speaker-0: Hey everybody, welcome back to another episode of the Breakthrough Church podcast. I'm here with Sal Herron today. Y'all know who Sal is. He's the worship leader at Breakthrough Church, worship minister, I should say. He's a worship leader, but he's more than that. He's a worship minister. And I just had him on. I have him on today because we want to share some testimonies about what the Lord has been up to specifically related to evangelism and ministering to people ⁓ on the streets per se, I guess you could say. And so I'll just, let me provide a context, a framework for what we did on Sunday. And then I'm gonna let Sal share some testimonies. ⁓ On Sunday, we went to an evangelism training hosted by this ministry called Time to Revive. Time to Revive is a nonprofit that really works to equip churches and believers in personal evangelism. How do you have conversations with people about Jesus in a way that's natural? but also gets to their heart. And it's really, really good. So we went to this training on Sunday at Dallas Bible Church in Richardson and we had about, how many we have? Eight breakthrough people.

speaker-1: Yeah, that sounds about right.

speaker-0: Yeah, it was me, you and our kit and, Bowen live. then like, yeah, I don't, yeah, Jill, Terry, Rachel, Luke. ⁓ anyways, it was really good and really good content. So it was like 20 minutes of content. And then they sent us out into the world to go and actually do this stuff, to practice it in real time. basically he was like, yeah, he was like, here's the, here's the content. Now get out, go. Like the priority was very much like activate and go and do this stuff rather than just.

speaker-1: So.

speaker-0: hear how to do it, let's go do it. And so we went out and we did the stuff and Sal led a group, I led a group, well I led another guy. It was me, Bo and my son Bo and then another guy. So it was just us three. But you had a few more, didn't you Sal? Yeah.

speaker-1: to break through people and then live this with me.

speaker-0: Okay, so I'll just kick it off to you, bro. Where did you go? What did you do? How was it? And what kind of encounters did you have?

speaker-1: Yeah. So we, to be honest, like we were kind of, we, because like I said, they, kind of pushed us out. We're like, okay, well, where do we go? You know, and, and, um, we still hadn't really made a decision, but we got in the car and started driving and they did, they did say like, okay, can we try to stay between, you know, the highway and here, you know? And so we started driving and I saw the street. I was like, I'm gonna turn right here and just. let's just look around and just ask the Lord, like, where do we stop? ⁓ So, trying to be super spirit-filled, you know?

speaker-0: You're so spiritual.

