On September 11, 2001, former U.S. Secret Service agent Darren Kinder stood just steps away from the South Tower as America’s darkest day unfolded. A Medal of Valor recipient, Kinder’s story is not only about survival—it’s about how God’s presence in the rubble led him into a new mission: helping others find light in the darkest places.
(Hear the entire interview between Crystal Thornton and Darin Kinder in the podcast below.)
A Day That Changed Everything
“I was a young, as I say in the book, a young and dumb Secret Service agent,” Darren remembered.
“We were in Seven World Trade Center. I looked up... and I knew; that was not an accident. I knew we were under attack.”
As chaos erupted on the streets, he witnessed both the best and worst of humanity.
“I saw citizens answer the bell and help their fellow man, but I also saw the sheer evil of what was happening all around us.”
Follow the Sound of My Voice
When the first tower collapsed, Darren was caught in a blinding cloud of concrete dust. He should have died, but God spared him. Then he heard voices crying out for help.
“I started screaming at the top of my lungs to follow the sound of my voice… ‘There is light this way. Come to the light.’ And about 10 or 15 people made their way to me.”
Looking back, Darren sees that moment as more than rescue.
“Is that not a beautiful spiritual metaphor?” he said.
“That is our role as Christians—to be light in darkness and to point people to the light of life, the light of Jesus Christ.”
God’s Whisper at Ground Zero
Later that day, standing at a destroyed intersection where he nearly took cover under crushed vehicles, Darren dropped to his knees.
“The Lord put me down to a knee because I looked across at that firetruck—it was obliterated. I would’ve been dead. And He spoke to me. He said, ‘I’m with you.’ That was really the only time my emotions got to me. I take that with me every day as I continue to metaphorically get my suit dirty for Jesus.”
The Embrace of Grace
When Darren finally returned home that evening, his wife met him at the door. Bloodied, his clothes in tatters, he expected her to recoil. Instead, she embraced him.
“She did not say, ‘You need to go clean yourself up first.’ She took me as I was. And that’s a beautiful metaphor for how Christ receives us. He doesn’t say go fix yourself first—He takes us as we are, and then He begins breaking down walls and strongholds in our lives.”
Redeeming Suffering
The years after 9/11 were marked by questions and frustration. But Darren says God slowly redirected his pain into purpose.
“Here is a story of maybe our nation’s greatest national tragedy… and yet I am able through His Spirit and His strength to bring some goodness out of it. God does not waste suffering. He redeems it. He exchanges it for something good.”
Living With Fierce Faith
Darren’s new book, Bury Me in a Dirty Suit, was born from a prayer the day after 9/11:
“Lord, I don’t know when my time will come, but when I punch out of this world and into the next, bury me in a dirty suit. I want to spend the rest of my days getting my suit dirty for the glory of God.”
Today, through his ministry Fierce Faith, he challenges men to live boldly for Christ, shoulder to shoulder, fighting the good fight of faith.
Darren Kinder’s testimony is a reminder that even when life feels buried in rubble, we have a “with you” God—a God who redeems, restores, and brings beauty from ashes.
Learn more about Darren’s ministry at fierce-faith.com.