The Biggest THREAT to Christianity is Happening RIGHT NOW (ft. Philip Anthony Mitchell) | Live Free with Josh Howerton

Episode of Live Free with Josh Howerton · September 23, 2026 · 1 h 49 min

Pastor Josh Howerton talks with pastor Philip Anthony Mitchell about his conversion from street life, his preaching, Islam, end-times theology, public opposition and preaching anxiety.

Summary

Josh Howerton hosted fellow pastor Philip Anthony Mitchell for a wide-ranging conversation. Mitchell recounted growing up in Queens to Trinidadian immigrant parents, selling crack cocaine from age 12, spending his 18th birthday at Rikers Island, and later contemplating suicide before a conversion experience around 2004. He described running from a call to ministry for four years, planting a church in Atlanta in 2012, a 2018 encounter in Jerusalem that reshaped his ministry, and launching 2819 Church in January 2023 with a commitment to verse-by-verse expository preaching. Howerton compared Mitchell to Charles Spurgeon, who was attacked as a 'vulgar' preacher for speaking plainly to working men.

The discussion turned to Mitchell's book Contend, named after Jude's call to contend for the faith. Mitchell argued that some political ideologies could lead to laws treating biblical preaching as hate speech, that syncretistic spiritual deception was spreading on social media, and that radical Islam was gaining political power in the West. Both men argued that Islam posed a major threat to Christianity; Howerton cited the history of the seven churches of Revelation in now-Muslim Turkey and read a list of Islamic beliefs about the Mahdi that he said matched the biblical Antichrist. Mitchell said he believed the end was near, pointing to the rise of Islam, cashless payments, and proposed digital identity systems as signs.

In the final portion, Mitchell described a 2025 controversy over a sermon story he said he framed poorly, and how a text from his daughters during Holy Week sustained him; Howerton shared a similar experience with his wife and argued false accusations often precede ministry growth, citing Psalm 86. Both men disclosed struggles with anxiety around preaching. Mitchell closed by encouraging prisoners, blue-collar workers and stay-at-home mothers that their ministry is wherever God has placed them, and prayed for Howerton.

Chapters

  1. 1:14

    Introduction and mutual appreciation

    Howerton welcomes Mitchell and describes how his sermons have encouraged him.

  2. 4:51

    From Queens and Rikers to conversion

    Mitchell recounts his street life, suicidal despair, conversion, and four years of running from a call to ministry.

  3. 13:30

    Israel encounter and expository preaching

    Mitchell describes a 2018 experience at the Garden Tomb, launching 2819 Church, and why he preaches verse by verse with urgency.

  4. 22:10

    Preaching as a dying man and redefining success

    The pastors discuss Richard Baxter, Mitchell's insecurity about lacking seminary training, and 'landing the plane' faithfully.

  5. 30:34

    Spurgeon, the vulgar preacher

    Howerton recounts Charles Spurgeon's critics, depression and the Surrey Gardens disaster, likening Mitchell to him.

  6. 36:41

    Theological influences and word-and-spirit

    Mitchell names influences like Matt Chandler, Billy Graham and R.C. Sproul, and Howerton shares R.T. Kendall's quote on word and spirit.

  7. 43:48

    Wearing black and the book Contend

    Mitchell explains wearing black as a daily funeral and the origin of his book's title in Jude.

  8. 46:47

    Censorship, deception and Islam

    Mitchell warns of hate-speech laws, social media syncretism, and radical Islam, using a python metaphor, and both cite the fate of Eastern Christianity.

  9. 1:01:35

    Islam and end-times prophecy

    Howerton traces Isaac and Ishmael, Galatians 1:8, Ezekiel and the Mahdi, arguing parallels with the biblical Antichrist.

  10. 1:08:18

    Time is running out and signs of the end

    Mitchell explains his urgency about Christ's return and lists perceived signs such as cashless payments and ID chips.

  11. 1:18:02

    Navigating public opposition

    Mitchell describes his 2025 sermon controversy and Howerton shares his own experience and reliance on Psalm 86.

  12. 1:29:17

    Celebrity pastor caricature and preaching anxiety

    Howerton defends Mitchell's private prayer life and both disclose recurring anxiety around preaching.

  13. 1:42:14

    Your mission field is where you are

    Mitchell encourages prisoners, workers and parents that their ministry is wherever God has placed them.

