think any of us thought we were going to be writing books or devotionals or songs or any of the stuff that we’ve gotten to do. And it’s all because, honestly, somebody in [my parents’] lineage took that step and started following Jesus and passed that down.”
If Zach never garnered a No. 1 single or a prestigious award, however, Steve and Jenia would be just as pleased with their son and how far he’s come. Zach’s recorded a duet with Dolly Parton, performed on the Grand Ole Opry, tallied four K-LOVE Fan Awards, and most recently, opened for Third Day across their 30th anniversary reunion tour. Yet, it isn’t the Platinum certifications, the impressive stats or the shiny accolades that inspire the wide smiles on Steve and Jenia’s faces when they talk about their son. They take great pride in the man he’s become.
“I was proud of him before, but it’s just a whole different story now than it was then. I don’t know if I can talk without crying,” Jenia says, pausing to wipe tears from her eyes. “I mean, I don’t know that there’s a scale out there that can tell you how proud we are of him.”
