The Stories that Define and Drive Our Story

We are guided by three things: Engage, Model and Empower.

These ideas guide us in our daily lives and through them we have gathered stories and been a part of the stories of others. We collect these stories as a way to share hope and guidance in everyday lives where are some of the most impactful.

How do we engage

Jesus didn’t wait for people to show up on His doorstep hungry to know God- He went after them.

We follow Jesus’ example of meeting people where they are and building a meaningful relationship.

This happens in areas where we all frequent, but with an intentionality in engaging with people in a meaningful and spiritual way. Some of the places where our network has engaged the lost are businesses, skating rinks, festivals, bars, gyms, and gas stations!

Jesus Stops Gas Station Robbery

One of the men in our network was at a gas station and overheard someone saying they were about to rob the place. He quickly approached the man and started to share Jesus with him! After some discussion, the man decided not to follow through with his plan. The two then started a friendship and Bible study, and the man is now on his journey to knowing The Father.
Jesus Works out at the Gym

We have a guy in his mid-20’s who was really desirous about making disciples, and he was an avid gym-goer, so he decided to be intentional about meeting new people when he went to work out. One of the guys he met was very interested in getting to know Jesus better, so they started to meet up for coffee and hang out and talk about Jesus. Now, this guy is reaching his entire friend group and even sharing Jesus with people he just met. Many of his friends are following Jesus now, and he is going to continue to disciple them!
Jesus goes skating

One of our women who was a mother of 4 kids struggled with opportunities to make disciples. She started taking her kids to the local skate center on a weekly basis building relationships with others she met. During this time she met another mother of 3 going through a tough time in her marriage. As our friend loved on her like Jesus and started being there for her it opened up the door for reconnecting with Jesus. Now the mother of 3 and her daughters are part of one of our local house churches and bless us at community events with amazing food from her home country.

How do we Model

Our culture is soaked in teachings and training and seminars galore, but how did Jesus teach His disciples to obey Him?

He modeled for them what a life connected to the Father really looked like! His disciples were front and center with Him for 3 years watching Him model for them how to heal the sick, raise the dead, speak in tough situations, lay down His life, and pour out the wisdom of God.

They were deeply involved in His personal and spiritual life, and they were together all the time! Instead of just teaching or preaching to people what they need to do, we have a deep conviction to SHOW people how to follow Jesus in every area of our life (family, workplace, friendships, speaking, etc.)

This also means that we get really close and personal with each other!

Jesus Goes to Walmart

Big grocery stores are great places to meet people and be generous with others. They are also great places to demonstrate how to converse with people in a Spiritual way and make new connections.

One local group decided to go to Walmart to buy people’s groceries, share Jesus, and pray with people. This group was mostly unbelievers and new Jesus followers, but they demonstrated how a simple act of kindness and generosity can open people up to receiving the love of Jesus.
Jesus on a college campus

On a local college campus one of our network people was reaching out to college students. He had a few young folks who wanted to join in but were unsure how. He told them to start with prayer. He made a free prayer sign and took these folks out. As they offered free prayer to college students and opened the door for communication and relationship the young people who were learning became very excited. They promptly took the lead engaging students without the help of the leader and ended up starting multiple groups of college students praying for college students.
Giving Like Jesus Gives

One young man was just starting to know Jesus through a weekly Discovery Bible Study with one of our network people.

The young man had wanted to hang out with his mentor who needed to go pick up some new chairs for his home from someone he found on Marketplace. After looking at the chairs and having already negotiated a better than listed price, the mentor heard the Holy Spirit say, “This seller needs this money to survive right now and you are my provision. Take care of them for me and I will take care of you.” The mentor renegotiated the price and paid full asking price.

The young man at first saw this as really bad negotiation but later in conversation was able to learn that people are more important than money and Jesus was using us to take care of them. He will take care of us. Thought this defied the cultural upbringing of the young man he was amazed that Jesus could be this way towards others.

How do we eMPOWER

While showing someone how to live like Jesus is very important, the next step is to empower them to do so for themselves!

We step into the journey and pursuit of God together with people and help remove barriers and obstacles in their pursuit.

We make our wisdom and resources available to them to be their guide and support system.

Jesus with Grandma

Who said you were too old to make disciples!? A great example of how this mandate is for everyone is from a grandma in her 70’s who has a group that meets in her home, and it all started with a simple Facebook post! She asked us for training, and we were able to walk with her on how to start engaging people in spiritual ways. She started with her online community and asked people if they would like to join a group that reads the Bible together and obeys it. She soon had over 10 women meeting in her home! Every single week, these women continue to seek God together, pray for one another, and share about how they are reaching their family and neighbors. Most of them are 60 plus! This group has even multiplied 2 more times!
Jesus Changes Homelessness

One woman who had connected with our group had lived a life of homelessness and disability benefits. After connecting with Jesus and his community she started to see how Jesus could change her life. Through encouragement and the support of a Christian community she started pursuing Jesus, seeing her life changed, and moving toward stability in her own life. During this time she struggled to believe she was worth more than a simple $10/hour job but prophetically the community spoke into her life and worth. She started applying and found out that she was indeed more valuable than she had believed. She now has a full-time job, a place of her own, and has since stopped receiving and living off of social security disability benefits.
Conduit to Jesus

One of The Bread’s major core values is to be a guide to help someone encounter the person of Jesus and let them get direct revelation from Him instead of always having to depend on someone else. One of the ways we do that is by reading stories from the Bible and facilitating simple questions that bring the story to life. Recently, one of the disciples in our network was taught how to facilitate one of these studies, and now he is leading one with his unbelieving friends. His friends continue to be shocked in finding out that Jesus is a lot different than the way He has been portrayed to them in the past.

How do we engage

Jesus Stops Gas Station Robbery

Jesus Works out at the Gym

Jesus goes skating

How do we Model

Jesus Goes to Walmart

Jesus on a college campus

Giving Like Jesus Gives

How do we eMPOWER

Jesus with Grandma

Jesus Changes Homelessness

Conduit to Jesus