  14. 1:46:18

    Closing prayer

    At Howerton's request, Mitchell prays over him, his family and church.

Key points

What was said, by whom, with the exact words. Timestamps jump to the moment.

  • Philip Anthony Mitchell

    Mitchell argues that ministry success comes from faithfulness in obscurity rather than overnight elevation.

    “I don't think there's any such thing as an overnight success in the kingdom”

    Listen from 3:35 · Christianity

  • Philip Anthony Mitchell

    Mitchell recounts selling drugs as a child and being repeatedly arrested as a teenager.

    “Man, I was selling crack cocaine at the age of 12. I'd been arrested multiple times by the age of 17”

    Listen from 5:49 · Rikers Island

  • Philip Anthony Mitchell

    Mitchell says the intensity of his preaching comes from treating every sermon as a matter of life and death.

    “The veracity of my preaching is because for me, I feel like every time I stand in a pulpit, it's life or death for me”

    Listen from 19:12 · Expository preaching

  • Philip Anthony Mitchell

    Mitchell says he wears a bulletproof vest on tour because of threats against his life.

    “And I wear a bulletproof vest when I'm on tour because I'm aware of that”

    Listen from 23:03 · Persecution of Christians

  • Josh Howerton

    Howerton cites R.T. Kendall's view that revival requires reuniting word-focused and spirit-focused churches.

    “There has been a great divorce in the church between word and spirit”

    Listen from 43:31 · Christianity

  • Philip Anthony Mitchell

    Mitchell explains that he wears only black as a symbol of dying to culture and to himself.

    “I kept the pattern of wearing black symbolically as a daily funeral, a death to culture and a death to myself”

    Listen from 45:01 · Christianity

  • Philip Anthony Mitchell

    Mitchell argues that spiritual content on social media is increasingly mixing Christianity with crystals and psychic practices.

    “I see that there is an increase in spiritualism that's really nothing more than syncretism”

    Listen from 47:36 · Syncretism

  • Philip Anthony Mitchell

    Mitchell warns that faithful biblical preaching may eventually be treated as illegal hate speech.

    “It will get to the point where those who are faithful in gospel proclamation will be considered preaching things that will be hailed as hate speech and illegal”

    Listen from 48:05 · Hate speech laws and religious freedom

  • Philip Anthony Mitchell

    Mitchell argues that inclusivity toward radical Islam in politics could eventually lead to attempts to introduce Sharia law in America.

    “Until that ideology has enough political power to introduce Sharia law in America, right?”

    Listen from 51:42 · Islam

  • Josh Howerton

    Howerton argues that critics dismissing warnings about Islam ignore 1,400 years of historical precedent.

    “We literally have 1,400 years of history. And if the same thing happens for 1,400 years, you are very naive to think that it won't happen this time”

    Listen from 52:06 · Islam

  • Linked moment · 1:00:50Skip to 1:00:50 using a listen link in the info box.

    Philip Anthony Mitchell

    Mitchell points to Turkey, once a center of early Christianity, as a warning of what happens without contending for the faith.

    “In Turkey, a 98% Muslim nation that was once ancient Asia Minor and a home base for ministry operation to the Apostle Paul”

    Listen from 1:00:50 · Seven churches of Asia

  • Josh Howerton

    Howerton argues that the ultimate threat to Christians foretold by Jesus is religious persecution rather than atheism.

    “Jesus said the final boss is not going to be atheism. It's going to be some form of religion that thinks when they kill Christians, they're offering service to God”

    Listen from 1:01:35 · Christian eschatology

  • Josh Howerton

    Howerton argues that Islamic prophecies about the Mahdi closely match the biblical description of the Antichrist.

    “If that sounds familiar, that's because it is a precise description of the biblical antichrist”

    Listen from 1:06:51 · Mahdi

  • Philip Anthony Mitchell

    Mitchell says he believes end-times persecution of Christians will come from Islam.

    “The persecution of the saints I think will come at the hand of Islam”

    Listen from 1:07:24 · Christian eschatology

  • Philip Anthony Mitchell

    Mitchell views the shift to cashless payments as a sign that a one-world currency is becoming feasible.

    “The more we tap and the more we swipe, the more it makes it easier for one world currency”

    Listen from 1:13:36 · Christian eschatology

  • Philip Anthony Mitchell

    Mitchell acknowledges that a 2025 sermon story he told caused hurt because he framed it poorly.

