Josh Brake: Hey everybody,
great to be back with you.

Uh, give you some updates on just some
ministry that I've been able to be a part

of and some personal updates as well.

Um.

You know, I'm not really keeping track
very well of what I've shared in the

last, uh, episodes, and so bear with me.

But, um, uh, tomorrow I'm recording
this on April 24th and tomorrow

will be the 25th and the one
month marker for Eleanor Jane.

Our little baby girl.

She is doing great, growing and
eating a lot and pooping a lot

and doing all the baby things.

We're very grateful and thank you all
for praying for her and for us as we've

navigated this season of welcoming
in a new addition to our family.

It has been a such a joy.

Um, I took two weeks off completely and
then kind of started slowly work my way

back into work and ministry and it's,
uh, those two weeks and, and the last

four weeks really have been amazing.

Um, lots of really great
time, um, with our family and

our two boys, Beau and Ezra.

They are, you know, smothering her
with kisses and loves and hugs and

it's, it's really sweet and it's
also like, okay, y'all need to chill.

Y'all need to calm down.

Um, so Abby's doing great.

She's healthy and, um, all is well.

So, uh, we are grateful.

For y'all's prayers and this last
week I've really started to get back

into the swing of things, ministry
wise, um, specifically on UTDs campus.

And just a couple of quick stories,
and it'll be a shorter episode this

time, but a couple of short stories.

So Monday of this week, I.

We'll zoom out Monday of last week.

I went to UTD for the first time
in a couple weeks and I brought

a friend with me, a member of the
launch team, a guy I'm discipling.

Me and him went and we just
walked around campus and prayed

and uh, it was a good time.

You know what I'm realizing
is that nothing will happen

if I don't do anything.

And it may sound really silly, and
you may have already known that, but

I haven't known that apparently, and
that's a lesson I'm beginning to learn.

Um, but the, the times I've that have
been the best on UTDs campus have

been the times I've just gone for it.

Right.

I think we may, I, I have this vision
of evangelism where I'm gonna sit

in one place, receive a word from
the Lord, and then go deliver it to

somebody and they're gonna get saved.

And I'm sure that can and will happen,
but, um, more often than not, I

have to just go and engage someone.

And more often than not, the
first time is a little awkward.

Um, because I'm just kind of
trying to work through some fear

that I have right off the bat.

So I walk onto campus and you know,
I'm thinking right away I gotta, I

gotta engage someone in a spiritual
conversation as quickly as I can.

And even if it doesn't bear
a ton of fruit, that's okay.

It's killing the fear that's in me
and allowing faith to be stirred

up in me and having a high level
of faith while you're just walking

around, cold calling people basically.

Then you're gonna need a high faith.

For that, and I don't have that
high faith when I first enter into

these ministry moments on campus.

Um.

I hope that's an encouragement to you,
that if you have fear, uh, for witnessing

to friends, neighbors, I do too.

Uh, and one of the best ways to get
over that fear is to just go for it.

Cross the chicken line, go
and ask somebody random.

Hey, I'm doing a prayer walk today,
and would love to pray for you.

Is there anything you have going on you
would love me to pray for right now?

I mean, more often than not,
someone's gonna give you an answer.

Yeah.

My family or yeah, just, just health.

I would love prayer or, and
if they say No, guess what?

You conquered your fear and now you
can move forward in faith filled

with the spirit and go witness.

And so I did that two Monday ago.

I, uh, was sitting in the student union
with my friend and, uh, just felt like

the Lord gave me a word for this girl.

But this girl was in the
midst of her four friends.

And I'm like, oh, how do I navigate this?

But I was like.

Forget it.

I just got across the chicken line, so
I walked right up to her in the middle

of her friends, right in between their
games of pool they were playing and I

said, Hey, can I share something with you?

I know it might be really random.

And she looks at me like I'm
a crazy person and I'm like,

I know this is so weird.

I know maybe this has
never happened to you.