speaker-1: So we're going down the street and we're on, I know we're on a Arapahoe and I'm like, well, if we keep driving, we're going to run into Addison and there's a really cool park over there. So I said, Hey, we're going to go to Addison park. know, I know there's not, it's not Richardson, but you know, the Lord doesn't care. So we kept going and got to Addison and parked at the, the, at the park there at Addison and Addison circle and got out of the car and we, we, we said we're going to split up. So. It was me and two other breakthrough people and they were gonna be together. They ended up actually splitting but then it was just me and I had lived with me and so Liv's six years old, she's my daughter and I'm like, how do I, I've done this before, know, by my own or with you or you know, other people but not with like a six year old, like what do I do? You know? And so I just, I just decided to ask her, I'm like, hey Liv, who do you want to pray for? And without hesitation, mean, like immediately she didn't even ask, like, what do mean dad? like, she's just like that guy. I was like, like across the park and he's walking his dog. So she starts darting towards this guy. And I'm like, wait, you know, like I'm like trying to catch up to her. And so we approached this guy ⁓ and, and, and simply just said, and this is what they told us to do, but this is what I've always been comfortable with anyways is. Just asking the person, we're walking around and we're praying for people. And we just want to know if there's anything that you need prayer for. And sweet guy, he was like, yes, like that's awesome. Would love for some prayer. And he started listing off things for his job. He's transitioning to wanting to leave his job to go into something else and started talking about his family and, ⁓ listed a couple more things. And so I said, okay, that that's, that that's great. I'd love to pray for you. And he's like, okay, thanks. And I said, right now, and he's like, ⁓ okay. So, ⁓ laid my hand on him. had his dog and was barking a whole bunch, like, but, ⁓ kind of calmed down after a little bit and then started praying and prayed for all the list of things. I also prayed that the Holy spirit would fill him and, and meet him in this moment right then and there. And I could see, you know, when we pray for people and I know you've probably said it here on the pod, like we like to like look at people. It's good to have your eyes open to see like what the Lord is doing. So I just saw noticeably, noticeably that this guy was starting to, um, to just get touched by the Lord, tearing up and, that's always so sweet. And, um, so I finished praying for him and asked him, Hey, how does he feel? And he's like, I feel great. I feel awesome. And, um, and then I asked him, Hey, have you heard the gospel before? And. And, actually before that, I asked him, Hey, are you a believer? Cause I noticed this hat. It said, it had like a scripture verse. even remember what it was, but I asked him if he was a believer. And he said, yes. And then I asked him if he's heard the gospel. And then he said, well, not really. And it kind of grieved me, but at the same time I was like, okay, well, here's an opportunity to hear it, you know? And so I said, okay, well, you know, I'd love to talk to you a little bit more about it. And he was like, yeah, please do. And so I took him through, the Roman chain or like the, the, the scriptures through the gospel that, that Tender Relive uses. And, and then just kind of added my own like practice I've had with, with preaching the gospel to somebody. And as I'm saying, I'm talking to him about Jesus, I kind of tail end it with like, Hey, this is not just like an opportunity for me and my daughter to like practice preaching the gospel to you or like some presentation. Like this is like an active God by coming to meet you. You know, I told him that how Liv like pointed him out and like, believe, and I said, I believe the Lord wants to meet you right here, right now and minister to you and talk to you through us, through this encounter. And he was getting like really, really, ⁓ again, teary at this point crying. And I was, and I was like, what do you think about that? And he was like, I think my mom's going be crying when I tell her about this. It was really funny. I'm like, okay, that's awesome, man. And I asked him if he had a church home and he didn't and I invited him to our church and told him about that. And then I asked him another question. I asked him if he had a Bible. He was like, no. And Liv was so quick to take out the Bible and give it to him. The Bible was given out to them. And he was blessed. was, and I think he's probably going to come on Saturday because I got his number and we were talking and I gave him some suggestions on where to start reading. so, yeah, I'm hoping that this could be more than just like an invite to our church, like, you know, a relationship to help him come to know the Lord.

speaker-0: How did you ask for his number? Because I feel like that makes it real. It's like, I'm not just committing to having a moment with somebody. I'm committing to a new relationship with somebody that's unto Christ. That's a different deal, right? So like, how did you say that? Really? Can I get your digits or what would you say?

speaker-1: Well, I mean, I'm not, I didn't think much about it. just was like, Hey man, can I get your number so I can, well, I mean, I used the invite to our church. Like that helped a lot, you know, because like it, I feel like it could kind of be a little intimidating to say, Hey, let me get your number and then let's, let's start like, you know, so for me, at least it was, it, the barrier was broken when I like, Hey, let me, like, get your number to functionally be able to invite you. to our church, and then it opened up the potential to just actually engage in conversation through text.

speaker-0: Yeah. Yeah. So you had, you had a good excuse for asking for his number outside of the, just the personal ask of, Hey, I want to get together with you. Yeah. I think that gives you, makes it a little less creepy maybe.

speaker-1: Yeah, yeah Yeah, yeah, for sure.

speaker-0: Yeah. So, ⁓ one of the things that I'm, I texted you about this earlier with, ⁓ some other people, but the follow-up piece to all of this is so important because you can have a really powerful moment. I've had so many of these. have a powerful moment, but then that's the last time you'd ever see that person. And not everybody's going to want to give you their number. Not everybody's looking to like be discipled or start this new relationship, but, ⁓ it's worth a try. Because it's like what Jesus did, come and follow me or come and see. It's like you just had this moment where something supernatural seemed to have happened in your heart. And if you want more, come and see, there is more. And that come and see is like for a lot of churches and organizations that come and see us come to this event or this program. But I think it's so powerful to say, I want to get coffee with you one-on-one. I want to get together with you. Just hear more of your story and listen.

speaker-1: and

speaker-0: and pray for you again and see, you know, just bless you. I think people overall would respond really well to that.