    “I was telling a story about something that happened to me when I was a teenager in New York, and I did not frame the story right”

    Listen from 1:19:35 · Persecution of Christians

  • Philip Anthony Mitchell

    Mitchell says he will apologize for genuine mistakes but treat persecution for righteousness as a reason for gratitude.

    “and if i'm persecuted because i made a mistake i will publicly apologize but if i'm persecuted for righteousness sake i gotta say lord thank you”

    Listen from 1:23:28 · Persecution of Christians

  • Josh Howerton

    Howerton argues that false accusations against pastors often precede God vindicating and expanding their ministries.

    “I honestly think when men like you get falsely accused, I honestly think it's one reason why your ministry blows up like it does”

    Listen from 1:27:05 · Psalm 86

  • Josh Howerton

    Howerton discloses that he suffered months of severe anxiety attacks around preaching in 2019.

    “in 2019, I had eight months of very extreme anxiety attacks before and during preaching”

    Listen from 1:38:02 · Performance anxiety in preaching

  • Philip Anthony Mitchell

    Mitchell discloses that he struggled with preaching anxiety throughout 2025.

    “Last year, 2025, I dealt with a full year of preaching anxiety for 12 straight months”

    Listen from 1:38:47 · Performance anxiety in preaching

  • Philip Anthony Mitchell

    Mitchell tells incarcerated and discouraged listeners that past mistakes can become lessons rather than define them.

    “You can either let the things that you've done be a coffin that buries you or be a classroom that teaches you”

    Listen from 1:44:21 · Christianity

People

In the conversation

  • Josh HowertonSenior pastor of Lakepointe Church in Dallas, Texas, and host of Live Free
  • Philip Anthony MitchellAmerican pastor of 2819 Church in Atlanta and author of the book Contend

Discussed

  • Charles Spurgeon19th-century English Baptist preacher known as the 'Prince of Preachers'
  • Richard Baxter17th-century English Puritan pastor and writer
  • Matt ChandlerTexas pastor whose expository preaching influenced Mitchell
  • R.C. SproulAmerican Reformed theologian and pastor
  • Billy GrahamAmerican evangelist whose crusade drew Cornwell's mother to North Carolina
  • George Whitefield18th-century evangelist of the First Great Awakening
  • John Wesley18th-century English cleric and founder of Methodism
  • R.T. KendallAmerican pastor who succeeded Martyn Lloyd-Jones at Westminster Chapel
  • Martyn Lloyd-JonesWelsh preacher at Westminster Chapel, London
  • John MacArthurAmerican pastor and author, described as deceased
  • MuhammadProphet and founder of Islam
  • Joby MartinAmerican pastor often listened to alongside Howerton and Mitchell
  • Charles StanleyAmerican Baptist pastor and broadcaster

Topics

More from Live Free with Josh Howerton

From the publisher

What does it look like to contend for your faith when culture is shifting, pressure is rising, and following Jesus may cost you something? Pastor Josh Howerton sits down with Pastor Philip Anthony Mitchell for a raw and deeply personal conversation about Philip’s journey from the streets of Queens and Rikers Island to surrendering his life to Christ and eventually becoming a pastor. Philip shares how God transformed his life, shaped his preaching, and taught him that faithfulness—not platform, influence, or recognition—is the true measure of ministry. The conversation also turns to some of today’s most controversial issues as Josh and Philip discuss biblical authority, spiritual deception, Islam, politics, persecution, end-times theology, and why they believe Christians must contend for biblical truth. Through it all, Philip challenges believers to reject apathy and faithfully represent Christ wherever God has placed them. In this episode: Philip Anthony Mitchell’s powerful testimony of coming to Christ Why faithful ministry often begins in obscurity Why Philip preaches with such urgency What it means to “contend for the faith” Biblical authority in an age of spiritual confusion Josh and Philip’s concerns about Islam, religious freedom, and cultural change Their perspective on end-times prophecy and the return of Christ How to remain faithful through criticism and opposition Why your mission field is wherever God has placed you Stand firm. Think biblically. Live free. 🧢 Want a Live Free hat of your own? Visit LiveFree.shop 📲 Looking to grow deeper in your faith? Check out the Lakepointe App to access our Discipleship Guide, daily Bible reading plan, and more. Text APP to 20411 to download

Summary, chapters and key points were generated from the episode transcript on September 28, 2026. Quotes are checked word for word against the transcript.

Categories: Christianity·Religion