Youth Ministry in Arkansas | Bailey and Karla Bradshaw

  Transcript:  Evangelist Daniel King (00:16): Welcome to the Evangelism Podcast. I’m Daniel King. I’m excited about telling people about Jesus. Today, I have a very special guest with me, Bailey and Karla Bradshaw, and they are serving God as youth pastors. Thank you for being on the Evangelism Podcast. Pastor Bailey Bradshaw (00:35): It’s honored to be here. Thank you for having us. Evangelist Daniel King (00:36): Let’s talk a little bit about the ministry God has called you to. Where are you serving the Lord? Karla Bradshaw (00:43): So my story begins at the age of 15. I was in Dallas, Texas at a youth camp, Youth for the Nations. Evangelist Daniel King (00:50): I went to Youth for the Nations when I was just a young guy. Karla Bradshaw (00:55): Wow. Yeah. It Evangelist Daniel King (00:55): Was great. Phenomenal. The Christ for the Nations. Christ Karla Bradshaw (00:59): For the Nations Evangelist Daniel King (00:59): Institute. In the middle of Dallas. Karla Bradshaw (01:01): Yes, it’s powerful. And so I received the call of God at the age of 15 at that camp, and God called me some things. Actually, my older brother was on missions with Oral Roberts University in Brazil for over a month, and I was team Brazil. And then God spoke to me in that moment at the age of 15 that I’d go minister in Brazil one day. And then it was in that moment that God just called me and I knew I was called. I began at the age of 15 as a children’s pastor and then youth pastor, and the minister just grew from there. I saw the word of God that he’d given me that I go minister to Brazil, come to pass this past September. I’m traveling through the south of Brazil, ministering and preaching to a lot of churches. Evangelist Daniel King (01:49): And so you guys are newly married. Yes. Carla, tell me, how did the two of you meet? Pastor Bailey Bradshaw (01:56): So we met in missions in 2022. I was his translator. Evangelist Daniel King (02:02): In what country? So Pastor Bailey Bradshaw (02:03): Dominican Republic is where I’m from, Santo Domingo. And the mission trip was actually in Nagua, deeper into the city. So that’s where we met. Evangelist Daniel King (02:13): And you were the translator? Pastor Bailey Bradshaw (02:15): Yes, I was. And Evangelist Daniel King (02:16): You stole the translator and brought her back here to the United States? Something Karla Bradshaw (02:20): Like that. Pastor Bailey Bradshaw (02:21): It took a while. Oh, Evangelist Daniel King (02:22): It took a while. Pastor Bailey Bradshaw (02:23): Yes. Evangelist Daniel King (02:23): Why did it take a while? Pastor Bailey Bradshaw (02:25): I mean, we met, but when he left, we didn’t stay in touch for a long time. And then two years after he comes back for youth camp, and that’s how we reconnected and everything again. Evangelist Daniel King (02:38): Wow. And so when you reconnected, then what brought you guys together? Pastor Bailey Bradshaw (02:47): You want me to say? Okay. So after youth camp, and I though – You have to Evangelist Daniel King (02:53): Tell us the whole romantic story. Tell us. I know that details are important. Karla Bradshaw (02:58): She wrote me a love letter. Pastor Bailey Bradshaw (02:59): I did not. Okay. So at youth camp, we always have this kind of mailbox that everyone has their name on it and you decide to write a letter so they can come back and feel special. And so because he was from the US, all of us, we wrote letters. So I wrote a letter to him and others. And so at the end I put love Carla, and he interpreted that as a love letter, but it was not. Evangelist Daniel King (03:28): It was not Pastor Bailey Bradshaw (03:28): Intended. No. Evangelist Daniel King (03:30): You know what made my wife attracted to me is I sent out an email asking for money for the ministry and she responded and sent me an offering and I was like, “Oh, this woman likes me.” Karla Bradshaw (03:46): That’s where I was. Yeah. Yes. I’m actually very close with her pastors and her pastor’s wife was telling me, I was like, “What about Carla? I’m interested in Carla.” And she’s like, “Oh no, no. She’s just like that. She’s just nice.” She’s just nice. She’s just sweet. Trying to take the wind out of my sails so I wouldn’t. And I said, “Well, she wrote me a love letter.” And she was like, “Huh? What?” She did. It was just Evangelist Daniel King (04:13): Misinterpreted. Okay. So God brought you together and now you’re serving the Lord together. And let’s talk a little bit about the Dominican Republic. We love the Dominican Republic. My second crusade that I did was in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic, and