Step Into Grace and Redemption Through Mike Cleveland’s Novel The Broken Bridge

Finding Faith in Fiction: Mike Cleveland’s Journey

Mike Cleveland, a seasoned pastor and author, didn’t originally set out to write a story like The Broken Bridge. After spending nearly twenty years delivering sermons and leading a congregation, Mike found himself seeking a fresh way to share the profound truths he had spent his life teaching. Sermons could inspire, instruct, and encourage—but stories, he realized, had a unique power to resonate, lingering in the heart long after the words had faded.

Writing The Broken Bridge became unexpectedly transformative for Mike. As he poured his heart into the narrative, he often found himself overwhelmed by emotion. The story, an allegory featuring characters Fidel and Verita, drew him deeper into an exploration of Christ’s love—illustrating in fiction what he’d spent decades preaching from the pulpit. Fidel and Verita’s persistent communication across an impossible gap mirrored the powerful and continuous connection believers have with Christ, despite life’s struggles.

Inspiration from Real Life Challenges

Mike drew inspiration for The Broken Bridge during a difficult time for his local community. He watched as genuine attempts to resolve deep-rooted issues repeatedly came up short. Despite sincerity and well-intentioned efforts—whether through laws, knowledge, rituals, or personal development—something critical was always missing. The allegory provided Mike with a new way to depict humanity’s constant struggle to bridge the divides separating individuals from true healing and reconciliation.

The novel introduces six different characters, each committed to building a new bridge using distinct approaches. Through perfect law, extensive knowledge, religious rituals, acts of service, positive thinking, and personal transformation, these bridge-builders symbolize the various ways people try—and ultimately fail—to fully reconcile their deepest conflicts. Rather than dismissing these efforts, Mike gently highlights their insufficiency, pointing toward a deeper truth that only selfless, sacrificial love can achieve.

Portraying Love’s Profound Mystery

Crafting the character of Geshriel, who represents Christ within the story, was perhaps Mike’s greatest challenge and privilege. How could he authentically portray such a powerful, divine love without losing its depth and mystery? Every scene involving Geshriel required thoughtful prayer and reflection, especially when depicting the sacrifice that Geshriel endures. Mike openly admits to shedding tears during these writing sessions—not from sadness, but from the sheer intensity of encountering divine love through fiction.

Even the narrative’s timeline was intentional. The seven-year separation between Fidel and Verita carries symbolic significance rooted in biblical tradition, where the number seven represents completion and perfection. Those long years became a metaphor for faithful perseverance in the face of uncertainty. Their daily signals across the divide beautifully captured the essence of enduring hope, continuous prayer, and steadfast belief.

A Message of Hope and Transformation

Mike’s intention behind The Broken Bridge was clear from the outset: he wanted readers to connect deeply with the transformative message of the gospel. Whether readers found themselves in Fidel’s shoes, patiently waiting and hoping; identified with the community, repeatedly facing disappointments; or recognized their own earnest but insufficient efforts through the six bridge-builders—Mike’s story offered a personal reflection of the human condition and its ultimate remedy in divine love.

The novel’s impact isn’t limited to its allegorical message. Mike’s storytelling blends accessible language with literary depth, creating relatable, complex characters and scenarios. Readers are drawn into an emotional and spiritual journey that challenges them to examine their own beliefs, struggles, and hopes.

Outside of his writing, Mike’s life reflects the values he shares through his work. Having founded Setting Captives Free Ministries in 2000, his dedication to helping others experience freedom and redemption remains unwavering. Together with his wife Jody, Mike has navigated life’s joys and sorrows, raising a family deeply grounded in faith. With seven children and four grandchildren, his personal experiences continually enrich his storytelling.

In his leisure time, Mike enjoys the natural beauty of the Pacific Northwest, finding inspiration and renewal on its trails. Yet whether preaching, hiking, or writing fiction, Mike’s passion remains consistent: helping people encounter the life-changing power of love and faith.

Through The Broken Bridge, Mike Cleveland offers more than just a compelling story—he extends an invitation to readers, inviting them to discover a love powerful enough to bridge every chasm, mend every heart, and restore hope in even the most challenging circumstances.