I'm not really that comfortable doing
it, but I feel like God may have shared

something with me, uh, about you.

And I shared it with her, and it
may have been meaningful later.

It didn't really seem like it hit
at the moment, but I then asked if

they had any experience with Jesus or
knew who Jesus was, and I offered to

share the story of Jesus with them.

And they were like, okay, sure.

And so I sat there and I
shared the, the gospel.

With them, the four spiritual laws, which
is a form of sharing the gospel, right?

And just got it made everything,
he's got a plan for your life sin.

Screw that up.

And if we come back to Jesus and repent
and follow him, he will restore all things

and make us new, and lead us into the
path of life and purpose and whatever.

I just kind of shared the, the basics
of the message of the Bible, of

the gospel, and I asked if they had
heard it before and one of them had.

A couple of them maybe.

So, you know, and I'm trying to
engage them all in conversation and

ask follow up questions and all.

All this to say, it was difficult
to navigate and I don't think I did

very well, but I felt so much faith
and I felt like the fear that can

keep me from hearing the voice of God
in these moments was conquered and

there were seeds planted and moving
forward I was like, okay, now I can.

I can really move in faith.

And so I had my told my friend,
I was like, I feel like we're

supposed to go and walk around.

Let's go walk around.

And it was just a nudge,
it was just an impression.

He is like, okay, so we
get up, we walk around.

As soon as we leave, we see
somebody selling or he's not.

He was, yeah, he was selling coffee,
uh, for as a fundraiser for his.

Fraternities.

It's not a fraternity, but it's a, it's
a community of people that are trying to

serve and it's not really faith-based.

They're just into community service.

And I just strike up conversation with him
and I ask if he needs prayer for anything

and I pray and I tell him how much
Jesus loves him and didn't sense I was

supposed to really go much further than
that, but just was present and told him

the gospel and prayed for him and left.

And it was super sweet.

And then I was in the middle of
telling my friend that that just

some things I was learning about God
blessing, action that we have to move.

Uh, and God blesses that and
honors that, especially when we're

moving in, in line with his will.

And as I'm sharing this, uh, these,
these three girls like, stop us and ask

us where the engineering building is.

And I'm like, okay, well that's,
that's what we're looking for, right?

We're looking for people to engage us,
whether it's their countenance or it's

something they say to us or they stop us.

And I had just been telling my friend that
that sometimes something that may feel

like a natural thing is really just the
Holy Spirit, um, sparking interest and.

Creating a connection with somebody
to lead to spiritual conversation.

Like for example, we were walking and
my friend saw someone's mustache, a

guy's mustache, and he walked past.

And as we go by, my friend says,
man, that guy's mustache was awesome.

And I said, you should have told him that.

You never know what's
that's gonna lead to.

See, we think of that as a totally
random, natural thing that could

very have well been the Holy Spirit.

Giving my friends something to
bring up to someone so that it

can lead to further conversation.

Right?

So, so we just, I just told him
that, and then a second later,

these three girls come up, Hey,
where's the engineering building?

And I said, you know, I'm
the, I don't know, I am not,

uh, I'm not a student here.

Uh, but we are on a prayer walk.

And I would love to pray for you guys.

You guys need prayer for anything right
now, and it was such a sweet conversation.

They're all Christians and one of them
really wanted to share something with us,

but was hesitant and I could totally tell.

And I was like, Hey, you
know, you can share with us.

We'll, we we're, this is a safe place.

We can pray for you and
we'd love to pray for you.

And she.

Confesses that she just doesn't really
know what she's supposed to do in life and

it causes her fear and anxiety and, and
um, and then they were looking at their

watches and they really had to go and they
had some somewhere to be, which is totally

great, but unfortunate 'cause I feel like
the Lord was speaking to me about her

and, um, I didn't get a chance to really
share it all and to really see it through.

So I just had a quick prayer
for her and her two friends.

And, uh, they went on their way.

