Episode 15 - Sharing Your Testimony

In this episode, Pastor Shaun is joined by Rudy Stoesz to discuss the power of a personal story and how God uses ordinary people, empowered by His Spirit, to share an extraordinary message.

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:01

Welcome to the journey. My name is Sean Olsen. And as you walk your faith life out, we just simply want to have conversations. After over two decades of ministry, I believe faith and discipleship is better in a relational context. So we're going to invite some of my closest friends and family into this office and have conversations about faith and life in the context of relationship. So do me a favor, like, share, and subscribe because your friends and family need to take this journey with you. So let's dive in to a conversation right now. Hey, welcome back to the journey. We're super excited that you're here. Again, these are conversations of faith. I believe our faith is best lived out in the context of relationship and in the context of life-giving conversation. And we considered it a great honor to be a part of your journey. If this is your first time catching up, my name's Sean Olsen, and I'm super excited that you're here. And I'm here with one of my newest and best friends, uh Rudy, uh, who just joined us here at this on staff at the church I lead at Adventure Church. Rudy, give them a rough introduction of who you are and your family, and we'll even talk a little bit of how we got connected.

SPEAKER_00 1:17

Yeah, for sure. Glad to be on the podcast today. I was really excited when you talked to me about, you know, coming on and uh kind of sharing my story. So yeah, my name's Rudy. I've got a beautiful wife and two children, ages 10 and 8. So really great season of life for us, you know, watching these kiddos. It feels like yesterday they were just little newborns and now they're 10 and 8. So I was watching them get on the bus this morning. I'm like, wow, time flies, but blessed, you know, blessed to be a dad. And I'm probably my the thing that I'm most proud of is being a dad, you know. That's kind of the first and and foremost thing is like being a dad is such an honor. So I'm a dad, I'm a husband. Um kind of my story is I've always loved music. So growing up, my dad um loved music, he loved choir, he loved instruments, but he didn't play instruments. So as a young kid, I got introduced to musical instruments. My dad would buy them, bringing them into the home, and just see what we would pick up. And eventually I kind of got into you know multiple different instruments and and writing music, and so that was always kind of my story. And fast forward to today, you know, being in worship ministry is kind of the fulfillment of all those years that my dad kind of poured into me in in the music world. So that's what you know I got hired to do here is lead the uh worship and creative teams and really feel like I'm living out the calling that that God has on my life. And I get to do it with my wife and with my kids, and they love being a part of it.

SPEAKER_01 2:52

So you certainly got a great, a great family. Uh, I remember when Angela and I were looking for someone that we could potentially bring as a part of the team here at Venture Church. Obviously, we think that Venture Church is a really special place, uh, and bringing somebody in was uh some it was exciting and scary simultaneously because we believe our culture is so special. Uh and we had looked at some resumes, we had talked to some people, and one night we are sitting at our house, and I find an old, old video of you and Steph, and you were sharing your Jesus story. And Angela had come home, and uh I was watching this and I restarted it, and as we watched it, she just kept leaning over, she goes, These are our people. Uh, I think at that point, me and you had only had one conversation, but what captivated us was your love first and foremost for Jesus and your love for each other. And I really, as we dive into a conversation for our listeners today, what we want to empower you to do on your faith journey is it is imperative that all of us share our Jesus story. Uh, so many people are intimidated to share their Jesus story, but I'm reminded of uh the guy in John chapter 9. Uh Jesus had healed him and he's blind, and and now he's being interrogated and he's being questioned by the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and like, tell us how this happened and what happened. And he gets to the end of this statement I've always loved. He goes, Listen, I don't have all the answers, but what I do know is I was blind and now I see. And I think sometimes we get caught off in having the answers and not responding with our story. And as our listeners and and as you're tuning into the podcast today, what we want to do is we want to encourage you to share your Jesus story. And what's beautiful about that is your story is so clearly different than my story. We grew up different. Uh I don't do cold weather. You're from Canada, uh, right? Like we, our family makeups are different, but we have the same savior that has done things in our story. And we hope as you're walking your faith out that you feel inspired today to go out and share your testimony. You know what? You're not gonna have all the answers. People are gonna ask answers about theological questions, and you're going, I don't know what to say to that. And you can almost get to the end of that like that blind guy, go, you know what? I don't have all the answers, but I know this. Before Jesus, I was lost. Before Jesus, I didn't have hope. Before Jesus, this is what my life looked like. And after Jesus, now I have hope. Now I have this. So today our goal uh is to inspire our listeners, to inspire the people that are watching this or consuming this to share their Jesus story and let them get to know a little bit of your Jesus story. So let's dive into kind of your Jesus story.

