Rachelle Fletcher on “Let Love Win,” Children in Crisis and Standing for Truth Without Losing Love

Christian recording artist, worship leader and humanitarian Rachelle Fletcher is calling listeners to see the people too often forgotten in a divided world through her new single, "Let Love Win." Inspired by her work with children and families affected by conflict and foster teens through The Goodness Project, the nonprofit she co-founded with her husband, Bill, the song grew from a deeply personal burden into a collaboration with Babbie Mason and her daughter, singer-songwriter Bri Fletcher. In this interview, Fletcher shares how worship, practical compassion and her own journey of healing have shaped her calling-and why standing for truth must never mean losing love.

Listen to "Let Love Win": https://ffm.to/letlovewin

Q: For readers discovering you for the first time, how would you introduce yourself, and how do your roles as an artist, worship leader, and humanitarian fit together?

A: For as long as I can remember, I've had two great loves in my heart: worshipping Jesus and helping people who are hurting. Even as a little girl, I loved to sing and worship, and I always seemed to have a sensitivity toward people who were walking through difficult circumstances. Looking back, I can see how God was weaving those two passions together long before I understood what He was preparing me for.

As a teenager and young adult, I had the opportunity to go on five different mission trips. Some were focused on evangelism, while others allowed me to use my gift of singing to share the love of Jesus. No matter where I went or what season I was walking through, I was always looking for an opportunity to sing, encourage someone, and tell them about the goodness of God.

After my husband, Bill, and I married, God began leading us into pastoral and shepherding roles, where we could love people, encourage families, and help build the local church. I had the privilege of leading worship teams, and in 2000, I recorded my first album. It was such a beautiful season of discovering how God could use music to minister to people beyond the walls of the church.

But as we began seeing the tremendous needs in our communities, particularly among working families struggling to make ends meet, God began stirring something new in our hearts. With bold faith and very little money in the bank, we stepped out and founded The Goodness Project. What began as simple outreaches providing food, toys, and practical assistance became an opportunity to share the hope and love of Jesus with families across the United States and Canada. We also began training and equipping other pastors and churches to reach their own communities.

In the middle of building those outreaches, God continued to give me songs. In 2005, I recorded my second album, and to my amazement, I had written eight of the eleven songs. I remember being overwhelmed that God would take some of the most difficult, intimate places of my journey with Him and turn them into songs that could bring hope and healing to someone else. I began to realize that some of the most meaningful songs are born out of the very places where we've had to trust God the most.

Today, The Goodness Project has grown to serve more than 1,200 other nonprofit organizations, with five locations across the United States, Canada, and the Dominican Republic, and a new location taking shape in Nashville. This year, we also made the move to Nashville so I could devote more time to recording and sharing the music God continues to place on my heart.

When people ask me how being a recording artist, worship leader, and humanitarian fit together, I really don't see them as separate callings. To me, they're all expressions of worship. Whether I'm standing on a platform singing, sitting at the piano writing a song, or putting food into the hands of a struggling family, my heart is the same: I want people to encounter the goodness of God.

I've come to believe that worship isn't just the song we sing; it's the life we live. And if my music can encourage someone to keep trusting God, or our humanitarian work can help someone experience His love in a tangible way, then I know I'm walking in the purpose He placed in my heart as a little girl.

Q: Which artists, spiritual mentors or musical traditions have most influenced you, and how do you hear their influence in the music you create today?

A: Oh, there have been so many beautiful influences throughout my life! But I would have to start with my parents. My dad had an incredible tenor voice, and my mom played the piano. They sang together in a group, and from the time I was a little girl, my mom taught us how to harmonize. Music was woven into the fabric of our home, and I grew up understanding that singing wasn't just about hitting the right notes. It was about communicating something from your heart.

As I got older, Whitney Houston became one of my biggest musical influences. I was absolutely mesmerized by the beauty, power, and emotion of her voice. I remember trying to imitate her vocal runs and phrasing, but what moved me most was hearing her sing gospel music. There was something about the way she could deliver a song with such passion and conviction that it reached right into my soul. She made me want to become a better singer, but she also showed me how a voice could carry a message that deeply moved people.

Natalie Grant was another artist whose music I really connected with, and I still have tremendous respect for her today. I've always admired the strength of her voice and her ability to communicate such vulnerability and faith through her songs.

And then there's Babbie Mason! I adored her music growing up and sang so many of her songs. Her music was rich with biblical truth, hope, and encouragement. I never could have imagined that years later, God would give us the opportunity to sit down and write a song together. That has been such a meaningful, full-circle moment in my life.