So it was just so good of the Lord.

Okay, let's fast forward,
uh, to the next Monday.

I go on campus, I'm by
myself and, um, it was busy.

It was Easter Monday and it
was a busy time on campus and

tons of people walking around.

There was this, um, Muslim.

Group, I guess, that were putting
on a show in the middle of campus

in the right by the student
union where I'm hanging out.

And it was like, they were, it was like
these five Muslim guys that were doing

this dance that was very cultural and
it was cool, you know, it was like,

wow, this is their culture and stuff.

But, but it was also a chance to
see, because it was religious,

it wasn't just a cultural thing.

There were, it was an act of worship.

I think.

I, I didn't really know.

I didn't ask anybody.

But I found myself just staring at this
and watching this for like 30 minutes.

And before that I was on my computer
doing some work in the Starbucks

on campus and just all, all that to
say I did not engage one person in a

spiritual conversation that whole time.

And I was on campus for at least two hours
and I left really frustrated with myself.

But that's where I learned, oh, nothing
is gonna happen unless I do something.

I have to engage And I didn't.

First thing on campus, try to engage
someone in a spiritual conversation.

And so I still had some fears and so as I
was walking back to my car from campus, I

was like, okay, I gotta talk to someone.

I was like, I gotta talk
to someone about the Lord.

I gotta offer to pray for someone
because I can't leave campus

without having anybody talk to
or without talking to anybody.

And every person I saw in my walk
back, I was making excuses as

to why it wasn't the right time.

That person's got headphones on and that
person looks like they're in a hurry.

I don't know if they're gonna be open
to this or there's other people around.

And what that was exposing in me was fear.

And I realized I hadn't dealt with my
fear leading up to my time on campus and.

Um, I, if on my way back, I, I, I
felt like I was a river that had

been plugged up by fear and there
was this life that wanted to flow

from me and through me that didn't I.

And it was like, it, it like
spiritually felt like I had pent up

energy that hadn't been released.

And it was, and it hurt.

And I was really frustrated
the rest of that day.

And I didn't really sense God's presence.

I wasn't in a good head space.

I was doubting myself and it really
snowballed me, if I'm being honest.

And so I was confessing this to Sal.

You guys know Sal, I was
confessing this to Sal and, and

Sal was like, Hey, you know what?

I actually have tomorrow
off, which was Tuesday.

Um, I wanna go to campus, you
wanna go with me Immediately?

I said, yes, I'm in.

I need to redeem this.

You know, I need another shot.

So we went and uh, I told him, I was
like, bro, the first person I see,

I'm gonna offer to pray for them.

'cause I need to start engaging
my faith and stirring it up

and getting ready for this.

And he's like, all right, sure enough,
see a woman, she's got headphones in.

And I'm like, I don't care.

I'm going for it.

I walk up to her, I said, good morning.

And she did not even look at me and she
had AirPods in, but let me tell you.

Those AirPods were not noise canceling.

She could hear me.

I said, good morning.

And guess what I did again?

I said, good morning again to her.

And I got closer and she walked right by
me without even noticing my existence.

I looked at Sal, was
like, dude, what was that?

That.

Was not good, but I conquered fear.

My faith began to stir, Sal's, faith began
to stir, and, and we just kept walking.

And so there's another person we offered
to pray for and it didn't happen.

And we just, we didn't try
to manufacture anything.

We didn't try to force anything,
but we were available and tried to

engage and our faith began to stir.

And so, uh.

So fast forward, we get to the student
union and I see my friend who I'd shared

the gospel with several weeks before.

And I had prayed, Lord, would
I see him again, please.

And we saw him.

So I got to go up to him, say, Hey,
say, hey man, I've been texting you.

Have you been getting my text?

And he's like, oh, you've been texting me?

And, and he looked and he's
like, oh man, I'm sorry.

And I said, is it okay that I text you?

He's like, yeah, yeah, yeah, whatever.