SPEAKER_00 5:39

Yeah. It's a really interesting story because I grew up in a religious home. So you would think, well, you know, he got saved the moment he came into the world because, you know, growing up religious wasn't the case. Religion and relationship are two different things. 100%. I grew up in a home that, you know, we'd go to church every Sunday, but we didn't have a personal relationship with Jesus. My parents didn't, you know, growing up Mennonite, which is my background, you lived a very religious lifestyle, but you didn't know that you were saved because you didn't have a relationship personally with Jesus. So you did all the things, you prayed all the prayers, you but it was more of just a religious pattern because it was the same prayer every time. You know, you go to church, you kneel, you pray, you sing, and it became a pattern to the point where when I became a teenager, I didn't want to even be a part of it. I'm like, what's really the point of all of this? I didn't feel like there was anything in it for me. So I kind of fell away and just really started living for the world. And my parents continued in this religious pattern, but I could tell they were unhappy. You know, they got to a place where they're like, what is all of this even for?

SPEAKER_01 6:56

Sure. So I think that's important for listeners that are raising children to understand there's there's multiple aspects of us passing on faith. Uh getting your kids to come to church is one thing, investigating the personal connection you have your kids have with Jesus is an entirely different thing. Uh and there's kids, I mean, I was raised in church. My dad's a pastor. If we've never met personally, you don't know my story or my Jesus story. My dad was a pastor. I was raised uh in church each and every week. It's amazing how you can be around Jesus and not know Jesus. And so many times those are the people that the world bypasses to even reach because we don't look lost, yeah, and yet we're completely lost. Yeah. So as you got a little older, you didn't want any part to do with it. That's a narrative for so many church kids, regardless of the religious affiliation.

SPEAKER_00 7:47

Yeah. And it was really cool how that kind of in that season of my life, going back to how I started, kind of my introduction was my dad loved music, and that's always been kind of our, you know, the thing that we connect on the most. And so I was on this journey to eventually take over the family farm. I grew up on a farm after high school. I farmed with my dad for four years, cherish every moment of that time I got to spend with him. Um, but I just didn't really feel like farming was my thing. So I said one day I really sat my dad down. I'm like, I don't think this is gonna be what I end up doing with my life. I feel called to go into something that involves music. And so I basically asked for his blessing to apply at the University of Lethbridge to go another music program. And my whole goal was to go get my degree in it and then, you know, enter the entertainment world and and just travel the world as a secular entertainer. And that's exactly what I did. I applied, I got into the program, I started studying music. My dad kept farming, you know. He was okay. He was like, if this is your dream and this is what you want to do, go do it. Because he loved music and he could see it in me. So he's like, by all means, if this isn't what you want to do, go and do that. I get to university and I start studying. I finished my first year, you know, towards the end of that year. One of my roommates had gone to Mexico on a missions trip. He was a believer. I was like, I'm just gonna go and chase music, chase the world. He comes back, and whatever happened to him in Mexico was he just came back on fire, like he hadn't been before. He was a believer, he was serving at his church, I was just rooming with him, and he came back and he was like on a whole new level on fire because he had seen things that he hadn't previously seen. And he kept nagging me about church and Jesus, and to the point where I was like, I don't know, but there's something about what I see in him, his testimony, something had shifted in to the point where I was like, if I can live like that, what I'm currently doing, I thought was going to fulfill me, but it was getting to that point where I realized I can go do all these things, but there's something missing in my life, you know.

SPEAKER_01 10:09

And I want to actually lean into that right there. If you'll just put a benchmark in your story, uh, how powerful is it that it's a friend's faith that was so contagious that made you hungry for it? Yeah. And, you know, this is such an appropriate time to teach people. People already see your transition, they already see your fire for the Holy Spirit. One, that's why it's important for us to stay close to Jesus and stoke that hunger. Two, I love the persistency of your friend. Not I've heard the story a couple times, not inherently pushing, not inherently like, but like, listen, this has changed my life. I want it to change your life. Uh, and I think that is a very powerful thing. You're now on staff at our church, raising your kids in the church, in ministry, communicating the gospel, leading people in worship, and we can date it back to a friend that had so much fire of the passion of the Holy Spirit and so much persistency with you that you finally gave in. Uh, and I just want to encourage you, you think your testimony is small, you think the invitation is small, it changes lives. Yeah. Uh, and if we don't have the boldness and the courage to step out and say, This is what's going on in me, and it would be good for you too, we're not just limiting what God's doing in our story. It's in countless other stories because we don't know what he's gonna do on the other side of that invitation. Yeah. So I love that your friend's a part of your story.

