By Cheryl Sherry
Post-Crescent staff writer

     Parishioners at Cornerstone
Christian Church in New Lon-
don know their pastor's life
story well.
     But during the week of Oct.
27 to Nov. 2 the rest of the
world will be made privy to it as
well when the Rev. Bill Stiebs's
fitness to faith story is dramati-
cally reenacted on the radio pro-
gram "Unshackled."
     Recorded at Pacific Garden
Mission in Chicago, the pro-
gram is a long-running drama se-
ries dating back to 1950. Pro-
duced in the style of the Golden
Age of radio, it is broadcast on
1,450 radio stations in 147 coun-
tries.
     Each half-hour broadcast.
which features professional ac-
tors, live sound effects and the
original music of Ralph Coburn
and Don Baddorf, tells the true
tale of how an individual's life
changed when they came to
know Jesus as their personal sav-
ior. Stiebs submitted his story
after touring the facility a few
years ago.

THE REV. BILL STIEBS of the Cornerstone Christian Church in New London will be
featured in the radio program, "Unshackled." It will air the week of Oct. 27.
   ____________________________________________________________________

    The 43-year-old New London native admits that partying, drugs and alcohol as a young adult combined with a new wife didn't mix. So he decided to clean up "the outside" of his life, opening up karate schools
throughout the area, becoming a personal trainer for a time, owning a fitness center, serving as fitness director for Club West for a few years and as a sports therapist for a number of area chiropractors.
    But something still was missing. "Outwardly, we looked great," Stiebs said. "Inwardly, we were dying."
    During a 1991 argument in earshot of their two young sons, now 14 and 18, talk quickly turned to divorce for the couple. But unbeknownst to Stiebs, his wife, Lynn, had invited Jesus into her life about a week earlier.
    "She looked in my eyes and it was like God piercing my heart," Stiebs said. "This sweet voice said, 'You need to ask Jesus to come into your heart. You look good on the outside, but the inside is full of sin.'"
    Stiebs said he broke down and cried for a half an hour.
    "It was as if God was speaking to me through her." he recalled. "I think God uses those times when you are in despair to say 'Will you listen? I am trying to get into your heart.' That's when I listened."
    From that day forward, Stiebs said his life took a 180-degree turn.
    The couple began to rebuild their marriage, got into Bible study, and joined a church.
    In 1994, Stiebs decided to start a street ministry. The 4th degree black belt, who had been involved with martial arts since 1975, developed Christian karate to reach out to needy kids on the street through the nonprofit Flying High Ministries. That spawned a Bible school
that eventually led to the founding of Cornerstone Christian Church, which began in a Main Street storefront and later operated for five years from an elderly home. The church's present location on John Street in New London was purchased about 15 months ago.
    "You need to confess that Jesus is Lord and believe it in your heart," Stiebs said. "That piece is not there, the peace that passes all understanding. And it is so simple. You need the heart connection."
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Cheryl Sherry can be reached at 920-993-1000, ext. 249,
or by e-mail at csherry@postcrescent.com