It's all good.

So it was just a good
touch point with someone.

I shared the gospel with.

Um, he mentioned he had read a little
bit of the Bible that I gave him.

He read the very beginning and then he
skipped forward to the end and, uh, he,

he, he admitted that he wasn't really
familiar with a lot of the vocabulary

and language, so he needed time.

And I was like, great, well I would love
to talk with you at any point about that.

You know, I'm familiar with
the language and vocabulary.

And he is like, okay, thank you.

So we left him and then Sal
sees somebody outside playing

on the piano and I was like.

There's a piano outside.

Okay, let's go.

So we walked out there and as we
walked out there, he finished up

and we engaged in conversation.

We said, dude, that piano
is super out of tune.

He's like, yeah, I know.

And I know.

And I was like, how long you played?

And, and so we just started talking about
piano and then he, he flat out asked

us, what are you guys doing on campus?

I was like, oh, well,
okay, tee it up for me.

Why don't you, so we told
him about our church plant.

About Breakthrough Church and that
we're praying, prayer, walking.

And he tells us that he's actually
a member at a church right across

the street from the branch in
Carrollton, the new new song.

Um, and uh, as we're talking, we
mention the word church and this o

other guy hears us say Church and stops.

And, and now here we are
engaging two students.

Um, and he's like, did you say church?

And then he goes on this long list
of are you this, are you this church?

Are you this church?

And he lists off all these cults,
making sure we're not a cult.

And I was like, oh, no,
no, we're definitely not.

And we engaged this guy in conversation
for 30 minutes and he's super cynical

and doesn't trust anybody, doesn't
know what he believes about God.

And we offered to pray for him.

He said it would be a waste of time.

And it, it was really tough.

You know, I was really trying hard to.

Share the gospel with him and I,
and I did, and the Lord gave me

stuff to share and it was powerful
and, and it made him think and it

challenged his way of operating.

And uh, and he eventually left.

He eventually turned around and,
you know, said bye and thanked us

and we thanked him and he left,
but the other guy was still there.

The guy that had been
ping playing the piano.

And he was like, man,
that was so encouraging.

And it really challenged me, like,
do I know scripture that well?

Do I follow Jesus that well?

Am I doing what I need to be doing?

And I said, man, I would love
to talk to you about that.

Do you wanna meet up any
time in the next week?

Or he's like, yeah, I won't
be able to meet for very long.

I got a lot going on,
but like an hour or so.

I'm like, awesome, I, I'll text you.

And so I got his number and I, you
know, that was just a really cool

conversation and we, me and Sal left
and, and it was like, man, that's

the abundant life, you know, just.

Free freely walking through campus
asking the Lord for divine encounters,

engaging people and seeing where it leads.

It is fun when you get over the fear.

It is fun, man.

And so my encouragement to you is this.

The kingdom of God is here.

He is here.

The king has come.

His name is Jesus.

He's empowered you with His Holy Spirit.

The next person you see,
just offer to pray for them.

See what happens.

Just see what happens.

Um, worst that can happen
is they say, no thanks.

Alright, cool.

And you move on and try again.

Uh, kill your fear, activate your faith.

Get after it.

Operate as if the kingdom really is here.

I.

And, uh, and I look forward
to hearing testimonies.

Um, as always, um, you can, uh, continue
to pray for us please and, uh, if

you feel led to give financially, you
can go to the website and do that.

Speaking of website, I'm in the
process of, um, developing a brand

and we have a logo, we have a brand,
and, uh, we're gonna be launching a

website and some social media stuff
here in the next couple of months.

So be on the lookout for that.

We're excited, uh, for that.

And, uh, yeah, reach out.

Please let me know how I can be praying
for you and how I can bless you and

also reach out if there's testimonies
of God at work in your life and how

you're seeing the goodness of God.

So, uh, thanks for listening.

Thanks for being here.

Love you guys and we'll see you next time.