SPEAKER_00 11:31

Mm-hmm. And truly his testimony and how he lived that is what drew me in. And so we get to a point where we're up late one night, and I remember the date because I wrote it in the Bible that I had at the time, April 3rd, 2011. I'll never forget that night. We're sitting in his car. I'm getting to the point where I'm realizing this hole in my life, this God-shaped hole, if you will, there's something missing. I want to fill that. And I got to the point where I realized I know what I need to do. I need Jesus in my life. We're sitting in his car, we're listening to I don't know which song it was, but I know it was a song by the band Third Day. I wasn't super into Christian music at the time, but something about he was playing the song in the background, we're sitting there chatting, and something just like almost just like overpowered me to the point where I was so drawn into our conversation, and all of a sudden I just blurted out, I want Jesus. And I like I want Jesus. And he had been waiting for this moment. He was prepared to lead me through a salvation prayer. And as soon as I was like, I I need what you have, he's he knew what to do. And I think that's part of you know, our testimony is often like, are we prepared to lead people through that when they are ready? In his case, he was ready. He's like, You want Jesus? Let me tell you exactly what you need to do. And he walked me through the steps, you know, confess that you're a sinner. Yeah. And we did it right there in his car. We prayed the salvation prayer. I confess Jesus as my Lord, you know. And I remember finishing that prayer and just in that moment thinking, I don't know what's changed, but I feel like I'm more fulfilled than I've ever been in my life. The music was still playing. I got so excited, I picked up my phone. It was about one in the morning at that time, and I called my parents, and they weren't even saved yet. They were still living their religious. I called them, woke them up, and said, Guess what just happened? Like, I I just prayed a prayer, I received Jesus into my life. Like I was so excited. And my friend was obviously over the moon that you know, he got me to a place where I finally realized my need, and I'd prayed the prayer. And it was such an exciting moment, and then reality set in on the other side of that because now I was facing spiritual things that I hadn't I didn't even know existed before.

SPEAKER_01 14:11

Yeah, and I want to lean in for just a moment into your friend actually leading you to Jesus in that and you mentioning it's an exciting moment. One of the things that shapes our faith is when we bring someone else to faith. And we kind of take this ownership. I'm reminded of, you know, Andrew, uh, when he meets Jesus, his first reaction is, I gotta go tell my brother. I gotta go tell somebody. I've met Jesus, I need to go bring somebody into this with me. And I think a lot of our disposition as we encounter Jesus is, I need more of him. And we do, we do need more of him. But the goal is that I bring people on this journey with me. And I want to encourage all of our leaders, a part of growing in your faith, a part of your discipleship journey is leading someone to Jesus. Uh, and it is something that so few believers do because we exclude ourselves from the Great Commission. We think it's a Sunday morning thing. Let the church lead people to Jesus. I will grow with Jesus. Matthew 28, the Great Commission, go and make disciples, isn't for the church, it's for the body. We are the church, right? We are called to go out and be disciples to make disciples and then make disciples. And that's how the church multiplies. And if you want something that will truly sharpen your faith, you want something that will truly challenge your faith, I encourage you one-on-one lead someone to Jesus at your kitchen table and watch how your life will forever be changed. It didn't just change your life in that moment, it changed your friend's life.

SPEAKER_00 15:37

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 15:38

And you're right on the other side of it now, you're starting to see the results of faith, which isn't always fun. There is some spiritual things at play now that you started to see. So continue your testimony.