But if I'm being truthful, the greatest musical and spiritual influence on my life has been the tradition of worship in the local church. I've had the privilege of experiencing worship through so many generations and styles, from the beautiful hymns we sang out of hymnbooks to the more intimate and expressive worship music we sing today.

I've learned to treasure all of it because, to me, worship has never been about a particular style or sound. It's about the One we're singing to.

There are still moments when I'm sitting in a worship service, not leading or singing on a platform, when I find myself completely overwhelmed by the sweetness of God's presence. Sometimes I can't even sing because I'm weeping, overwhelmed by His love and faithfulness. Those are sacred moments to me, and they remind me why I began singing in the first place.

I think you can hear all of these influences in the music I create today. I love beautiful melodies, rich harmonies, emotional expression, and lyrics that are rooted in the truth of God's Word. But more than anything, I want my songs to create space for someone to encounter Jesus right where they are, whether they're celebrating His goodness or barely finding the strength to make it through another day.

At the end of the day, I don't just want people to hear my voice. I want them to hear the heart of God through the songs He's entrusted to me.

Q: Looking back, what turning points have most shaped your journey, and how has working with people in crisis changed your understanding of your calling?

A: There have been several defining moments in my life, but looking back, I can see how God was using each one to deepen my understanding of His heart for people.

The first was traveling on mission trips as a teenager and young adult. Visiting other countries opened my eyes to different cultures, perspectives, and ways of life. I loved learning about people, hearing their stories, and seeing the world through their eyes. Those experiences began to shape something deep within me: a compassion for people that went beyond cultural, economic, or geographical boundaries.

Another significant turning point came when my husband and I began pastoring and reaching out to families in our communities. We started organizing large outreaches to help working families who were struggling financially, providing food, toys, and other practical resources through what eventually became The Goodness Project.

I'll never forget watching my husband stand before hundreds of families and share a simple message. He would tell them that the food they were receiving was a gift from a friend who loved them-Jesus. But then he would explain that while the food would meet their immediate needs, Jesus wanted to offer them something that would satisfy a much deeper hunger: the Bread of Life that lasts forever.

We began witnessing something extraordinary. At some of those outreaches, an estimated 60-70% of the people in attendance would stand in response to an invitation to give their lives to Christ. We saw this happen across the United States and Canada, and it profoundly changed me.

I began to realize that no matter where we traveled, what language people spoke, or what circumstances they were facing, the human heart longs to be seen, loved, and given hope. Music had a beautiful way of opening hearts, and practical expressions of love often opened the door for people to hear the message of Jesus.

But perhaps the most transformative turning point in my calling came through my own personal journey of inner healing.

After years of serving others, pastoring, organizing large humanitarian outreaches, and pouring myself into ministry, God began taking me into some very deep places of my own heart. I had spent so much of my life doing things for God that I needed to discover what it truly meant to simply be loved by Him.

Through that healing journey, I began to understand my identity in a completely new way. I wasn't loved because I could lead worship, pastor a church, organize an outreach, or help thousands of families. I was loved simply because I was His daughter.

That revelation changed everything.

Today, whether I'm working with families in crisis through The Goodness Project, encouraging women through The Gathering for Women, or writing music born out of my own struggles and victories, I carry that truth with me.

I've learned that people don't always need us to have all the answers. Sometimes they simply need someone to see them, sit with them in their pain, and remind them that they haven't been forgotten by God.

And I've come to understand something else: We cannot measure our worth by how much we accomplish for God. Our identity must be rooted in who we are in Him.

I think that's what has shaped my calling more than anything. I still want to feed the hungry, encourage the brokenhearted, and sing songs that bring hope. But now I want people to know that before they ever do one thing for God, they are already deeply loved by Him.

I spent so many years trying to show the world how much God loved them. Through my own healing, He taught me how much He loved me. And that has changed the way I minister to everyone I meet.

Q: "Let Love Win" grew out of your encounters with children and families affected by conflict and later took on deeper meaning through your work with foster teens. How did those experiences shape the song, and what did you most want listeners to hear in their stories?

A: Let Love Win was first birthed in my heart after several trips to Israel, where we spent time with children and families living along the Eshkol border region. Seeing firsthand the impact of ongoing conflict on these families, especially the children, was heartbreaking.

These children weren't simply recovering from something traumatic that had happened in the past. For many of them, trauma was part of their everyday reality. Imagine being a child and knowing that when the sirens sound, you have only seconds to reach a bomb shelter because rockets are being fired toward your community. I listened to stories of the fear and trauma these families were experiencing, and I couldn't get the images or the thought of those children's screams out of my mind.

We knew we couldn't solve the conflict, but we could do something to bring hope and comfort to these families. Through The Goodness Project, we began bringing toys and other much-needed resources to the children and their families. It was a tangible way of reminding them that they weren't forgotten, that someone cared, and that even in the middle of so much uncertainty, love could still reach them.

