Joseph L. Williams is the author of Hardship, Healing, and Hope: How God Still Moves in the Lives of His People
The organization Joseph works for (New Directions International) was an early pioneer in promoting integration. It was started by his father, J.L. Williams, four years before Joseph was born. It began in the late 1960s as an interracial singing group comprised of high school students who met at the YMCA. Invitations for the group to sing began to grow as they exemplified racial harmony during a very tense time in American history. The group traveled predominantly up and down the east coast, singing in churches, at various events and crusades, wherever they got an invitation. At the height of their popularity, the New Directions singing group had a weekly program on CBN.
Joseph and his three siblings spent their summers traveling with the group and practically living on the tour bus, often sleeping in the overhead luggage racks with his younger brother, Jonathan. The group began to get invitations to sing in the Caribbean and Mexico. Thus began the international ministry of New Directions. On these overseas trips, Joseph's father also preached and taught after the group sang. The whole family went several times with the group to Haiti.
In the 1980s, the ministry fully transitioned from an interracial singing group to cross-cultural missions in Third World countries. When Joseph finished college in 1995, he joined NDI's staff. Though he wasn't looking to work for his father, he was obedient to God's call and proceeded through the ranks like any other employee starting as Videographer, then becoming Project Manager, Director of Overseas Operations, and Vice President. 12 years after coming on staff, Joseph was selected by the NDI Board of Directors as Chief Executive Officer on January 1, 2007.
Throughout his years in fulltime ministry, Joseph has visited numerous countries, met many amazing people, and heard incredible stories. They were the inspiration for his book
Hardship, Healing, and Hope: How God Still Moves in the Lives of His People.