SPEAKER_00 15:50

Yeah, so the the moment was powerful. Um, I realized really quickly, obviously, he invited me to church, which, you know, I didn't get saved in a church building. I got saved at 1 a.m. in a car, led, you know, to Jesus by my friend. But of course, the next step was he invited me to his church. So I go to his church and I just get this like overwhelming sense that I need to use my musical gift not to chase the world, the secular, the performance, all the things I was actually doing and enrolled in and on a track to finish school and chase that. And I just thought I need to do what I wanted to do, but do it for the Lord, you know. And that was really a defining moment for me where I started shifting from wanting to be an entertainer to wanting to lead worship because I'm like, God gave me this gift of music, but now I see why He put it in me. I needed to use it to build a kingdom, I needed to do it in a church setting. And I got plugged into the worship team at that church, and it completely changed the trajectory of everything that I thought I wanted in my life, but in a much more fulfilling way, you know. And so I started leading worship, and that to this day is is my biggest passion in life, is is music, yes, but more specifically worship. Yeah, you know. But in that time frame, I started noticing and I have to give a little bit of context here, but I had struggled with just severe OCD for a number of years to the point where it was I was living a normal life, but it could become debilitating. You know, it was like I would obsess over things to the point where it was like affecting my everyday life. But I had learned to somewhat deal with it after I got saved, all of the like things that I used to deal with O C D wise became very, very spiritual to the point where the enemy used that in a way to really make me obsess over you're not, you know, you're not really saved. You're so good. Um you've done this, this, and this, you're going to hell anyway, so why even bother? Yep. Um, and it got to the point where I actually hit the lowest point of my life within the first three months of me being saved. Where I started questioning everything. I was like, I was supposed to have this, I remember that moment of coming to Jesus and that like freedom. I felt I had a glimpse of it, and then the enemy was like, No way, like let's take him back down. And and I got to the point where I was like, I don't know if I can actually do this. I don't know if I can walk the walk. Wow. And the religious upbringing that I had had drove me to works. And I was like, if I just get rid of these CDs, if I just get rid of, you know, if I don't do this or do this or say this, if I can just do enough works, I think I can earn my way to freedom. And then I realized that's never going to work. And what ultimately set me free in the course of that three months was really getting into the word on my own, digging into what does God actually say about grace, salvation, works. And then Ephesians 2, 8 to 9. You know, where he talks about grace is a gift. When you got saved, that was a gift that God gave you. You know, it wasn't a reward for obedience. You know, I think because if it was a reward out of my obedience, I could boast about it. Where it talks about, you know, it's it's given freely, so you can't boast about it.

SPEAKER_01 19:49

Well, and I think if it's works-based, this is how the enemy comes in specifically as it pertains to sharing our testimony and sharing the gospel. If it's works-based, then there's an arbitrary line that I can achieve that then qualifies me to share the gospel. You know, I've met so many people like, well, I'm not a good enough Christian yet. Uh, or I'm still struggling with X, so I don't feel like I can share a testimony or share the gospel because I'm still struggling with this and control and earning my way. So it they look at somebody like a you or a me that stands on a stage and they go, they can do it because they've achieved. We don't do that because we've achieved anything. We do that because we're reliant on the grace of God and the power, and this is what I really want to uh communicate. Romans 116, I think it is, uh, talks about the power in the gospel, right? The power isn't in your perfection or your performance. The power is revealing the gospel and his presence to other people. And two things I'll tell you if you wait till you're good enough, the story will be about your effort and not his. Yeah. And if you wait till you're good enough, you're gonna keep waiting. You're gonna wait and wait and wait. And what you're going to believe is that there's someone else good enough to tell the story, and you'll miss opportunities to share your testimony. And Revelation said that we've been set free by the word of our testimony, the blood of the Lamb, and the word of our testimony, right? That's how we overcome. Our testimonies are powerful. Uh, and the enemy wants to use those early stages of our life, yeah, the early stages of our faith to suffocate the fire that's growing in us, uh, because we now don't feel like we're good enough.