speaker-1: Yeah, that's right. Yeah. It's, ⁓ yeah, I, I mean, I don't want to like jump the gun here, but it just, it really makes it more, more real. Like, like we talk about having a relationship with Christ and we talk about, you know, as a church, like, how do we, how do we pastor people and how do we like walk with people? And it's so easy to just got caught up and they're like, we'll come to our church and then just listen to what we have to say. But there's like this element of like, okay, like Jesus actively walked with people. So we should do that and engage and pursue people in this way where it's like, Hey, like aside from even like a church or coming to something like what like connecting with people and, and, and ask during people.

speaker-0: And it's one of the things we've talked about since the beginning of breakthrough was being organic and low profile. Right. And low profile meaning we're not making a big fuss about this, this new church, like big lights production and all that. Nothing against those things, but we just don't want to do that. And organic meaning we're not just getting people in the cog and turning the wheels and they get from, from this environment to this environment, this environment. Like, why don't we just connect them to a person? And then actually just stay connected to them and keep, staying connected to them. And this is called discipleship. It's really just an invite and invitation to deeper relationship and connection with a person who's connected to Jesus. ⁓ it's the best, that's the best pipeline I can think of. So what happened after that? Did you guys, did you guys, forget you told me, but I forget, did you go and talk to more people or was there more encounters?

speaker-1: So we had another encounter with a guy kind of similar, but this guy was a little bit more active, I guess, in his faith, but didn't have a church. And he's like, we asked, I asked him the same question, like, have you heard the gospel? And for him, he was like, it's been a minute, it's been a while. so...

speaker-0: What an interesting answer.

speaker-1: Yeah. Yeah.

speaker-0: It's been a while since I've heard the gospel.

speaker-1: That's right.

speaker-0: Yeah, yeah, interesting.

speaker-1: I didn't ask that, but I, and so preach the gospel to him as well. And, ⁓ and he was, he was really receptive. He was like, don't like, like, I love what you guys are doing. And what's cool too with him is that he's, he's a truck driver. And so we were, there was like, I was looking for, you know, I think when I'm, when I'm talking to people like this, I'm like looking for a personal connection I can make with them, know, kind of break the ice and.

speaker-0: ⁓ yeah.

speaker-1: make it feel less like rapport, trying to tell you something. Yeah. And I'm actually just trying to connect with you. so when he said that, I'm like, that's, that's just teed up for me. I'm, I work at a warehouse. ⁓ and I pray for truck drivers all the time. So I was like sharing that with him and talking about it and that kind of life is, it's kind of hard. and I even talked about, like, I asked him about his relationship with the Lord and he's like, you know, I try to keep at it and, ⁓ being, a truck driver. And it's, can be kind of hard, but the Lord, you know, have had some sweet moments and I'm like, yeah, I'm sure that that last 20, 30 minutes of your drive trying to go somewhere, uh, you really need, you really need the Holy spirit to get through it. You know, so just joking with him about it. And so it was cool. And he was really receptive. I followed up with him as well. I get his number the same way and I haven't heard back from him, but you know, it's, it's okay, you know, and, and it's. He gave me his number, it's, it's not, I think another thing too is it's, it's easy for us to just like give up, but you know, it's, it's, definitely gonna keep trying to reach out, you know, and, and, but the encounter itself was really, was really beautiful and really cool. And just to have Liv get to see that and partake in that was, was pretty awesome as well. And there was a lot, a few rejections too. And I, and I told, I told the other two right before we left, said, Hey guys, I know this is intimidating, but all it takes is that first rejection. get rejected one time and you're rolling. You're like, okay, that's it. It's like, was worse. It's like skydiving, know, or, or, or jumping off a cliff. You're bungee jumping. Once you've jumped, like you're already in it. So let's go.

speaker-0: Yep. You're soaring now. Well, I think there are a couple of things to know, uh, based on what you just said that you do and you do this really well. You build rapport very quickly and you do that through listening to them, asking questions and listening. And some people won't want to answer your question and that's fine. You just say, God bless you. See you later. But some people, like, if you see somebody walking down the park and you see their t-shirt and you really liked their t-shirt, how about just say that? Say, Hey, I love that t-shirt. Where'd you get that? There you're in.

speaker-1: Yeah, that's right.

