Colton Burpo stunned his family when he claimed to have visited heaven during a near-death medical crisis, with his stunning story forming the basis of the hit book, “Heaven Is For Real.”
Burpo, whose family’s story was also shared in the eponymous 2014 film, was just 3 years old in 2003 when his appendix ruptured, and later claimed to have experienced something otherworldly — a heavenly encounter that has inspired millions.
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Today, Burpo is 25 years old and his life has taken many powerful turns. He’s a married man, an electrician, and a worship pastor, and his wife gave birth to the couple’s first child last month.
“[I’ve] been married for … three years in July,” he told CBN News. “I’m about ready to be a first-time dad.”
Burpo also still shares his “Heaven Is For Real” journey, traveling and speaking to audiences who are intrigued by his claims of visiting heaven and meeting Jesus. It’s a process he’s been going through for quite some time after he began sharing alongside his parents as a young person.
Over time, he felt God calling him to go deeper in his faith beyond his heaven story, including in vocation. As a pastor’s kid, Burpo never envisioned he’d be working at a church, but that’s exactly where God has taken him today.
“I remember in high school, that’s around the time that God really started challenging me like — ‘Hey, you don’t have to rely on this one experience with me. I want to do life with you. I want to be a part of your life today,’” he recalled. “And it took me a while to get to that point. But, as you see now, I take my faith very seriously.”
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Burpo seems remarkably unfazed by the glitz and glamour that came from a book and movie about his story, explaining how faith remains at the core of all he does.
“Faith has been something very core to me, because, obviously, if I’m not living my life to give glory and honor to Jesus in whatever I’m doing, then it’s not really worth it,” he said.
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Reprinted with permission from faithwire.com. Copyright © 2025 The Christian Broadcasting Network Inc. All rights reserved.