SPEAKER_00 21:29

Exactly. And that actually, that feeling, that thought pattern kept me from being baptized. It kept me from sharing my testimony. I think I was scheduled to be baptized three times and the you know, week leading up to each one, I canceled it because I was like, I'm I'm not good enough to be baptized. I haven't done enough. And I had to really get to a place again where I was getting into the word to the point where. Where it it I had to come to the understanding that it was grace that saved me. It was never works. But I just didn't understand it at the time. You know, new Christian, very, very much raised in works. And it was a whole like mind shift that had to happen. And so what really changed for me was I had to really start being very careful of the thoughts that I let into my head because every, you know, every action starts with a thought, you know, followed by a feeling, followed by an action. And so I was real I was kind of in this cycle of unhealthy thoughts. And the enemy was using that, and being OCD, I was obsessing over them, you know, to the point where it was very unhealthy. And it was actually 2 Corinthians 10 5, where it talks about um we demolish every you know argument that sets itself up against the knowledge of Christ. And then following that, it's like take we take every thought captive and make it obedient to Christ. And when I read that for the first time, I was like, that's it, that's the key. I've been letting these thoughts come in. No gate, no gatekeeper, letting them come in, fester, stir up all this stuff in me. And I'm like, if I can apply this verse, and I did, and it set me free. It was the word, you know, that scripture in particular that made me realize I can actually take my thoughts captive. And I was dealing with a lot of intrusive thoughts, which was the hard part. It was thoughts I didn't want to have, but they were like it was just like coming in left, right, and center. And I was like, these aren't mine, but I would feel guilty for having them, even though I knew like these aren't my thoughts, I would never think this, to the point where I actually thought, like, I've lost my salvation because I've had too many bad thoughts. Wow. It was brutal. But to go back to taking every thought captive, that's really what set me free from those intrusive thoughts. They were still coming, you know, I'd still have intrusive thoughts, but I got to the point where I was able to say, and I really started just like saying the name of Jesus out loud every time an intrusive thought would come in. I'd be like, it's not my thought in the name of Jesus. I declare it be gone from my mind. I'm not giving this any, you know, space to, you know, plant itself in my mind. And I had to do that for a season to the point where it got exhausting, but it led to so much freedom in my mind where today I still have intrusive thoughts. Yeah, you know, it's so much easier now to be able to not let them take root.

SPEAKER_01 24:38

I want to have a sidebar. I know today I want to talk about sharing your testimony, but I do feel compelled to offer some peace. You know, it's okay to be saved, but struggling. And I think there's so many people that would sit in the seat in the sign the thought that you have that the enemy questions my salvation because of my current struggle. And as you walk out your salvation, right? Uh Galatians 5, we've been in a series, walk by the spirit, not by the flesh, right? The whole thing. As you walk out your salvation, your struggle does not discount his salvation. Yeah. And uh I want to tell you, if you find yourself as you're walking this journey out, and we love walking with you, and you would identify saved but struggling, let me tell you, you're not the only one. And Jesus and his word is what will get you through it. Um, we've walked with Jesus for a lot of years. I've walked with Christ for the better part of three decades at this point. And I want to tell you that even now in my 40s, raising two got two kids, a beautiful wife, lead pastor of a growing, vibrant church that has full-time staff, you still have moments where you struggle. And let me tell you, that's a part of growing in your faith. You know, so if you find yourself saved but struggling, uh, find peace in it. You know, it's okay. He never leaves you, he doesn't forsake you. You are set free. I'm reminded of scripture I used uh either this Sunday or previous Sunday, who who he who the Son sets free will be free indeed. Uh just because you're in the process doesn't mean the promise doesn't exist, and just because you're struggling doesn't mean your salvation wasn't real. Yeah. So that's a little sidebar for you. Uh I do want to kind of come back to the idea of struggling and waiting, because I think that's a lot of people that are trying to work out their salvation and understand it fully, and in that we overcomplicate them the idea of sharing the gospel.

SPEAKER_00 26:39

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 26:39

Uh so continue to tell us your story.

SPEAKER_00 26:42

Yeah, I mean, that obviously that season was a season of a lot of learning and a lot of growth. And I also realized I hadn't been struggling with the spiritual side of it because I hadn't I had never had a relationship with Jesus. So of course this was opening up a whole new door, you know, for the enemy to come in and and attack me, you know, on a spiritual level. But I got through those three months, you know, and it started the more I got into the word, you know, the more I started understanding. Because I'd only ever seen God as a God that was always angry. That's how I felt anyway. You know, growing up, it was like if I do the wrong thing, he's gonna strike me down. So I had a a fear of God that was unhealthy. Like I just saw him as an angry like if you mess up, that's it. You know, like I never saw God as a loving God growing up. So of course I was in this constant state of fear. Well, if I mess up or this intrusive thought comes in, or I do this, then well, that's it. He's just gonna give up on me. So I really had to as I read more about who God is and the character of God, I'm like, He's a loving God. Sure. Wait a second, he's not this angry man in the sky waiting to smite me every time I mess up. He's actually there to pick me up and walk with me. And the more I understood who God really was in the character of God, the more I started understanding the grace and how it was grace that had saved me. So that combined with, you know, scripture like Romans 12, 2, where it talks about do not conform to the patterns of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Well, transformation didn't just happen overnight for me. Like you said, it's a pro transformation is a process. So renewing my mind from you know all the things that I had grown up with, how I viewed God, how I viewed now my salvation and works, and shifting all of that into like, you know, grace save me, God loves me. That transformation took a while. But I'm glad I walked through it. Yeah. Because it allowed me to have more grace, you know, fast forward into you know the years that I spent prior to this in ministry, even working with people in in addictions and different things like that. It allowed me to show so much more grace to people because of what I had gone through. Yeah. And uh, I think that's often part of our testimony is God allows us to walk through that so that we can help other people down the road that are walking through. It's crazy because at the time I thought I was the only person that dealt with intrusive thoughts. I was like, I must be alone in this. Like everyone else seems to be doing fine. The longer I lived in that, you know, the longer you're alive, the more you get to meet people down the road that are like, wait, I struggle with this.