speaker-0: You are already in, if they answer you, like, ⁓ I got it at Target, is that, or, it was actually a gift from my mom when she was like going through something tough. ⁓ if you don't mind me asking them, what was going on? Like, that's a really sweet gift. Like, it must've meant a lot to you. Then you're building rapport and you're just able to open the door of their heart to plant the gospel into it in a moment of prayer and then even sharing scripture after. So that building rapport, it's not like you walk up and just say, hey, do know Jesus? Although I'm sure there might be times you do that. It's like, just be a human being. Just be a human being that's in love with Jesus and wants this person to see Jesus too. And then the second thing I wanted to say was how important it is that like, Bo was there too and Liv was there. And it's like family discipleship. Like imagine our kids are going to grow up where this stuff is normal, where you don't, it's just normal when I'm walking out and about, I'm thinking about how I can bless and pray for people and share the gospel, the good news. It's just going to be normal. ⁓ unfortunately it's just not normal to do this in the church. That's why you have to nonprofits like time to revive. The churches aren't doing the equipping. So nonprofits have to do the equipping and, and fam families don't have to like do much more than just on your everyday commute, or when you're going to dinner as a family or you're doing something, just your family can be there and watch you do this stuff. And that's rude. That's like eternal value stuff right there. ⁓ So really quick, let me share my experience. ⁓ I went to Walmart. I went to Walmart. So it me and this other high school kid and my son, Bo, us three. We went to Walmart that was four minutes away from the church. And you might say, how'd you decide on that? I looked on the maps and I saw Walmart and I thought, ⁓ that might be fun. I said, hey, Luke, you want to go to Walmart? He's like, that actually sounds great. So I figured that was the Lord. And we were like, all right, let's go. So we went to Walmart and we walked in and for the first probably five to 10 minutes, we didn't talk to anybody. We were trying to figure out and navigate the store. Like do we talk to somebody who's like trying to look at the, what's the price per pound on this ground beef? Do we walk up to that person and be like, yo, I got food you don't know about or what do you like?

speaker-1: What's the approach here? What's the approach here?