At the same time, I was watching the growing division in the world around us. Families were being torn apart over political differences. People were becoming so entrenched in their own perspectives that they could no longer hear one another, much less extend compassion to someone who believed differently.

And it broke my heart because that's not the heart of God.

I believe God has called us to walk in Kingdom dominion, but dominion was never meant to be about dominating people. It's about representing His heart, stewarding what He's entrusted to us, and bringing His goodness, justice, compassion, and love into the world around us. We're called to make the world better, not wound one another in the process.

I began writing Let Love Win shortly after that trip, but God wasn't finished unfolding the message in my heart.

Not long afterward, through The Goodness Project, we purchased a property in Jackson, Mississippi, and began developing a residential program for foster youth ages 14 to 18. Many of these young people have experienced abuse, abandonment, or the incarceration of a parent. As I began spending time with them, listening to their stories of trauma, isolation, and rejection, I was deeply moved by their longing to be loved and to belong.

We knew these kids needed more than a roof over their heads. They needed a place where they could begin to heal, discover their worth, and believe that their future could be different from their past. So we began building a program that would surround them with the support they needed: education, mentoring, therapeutic services, biblical guidance, and perhaps most importantly, a loving family environment where they could experience stability, belonging, and hope.

And suddenly, I began connecting the dots.

Whether I was sitting with a child in Israel who lived under the constant threat of rockets or a teenager in Jackson, Mississippi, who had experienced the heartbreak of being abandoned by the very people who were supposed to protect them, I realized they were longing for the same thing.

They wanted to be seen. They wanted to be loved. They wanted to be known.

Their circumstances were different, but the cry of their hearts was so similar.

That's when the message of Let Love Win became even more personal to me. I realized this wasn't just a song about conflict or division. It was a song about the power of love to reach beyond the barriers we build, the wounds we carry, and the differences that separate us.

I wanted listeners to hear more than the pain in these children's stories. I wanted them to hear their humanity, their worth, and their hope for a different future. I wanted people to remember that behind every political argument, every headline, and every crisis, there are human lives that matter deeply to God.

And I wanted the song to challenge us to ask ourselves: Are we contributing to the division, or are we becoming part of the healing?

Because love isn't simply something we feel. It's something we demonstrate. Sometimes it looks like placing a toy in the hands of a frightened child. Sometimes it looks like providing a safe home for a teenager who has never known stability. Sometimes it's choosing compassion over being right.

At the end of the day, I believe the greatest force for transformation isn't political power, human influence, or winning an argument. It's the transforming love of Jesus Christ.

That's the heart of Let Love Win. It's both a prayer and a call to action.

When everything around us is fighting for power, position, and the right to be heard, I pray we'll remember that we were never called to dominate one another. We were called to love one another. And in the end, it's God's love that truly wins.

Q: You developed "Let Love Win" with Babbie Mason and your daughter, Bri Fletcher. What did each bring to the writing process, and how did you work together to turn such a deeply personal burden into a song others could connect with?

A: Writing Let Love Win with Babbie Mason and my daughter, Bri Fletcher, was such an incredible gift. Both brought something so unique to the creative process, and I believe God used each of our hearts and experiences to help bring this song to life.

Babbie has been someone I've admired since I was young. I've sung so many of her songs over the years, so to have the opportunity to write with her was incredibly special. She brought her wisdom as an accomplished songwriter, her heart as a minister, and such genuine compassion for the children whose stories I shared with her.

And one of my favorite memories is how the chorus came together! Babbie was actually behind the wheel of a car on a trip while I was sitting at my piano, and we began working through ideas together. It wasn't exactly a traditional songwriting session, but sometimes those unexpected moments produce something beautiful!

Then there was the opportunity to write with my daughter, Bri. She's an accomplished artist and songwriter in her own right and has spent the past eight years in Nashville developing her craft and understanding the music industry. She was also honored to be a contestant on Season 25 of The Voice, which was such a wonderful experience.

But beyond all her musical accomplishments, Bri has an enormous heart for children, especially those who are hurting. That made having her in the writing room, and later as my producer, incredibly meaningful to me.

I would share an idea or an emotion I wanted to communicate, and Bri had this beautiful ability to take what was in my heart and help turn it into lyrics that flowed so naturally. As we crafted the verses, we wanted people to connect not only with the pain behind the song but also with the hope that love could bring.

One of my favorite moments came when we began writing the bridge. I told Bri that I really wanted to weave in the words of 1 Corinthians 13 because, to me, that chapter describes the very heart of what this song is about.