SPEAKER_01 29:45

And I think that's a powerful part of sharing your testimony too, is your testimony breaks the lie of isolation, right? Uh, I can't put my finger on the scripture right now, but you know, multiple times throughout scripture, the devil is reverted to like a lion. And I like that it says like a lion because God is the lion of Judah, right? Satan is an imitator of something that is powerful. That's right. Uh, and he comes in like a lion. And if you ever look at how a lion hunts, it isolates its prey before it devours its prey. And there's a reality that the enemy wants to isolate you in your struggle and your sorrow because we are weakest when we are isolated. And when you share your testimony, you're not just breaking isolation in yourself, you're breaking isolation in others. That's because they get to go, wait, you struggled with that? There's gonna be people that listen to this podcast that see you lead worship on Sunday morning on the stage at Venture Church, and they're gonna go, wait, you struggle with that, and your worship and your testimony will bring their victory because it breaks the bondage of isolation. Uh, so I think it is important that when we share our testimony, we understand we're breaking the isolation in us and in others. That's why the enemy wants to hold your voice. He wants to hold your testimony back because he's afraid that when you speak it, someone else is gonna go, yes. That I I I deal with that too.

SPEAKER_00 31:07

Exactly.

SPEAKER_01 31:07

I deal with that too. You know, I'll give you a for instance, you know, it's amazing. 80% of men in America right now have some sort of struggle with some kind of pornography. Nobody would talk about it. Why? Because there's a shame, and that shame silences me. And when I stay silent, I can't break free on my own. When I speak my testimony, when I speak my victory, when I speak what Jesus has done for me, it completes it or continues it in me and it breaks it free in the other person. Uh, this is why, as you walk out your faith journey, it is imperative that you begin to shape your testimony in a way that when you can, you get to share it. I loved your testimony. Uh, you know, when I heard it that night on a YouTube video, I watched it two times, and my wife and I, of course, Steph, your wife was there with you on that interview. Uh, and she's an incredible woman of God. You guys are awesome parents. But it was that testimony that gripped our heart. Your testimony will connect you with people that God wants to use you to reach.

SPEAKER_00 32:07

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 32:08

Continue your story for just a minute, and then I want to equip our listeners uh to share the gospel.

SPEAKER_00 32:14

Yeah, so kind of to wrap up, it was a few years after that, you know, I started going to church more, and and yeah, there was there was ups and downs and and different struggles that, you know, I had to learn how to, you know, navigate along the way. But um it was a few years after I got saved. It was actually two years after that not even quite two years that I met Stephanie. And we were both in worship ministries at two different churches in in Lethbridge, which is southern Alberta. And we had met through some mutual friends and connected, you know, found out we both love Jesus, we both love worship, and after two weeks of knowing each other, we started dating. And five months later we got engaged, four months after that we got married. So it was it was really quick, but we just knew that God had called us to do something together. Yeah. And we ended up actually she was going to a church. I was going to a church, we get married, and we're like, we need to find a church that we can call our own, like something that we both feel like we're called to. And so we ended up at a church that really launched our like life of ministry together in worship. We started leading worship together at a young adults group, which led to leading worship at a youth group, and then eventually, you know, Sunday morning church, we started leading worship. Out of that, ended up planting one church, planting another church, and just continued to learn and grow in worship and ministry. And, you know, I got to do a lot of outreach ministry, which looking back again, it was really cool to see how my testimony. We used to go to these uh rehab facilities and and we'd preach the gospel and we'd we'd worship with the men, and I was often I shared my testimony. Yeah. And again, to go back to the power of a testimony, you know, they would see someone like me up there leading worship, and then I'd share my testimony. And the amount of guys that would come up after and say, I had no idea, you know, I felt like your testimony, like seeing you lead like that, and then hearing what you struggle with, that really helped me today. Yeah. And we were able to, you know, lead so many men to Jesus just through the power of testimony. And it kind of became this moment later on where I realized, like I said earlier, the importance of what I had walked through wasn't just it wasn't for me. It wasn't God saying, Hey, I want you to just struggle. Yep. Not at all. Like, I mean, He wants us to live free, but I had to walk through that to shape my testimony to help other people that were struggling with similar things. And so um I just love how God has used my story and and all the struggles that I've walked through to really shape a testimony that I've seen so many people relate to over the years, and has been a source of you know inspiration for them to turn to Jesus and be like, well, if God brought him through that, he can bring me through that. That's right.