speaker-0: Yes. That's so much of what I'm thinking is what's the approach? What's the end? Who do I talk to? Who's not willing? Who's willing? And so honestly, I was just overthinking it. And me and Sal say this all the time, just one, two, three, go. It doesn't matter. Just talk to someone. Just get over the chicken line and just go. So finally I did that with someone and they did not want prayer. So I got rejected. Boom. All right. I'm in. I got rejected. Now I feel great because that's the worst case scenario. And I guess technically it's not worst case scenario. Someone could hurt me, but you know, it's probably not going to happen. So. Anyways, we're walking around and all of sudden we walk to the, we're walking this big loop in Walmart, going from the checkout lanes to, or like, yeah, checkout lanes to the grocery and the produce to the back where the toys are and all the way back. And so we were just going this big loop looking for people as we're walking back to the checkout lanes. I noticed there was a woman that was laying down holding her chest. Like she was having chest pains and she was like not doing great. She was in having some sort of panic attack or heart attack and there were workers. ⁓ Walmart employees that were surrounding her, kind of tending to her, but kind of standing far off, having zero idea what to do, just watching this happen. And this woman and her daughter is like right next to her, just crying, watching her mom have this attack. Like imagine that. Like you're just watching your parent on the floor at a grocery store. You thought you were going in just to get your routine groceries. And now you're watching your mom, probably thinking that she's dying. and normally, like even instinctually, I was about to walk by them and thought, we'll just leave that up to the professionals. And then the Holy Spirit was like, you're the professional. You're the first responder here. You have the spirit of God. I just, I stopped. We, me, Luke and Bo, we stopped and walked over and I said, Hey, what's going on? And ⁓ the store manager was like, yeah, she just collapsed right here and is holding her chest claiming, she's, claiming to have really bad chest pains. I was like, okay, do you know her name? And they're like, no, we don't know her name. And then her daughter spoke up and was like, yeah, her name is, don't. remember exactly what her name was. Let's say Brenda. Her name was Brenda and I'm like, her name is Brenda. I said, okay. So I just got really close to Brenda and I knelt down and I said, hey Brenda, do you mind if I pray for you? Are you having chest pains? She couldn't even talk. She just like nodded her head. I said, can I pray for you? And she barely nodded her head. And I put my hand on her shoulder and began to pray peace over her and healing in the name of Jesus and just minister to her and just be a calming presence next to her. And then the paramedics got there after me. I was praying maybe a minute. It was not long. And the paramedics got there and I backed away to let them kind of do their thing and assess her. And then I saw her daughter was sitting by herself on a bench up by the front of the store. And I remembered something Thomas had said in the training of like sometimes loving people is actually just moving where you are and sitting or standing next to a person. And I thought of that and I said, okay, I'm going to go do that. So I went and sat right next to her and I said, Hey, what's your name? And she told me her name and I said, Hey, do you mind if I pray for you? And she was like, no, she was crying and freaking out naturally. It's like so sad. I prayed for her and Luke would testify, the guy that was with my group, he noticed this too. She got so calm, so at peace after praying for her and said, amen. And I said, so what are you doing in the store? And she was like, yeah, I think we were trying to get some sort of cream cheese in a hotel. Like we were going to make a dip or something. Cause we've been watching horror movies all weekend and we needed something to eat while we're watching. I'm like, well, that's why your mom is like having a heart attack. I don't necessarily know if that's true, but I was like, you know, in the spiritual realm, I'm like, that matters. But I wasn't about to like go into that with her, you know? And so I said, do know Jesus? Have you heard the gospel? And she was like, yeah. And I was like, okay, well, let's walk through it. And so I walked through the gospel card that we had and had her read the scriptures. I didn't quite get to the end of it before the paramedics came and took her away. But I let her have the gospel card and it was just a really cool moment to to have this moment where I was like, actually have something to offer here. And it's not just left up to the paramedics and the people in the ambulance. And they left and then there was three employees for Walmart that were there. I began to engage them. I thought, well, maybe there's an opportunity here to minister. And I said, hey, did you guys see this happen? And they're like, yeah. Or one of them said, kind of. And I was like, it's probably shook you guys up a little bit too. Can I pray for you? And they're like, So prayed for all three of them for peace and all the stuff. said amen and then one of them came up to me, her name was Zizi, Z-Y-Z-Y. And she was like, can you also pray for my family? They're in Iran and they're really scared that they'll have jobs, everything's too expensive and it's just really scary. And I'm a Christian, I believe in Jesus and I'm like, yes. So I prayed for her and it was really meaningful. And then so we walked around and we had some moments that were not so good, some good moments, but that was the highlight. It felt like that's why we were at Walmart. And the one thing that struck me with all of this, with your story, Sal, with my story, is as soon as we committed in our hearts to go do this, God had already been aligning encounters. He was aligning divine appointments and open hearts and putting people in our path because we had committed in our hearts to go and bless people in prayer and share the gospel. Which speaks to me that God, when Jesus said, the harvest is plentiful and the laborers are few, it just is so true. Because the moment you commit your heart to it, God's putting people in your path and you better watch out. It's like 1 Chronicles 16,9, the eyes of the Lord robed to and fro throughout the whole earth looking to strongly support those whose hearts are blameless toward him. And when you commit your heart to being all about the Lord and being available, he's going to honor that by putting people that need him in your path. And it just happens every time. So, ⁓ that, would be, if I had to give like an end conclusion, that's what I would say. If you're like on this side, you're like, gosh, I want to be used that way. I don't know how. I would say that 99 % of it starts in your heart before you hit the streets when you commit to saying, I'm in on this God. And he's going to provide everything you need on the other end of it. He just needs you in your heart and say, I'm in. Like today, God, I choose to love people and to be a witness to the risen Lord. And he's going to put people in your path. ⁓ So Sal, final thoughts, conclusion. What would you tell somebody they're wanting to get involved in this and start being used by God in this way? What would you tell them?

