Actress Sierra McClain’s Hollywood career has come full-circle with her personal faith journey. In McClain’s role as Grace Ryder on FOX’s 9-1-1: Lone Star, her character left her former life and family to serve a higher calling with Mercy Ships, the global nonprofit delivering free, life-changing medical care to underserved communities via hospital ships.
You probably know Sierra McClain as the fiercely talented actress lighting up the screen in 9-1-1: Lone Star. But what if we told you she’s using her platform for more than Hollywood glitz? McClain is now combining faith, service, and storytelling in a powerful way—partnering with Mercy Ships and the Glorify app to deliver a soul-touching devotional series that’s spreading inspiration across the globe. Let’s dive into how Sierra is turning her celebrity into a mission—and why you’ll want to listen in.
And now, McClain has partnered with Mercy Ships in her real life to help write and narrate a seven-day devotional series called Moments of Purpose through the Glorify app, which launched on June 23. “It feels unconventional,” says McClain. “My relationship with God has become something incredibly personal and very real.” McClain and her family lived in Atlanta in her early years, where her dad worked at a church. “We went [to church] every Wednesday and Sunday, we went to Bible study and then service. It was beautiful, I loved it,” she shares.
Her family soon moved to Los Angeles, where McClain’s career was further established with roles on FOX’s series Empire, Netflix’s Mindhunter, and later her pivotal role as Grace Ryder on FOX’s 9-1-1: Lone Star in 2020. During her time on 9-1-1: Lone Star, McClain says she had a “spiritual epiphany.”
“That’s what this whole journey felt like. Certain things took a backseat, and I talk about it in this devotional series. I was working on Lonestar, and everything was moving [professionally]–but spiritually, everything kind of stopped. And I realized, ‘Wait a second? What’s happening?’ And the realization hit that I had been on autopilot.” McClain shares it was then that that God started working in her heart as her work began slowing down. “My surroundings became a mirror through my family members and having to sit with myself–to understand what was happening in my soul. I felt stuck.”
McClain soon embarked on a healing journey that “reshaped my entire understanding and perspective and relationship with God.” She dug deep, finally taking her pain regarding relationships and family to God. I said, ‘God I don’t know where to go from here. I’m upset, I’m in pain.’ And then He would talk to me and give me direction, or things to do in little moments.” The journey inspired her new devotional series. McClain was approached by Mercy Ships who saw her role as Grace transpire on TV, and quickly dove into creating the devotional.