SPEAKER_01 35:25

And so there's a couple things I would say about shaping a story as you begin to shape your testimony, as you shaped yours. Uh, one, uh, I love that your story doesn't end in perfection. You know, I think sometimes we want to wait till our story is complete to share it. Uh, let me tell you, you're still in process. Yeah. So a few things I would say is share whatever the Lord leads you to prior to Christ. You don't have to share all your struggles, your sorrows, and your scars. But hey, before Jesus, I struggle with OCD, I struggle with intrusive thoughts. Uh, I struggled with this. I met Jesus. I am on my pathway to freedom. I am in, I am in process, I am in freedom. Because if I point that I'm done, I'm good, I'm perfect, the expectation on me is so high, I will never feel the power to be real. That's right. So there's two things I want to tell you. Shape your story that it has handles and you can share it. It doesn't have to be long, it doesn't have to be drawn out. It is your story. You're the only person that can share it. Know, like your friend, how to land and share the gospel. There's two things simultaneously that every believer, I believe, needs to know how to share: their testimony and the gospel. You put those two together, you can lead a friend to Jesus. And that's a part of our faith. It's an expectation of our faith. So if you're a note taker and you're listening to this and you're watching, get your notepad out because I'm getting ready to share how I have always taught people to share the gospel. So I loved your story, and now I want to walk through if you were to take that story and add it to a gospel presentation, how in your living room, your kitchen, a car at one o'clock in the morning, your workplace, how do you lead someone through the gospel presentation? And I break it down pretty easily for people because I'm a youth pastor at heart that now is a lead pastor. It is literally gospel, G-O-S-P-E-L. And I want to break this down because I think it is so important. Uh, I know there's the Romans Road to Salvation. You can look that up. It's all over the place. There's so many pathways. But for me, as I think about sharing the heart of the entire story, this does it. Gospel G-O-S-P-E-L. God created us to be with him, our sins separated from him. Paying the price for sin, Jesus died and rose again. Sins cannot be removed by good deeds, and everyone who believes in him has eternal life, and life with him starts now and lasts forever. Let me now slow down and break that out. God created us to be with him. I think this is a fundamental miss when we share the gospel. We often start with everyone's sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Well, the emphasis on starting there is on my sin, not his desire. It disarms so many people when you start, just like you said, I thought God was mad. I thought God was a distant, all-powerful being. And there's so many people that have that mindset of who God is. And when you start the gospel, like, hey, do you actually know? Do you actually know that God's initial design was to be with you? Like that's that was his design. His design, he's not mad at you. He's not this distant being that never wanted anything to do in your life. Yeah. The initial part, starting place of the gospel was God created us to be with him. So if you're taking notes and you're writing this pathway down, I think it's really powerful when you start with people like, hey, I just want to, I want to tell you about my faith. And I want to lead you into a story here. Did you know that God, creator of heaven and earth, created all this because he wants. He desires to be with you. Now I step in and go, but you know what? Our sin, and that's my sin and your sin, our sins created this separation, which means this, it wasn't his fault. It's our and us. So it didn't replace his desire. He still desires to be with us. So God created us to be with him. Our, that's the O of gospel, our sins separated from him. Right? G-O-S, sins cannot be removed by good deeds. This is that works thing, right? So many people go, you know what? I recognize I've messed up, I'm going to do better. And they enter the lifelong search or the lifelong trap of religiousness and works-based living, and I'm going to be successful, I'm going to be this. And we have to break that myth as we share the gospel. So again, I'm going to keep walking you through it. God created us to be with him. Our sins separated from him. Sins cannot be removed by good deeds. You can live your life as good as you can the rest of your life and you'll still fall short. And that feels scary, but there's a piece because the P Paying the price for sin, Jesus died and rose again. This is the pinnacle of the gospel story. And what's beautiful is you tell it like this, you're actually getting the entire narrative of the Bible condensed into six words. Paying the price for sin, Jesus died and he rose again. And I love that because it points pointedly, it's so appropriate, points at the work of the cross. And I think sometimes we try to share the gospel and remove the cross. You can't. Paying the price for sin, Jesus died and rose again. And then the E, so G-O-S-P-E, everyone who believes in him has eternal life. Yeah. And that everyone is you, that everyone is me. Uh, and that does not include no matter who you are, what you've done. At Venture Church, we say it like this: we are, in fact, church for all people, every man, woman, and child. And I believe that the gospel is accessible and available to everyone. And everyone who believes in him has eternal life in L. This I think is a big thing that's often missed when we share the gospel too. Life with Jesus starts now and lasts for eternity. We make it so much about eternity that we forget God doesn't just save us from the hell we're going to, he saves us from the hell we're going through. And that's the gospel. So one more time for our note takers, I want to break it down. God created us to be with him, our sins separated from him. Sins cannot be removed by good deeds. Paying the price for sin, Jesus died and rose again. Everyone who believes in him has eternal life, and life with him starts now and lasts forever. That's how you share the gospel. And then I would get to the end of that, and I trained hundreds and thousands of teenagers to do this. I would say, what's stopping you from believing in Jesus right now?