As we started exchanging ideas, the words began flowing almost like a river! We were drawing from the beautiful biblical description of love being patient and kind, keeping no record of wrongs. And then Bri suddenly said, "What about 'Amazing Grace all the day long'?"

I absolutely LOVED it!

It was one of those moments when the words just seemed to fit. We were taking the timeless truth of Scripture and expressing it in a way that felt fresh, memorable, and hopeful.

What made this collaboration so special was that none of us approached the song as simply another writing project. We all genuinely cared about its message. We wanted to honor the stories of the children and families who had inspired it while creating something that could speak to anyone who has experienced division, rejection, hurt, or the longing to be loved.

And personally, there's something so beautiful about writing alongside your daughter. I grew up singing Babbie Mason's songs, and now, years later, God allowed me to collaborate with both Babbie and my own daughter on a message that is so close to my heart. It's a beautiful picture of how music and faith can be passed from one generation to the next.

I think that's what I treasure most about this song. It was born out of heartbreak, written through collaboration, and ultimately became a declaration of hope.

My prayer is that people don't just sing the words Let Love Win, but that they're inspired to live them. Because when we choose patience over anger, kindness over division, forgiveness over bitterness, and grace over judgment, we begin reflecting the very love of Jesus to a world that desperately needs Him.

Q: You've said that we can "stand for truth without losing love." How does your faith help you live that out when disagreements become personal, and what do you hope God will do through this song?

A: I believe we should absolutely stand for truth and have convictions about what we believe. My faith in Jesus Christ is the foundation of my life, and that's not something I'm willing to compromise. But the older I get and the deeper I grow in my relationship with Him, the more I realize that standing for truth doesn't give us permission to stop loving people.

One of the most important lessons I've learned through my own inner healing journey is that the stories we tell ourselves aren't always the truth. Sometimes those stories are shaped by wounds we've carried, disappointments we've experienced, the environment we grew up in, or even things we were taught in church.

I've had to confront that in my own life. There were beliefs I held about myself and even about the nature of God that I had accepted as truth for years. But as I began pursuing deeper healing and intimacy with Him, He started gently unraveling those false beliefs. I began discovering that some of the things I thought I knew about God were actually limiting my ability to experience the fullness of His love.

There's a term called cognitive dissonance, which describes the internal tension we experience when our beliefs, values, or actions don't line up. And I think we see that happening all around us today.

We say we believe in love, yet sometimes we treat people with contempt when they disagree with us. We say we value truth, but we can become so attached to our own perspective that we're unwilling to listen to someone else's story. We believe God is loving and merciful, yet sometimes the way we represent Him looks nothing like the Jesus we read about in Scripture.

I've come to realize that this kind of inner tension doesn't always have to be something negative. Sometimes it's an invitation from the Holy Spirit to examine our hearts and ask, Lord, is what I'm believing actually aligned with Your Word and Your nature? Or am I seeing this through the lens of my own hurt, fear, or experiences?

And that takes humility.

I think one of the greatest signs of spiritual maturity is being able to hold tightly to our convictions while remaining tenderhearted toward people who see the world differently.

We have to remember that everyone has a story. Everyone has experienced life through a different lens, and we don't always know the wounds or disappointments that have shaped their beliefs.

That's why I love what Scripture says in Romans 2:4-that it's the kindness of God that leads us to repentance. Not our ability to win an argument. Not how loudly we can defend our position. It's His kindness that draws people to His heart.

And 1 Corinthians 13 reminds us that love is patient and kind. It doesn't insist on its own way. That doesn't mean we abandon truth, excuse harmful behavior, or compromise our convictions. It means we learn to speak truth with humility, grace, and compassion.

When disagreements become personal, I want to remember that I don't have to convince someone to believe everything I believe. I can listen. I can love them. I can meet them where they are, just as Jesus so often did.

And ultimately, I can trust the Holy Spirit to do what only He can do-reveal the heart of the Father.

My prayer for Let Love Win is that God would use this song to soften hearts, heal division, and remind us that the person standing on the other side of our disagreement is still someone Jesus loves.

I pray people will begin to recognize the places where fear, offense, pride, or past wounds have shaped the way they see one another, and that they'll have the courage to let God's love heal those places.

Because 1 John 4:18 tells us that perfect love casts out fear. And the love Jesus offers isn't the kind of love the world gives-something conditional, fleeting, or based on whether someone agrees with us. His love is steadfast, sacrificial, and eternal.

At the end of the day, I don't believe we're called to win every argument. We're called to represent the heart of Jesus.

And if this song helps even one person lay down an offense, restore a broken relationship, show compassion to someone they disagree with, or encounter the perfect love of God, then I believe it will have accomplished something eternal.

Because truth and love were never meant to compete. In Jesus, they were always meant to walk together.