speaker-1: Yeah, no, that's really good. ⁓ yeah, I think, ⁓ just to, just to add a little bit to that, ⁓ cause as I was just thinking about it and preparing to talk about it, like there is, if we know, like as believers, like if we know that like anything that happens between two people can only happen if like God is in it, you know, like we can't in our own. strength, our own, in our flesh, like actually say, like make something happen for someone. ⁓ then it, that kind of like freeze it up in yourself to know that like, okay, like if I'm just obedient, but, hold on, I'll get to that in a second. Like if we know that that's true, then, then we have to actually spend like time with the Lord and actually know like what, like where's my heart in this to then be able to surrender the fact that like, the Lord has a plan. Right now and he's just looking for your obedience. Yeah. So, ⁓ yeah, I think that's really good. but obedience and that comes is the first thing that comes to mind. ⁓ first Samuel, I don't know where I forget the chapter in verse talks about where God prioritized obedience. He prioritizes obedience over empty sacrifice. So we can be really, really good at bringing a sacrifice of prayer and being like, ⁓ interceding for people. But it's another thing like actually taking the step of obedience to like, go actually pray for somebody and see the Lord work. know? And so you take that first step and then you go, but at the same time, you can't, I wouldn't just say to somebody, ⁓ just get out there, you know, because you have to also know that you have to carry the Lord in your heart. You know? So, which is the second thing I would say to that person to encourage is. Ask the Lord to give you a burden for the people you're going to meet so that you can actually have like a measure of God's love for the person. Cause we know that God like loves those people way more than we do, you know, like he loves us more than we love ourselves. So, so what I want as I'm walking in there, like I'm walking into a park or wherever it is, Walmart, I'm asking the Lord, Lord, like, I don't know these people, but just, I want to meet them and I just want to love them. You know, give me like ⁓ some kind of just window into their heart to love them because you love them, you know? So it's like obedience and then like a heart for those people to actually love.

speaker-0: Yeah, that's really good. And that triggered another thought I had just maybe as a closing statement for our time today. Luke, the high school kid that was with me, we got into the car to go back to the church to debrief and he was like, man, thank you so much for setting that example. It was so great for me to see you move and like kind of just love on those people and minister to them and stuff. And I was like, man, I really appreciate you saying that. And do you want to know how I learned to do this? Because it was not long time ago, I would have been a complete mess not knowing how to navigate anything. I said, do you know how I learned how to do this? And he kind of looked at me and was unsure. And I said, I started doing it. I started doing it. I didn't watch a YouTube video. I didn't go to a class or a lecture to try to figure out how to do evangelism. I just started doing it. And I built into my life in the same way that I build into my... daily practice, time in the word and prayer, I built a weekly rhythm of setting aside time for evangelism. Tuesday afternoons, at that time actually, the beginning goes Tuesday mornings, but now Tuesday afternoons from one to four is my time to go out and do evangelism. And there's nothing that can change that schedule unless I'm out of town. In the same way, nothing can change that I read my Bible and pray in the morning. ⁓ And when you commit to that, it's not only does God use that time, for his purposes, but you begin to become a person who wants to do that. Not just in the Tuesday afternoon, but in your everyday life. In the restaurants you go to, you pray for the waitress or waiter or the grocery store, you pray for the clerk or the person that's shopping for clothes right next to you, or you just become aware of all the opportunities God puts in front of you every single day. And then you take advantage because you're not afraid anymore because you've been doing it and you've seen God move. So ⁓ if anybody's... this hesitant or discouraged, I just say jump in, cross the chicken line as a threshold of just like, you just gotta go for it. One, two, three, go, pray for the person, ask how you can pray, share the gospel, just do it and you will not regret it. So ⁓ as always, I close with some invitations. Come join us on Saturday at five o'clock to worship this weekend at Loft City, 1320 Holly Drive in Richardson. We pray on Tuesday mornings at 5.15 a.m. which is not too early, okay? It's not too early, I promise. On Tuesday mornings, 5.15 a.m. at the branch in Farmers Branch. And then Wednesday evenings at 6.30 at Loft, the same place we meet on Saturdays. Please join us for all of those. And one more thing, save the date, Friday, May 22nd, 5 to 7 p.m. We're gonna do a block party, kicking off the summer and just inviting our neighbors in Richardson. to come and celebrate us. And really, we're trying to create opportunities to bless people and do exactly what we've been just sharing about ⁓ and do it even more so with those people that show up to the party. So we'd love for you guys to come Friday, May 22nd at five and seven. Sal, closing thought.

speaker-1: You know, all those things.

speaker-0: Yes, yes, ditto, ditto. Awesome, cool. Thanks for being here Sal, appreciate you bro. Yeah. Peace.

speaker-1: Sure, man. This is fun.