SPEAKER_00 41:56

Right.

SPEAKER_01 41:56

Now you got to ask the question: what's stopping you? Uh and some people may have a reason. They may still be on the journey. You don't pressure them, you say, okay. But what if they say nothing? And you get the opportunity right there in your living room, in your car at one o'clock in the morning, to lead your friend to Jesus. So here's what we do: we pray for our people, we prepare our story, we prepare the gospel, and then we pursue relationship so that we can lead people to Jesus. Sharing the gospel is not just done on Sunday mornings, it is done seven days a week because it's a part of our faith. It's a part of our story. We've so enjoyed getting to hear your story. I want to ask you just two more questions before we wrap this up. What's a book that has shaped your walk with Jesus?

SPEAKER_00 42:40

Yeah. Um there's actually a book by Mark Pat uh Mark Patterson called Chase the Lion. Oh, it's so good. That one is one that I've kept coming back to over and over.

SPEAKER_01 42:55

The story of Benaya. Mm-hmm. Um I uh love that book and I love that story.

SPEAKER_00 43:01

It's just such a powerful, again, testimony of how God is such a powerful force in our life when we allow him to be. Yep. Um, I think that book has made me a better father, a better husband. It's given me courage, it's given me boldness to walk out my faith. There's a study on it on you version that you can follow along. I've done that. I'd say that's outside of the Bible, of course. Of course. That's one that has really shaped and made me a bolder believer.

SPEAKER_01 43:35

Awesome, awesome, awesome. What is one spiritual discipline that you feel like the Lord's leading you in right now?

SPEAKER_00 43:41

Right now it's being more intentional with the quiet time with him. There's so much noise you know, all around us all the time. To really quiet your mind and especially like I said, I am not delivered from my intrusive thoughts. That's kind of like my thorn in the flesh, my thorn in the side. Yeah. Is kind of how I see that. I've learned how to navigate it, but I still struggle with it on a daily basis. Wow. So for me to quiet my mind to the point where I can just be still in the presence of the Lord, read his word, it it takes a lot of I have to be very intentional with it. But it's something that I'm working on, is to just grow that discipline to really be quiet in the presence of the Lord, to listen for his voice, to be able to read the word without any kind of intrusion in my mind. But again, it's a process, but I've come a long way from where I was, and I know God's going to continue to complete the work that He started in me. So that's something I stand on. But being still in the presence of the Lord and just listening.

SPEAKER_01 44:54

Says be still and know that I'm God. Well, thanks for joining us on the journey. Uh again, we love that you're on Staff Venture Church here where we get to lead and be a part of. We love you and Steph leading us in worship. If you haven't been on a Sunday morning to be a part of what they're doing, man, we invite you, of course. But we're grateful to walk your journey out with you. Uh we're grateful to be a small voice in context to your faith. And we hope that we've inspired you to shape and share your faith journey, your Jesus story. It's powerful. Only you have that story, and it will make a difference in your friends and family. Remember, faith is supposed to be lived out in community and conversations. If this was helpful for you, why don't you share it with somebody? Why don't you hit the subscribe button so we can continue this conversation out together? We're grateful to play a small part in it. So listen, go have the best week of your life. Go live for Jesus and go change the world.