love the churches there. And you told me that your father is an evangelist. Tell me about what he does. Pastor Bailey Bradshaw (04:37): Yes. Actually, he started to be an evangelist when he was younger, and so he’s part of the Ambassadors of Christ. It’s an organization they have in Dominican Republic. And so they used to go to every city and preach the gospel in different churches. My dad actually preaches in other different churches around Dominican Republic. He has a lot of friends that are pastors and evangelists, and they actually, every year they get together and they go to different places around the US or in Dominican Republic, remembering the times that passed that all the souls they gained for Christ and all the people that came to Christ and became evangelists because of them. And actually my mom, she became a Christian because of my dad. They met at work and my dad would leave her this post-it notes. Evangelist Daniel King (05:33): So Pastor Bailey Bradshaw (05:33): Love Evangelist Daniel King (05:34): Letters are a history in your Pastor Bailey Bradshaw (05:35): Family. Yes, I guess so. Karla Bradshaw (05:37): They work. They do. Evangelist Daniel King (05:39): All right. So now you are serving the Lord together and you are helping with young people. Yes. Tell me where you’re at in the United States and what age group you’re serving. Karla Bradshaw (05:54): Yeah. So we’re in the northern part of Arkansas. Used to be a small town. It still is small compared to others called Harrison, Arkansas at a church called the Life Center. A man I know a good friend from Florida came up and planned a church there in Harrison. And so I’ve come along and helped start the children’s ministry and the youth ministry and helping to get things established. We’re seeing a lot of youth come in, a lot that don’t even have background in the faith, a lot that don’t have, which is very important because statistics say that a major majority of the church that’s here today was reached before the age of 18 Pastor Bailey Bradshaw (06:37): As Karla Bradshaw (06:37): Youth. But we’re seeing a lot of youth come in with bondage and a lot, they’re searching, they’re looking, they’re looking for something, they’re looking for answers. And my heart in this time is not to just preach another word, but the Apostle Paul says, “I don’t focus on the eloquence of my preaching and my speech or the wisdom of man.” He said, “But I focus on power, demonstration of the power of God and science following because we know that faith without works is dead.” And so the Apostle Paul knew that there were people that would not believe unless they could see and experience and have an encounter. And so we really put emphasis on them having an encounter with God because they’re coming out of new age. We’re seeing a lot of young women come in that have been in new age. They’ve been in witchcraft and all these things and seeing that darkness just broken off their lives. (07:37): I Evangelist Daniel King (07:37): Think this is a real big issue here in America that there are so many young people that have almost no exposure to the things of God. In fact, I was just reading a news story about a university and they said that a bunch of the people starting at the university don’t even know who Moses is in their humanities class. We’ve seen that. Pastor Bailey Bradshaw (08:07): We’ve Evangelist Daniel King (08:07): Seen that. And that seems very basic to know Moses and the 10 commandments. It’s a foundational value of being Christian, but people just have no exposure at all to the things of God. And so how can we in America reach young people that have never been exposed to the church at all? Karla Bradshaw (08:31): We’re not even seeing just with the youth, but we’re seeing adults in their 30s and 40s that don’t even know the story of Jonah or Noah or any of the simple things that I grew up learning as a kid. I feel like – Noah got Evangelist Daniel King (08:47): Swallowed by the big fish Karla Bradshaw (08:49): And Evangelist Daniel King (08:49): Jonah built a big boat. Karla Bradshaw (08:51): And they have no idea. They’re in church and they have no idea. And so I think the churches – What movie Evangelist Daniel King (08:58): Was Jonah in? Karla Bradshaw (09:00): Veggie Tales. I think I heard Evangelist Daniel King (09:01): Of that guy. Karla Bradshaw (09:03): Man, it’s just beyond me and it’s hard to comprehend, but you have to understand if they don’t know, they don’t know. And that’s what we’re here to do. There’s not so much teaching within the church and the body of Christ in America, I’ve found in the United States. Everyone wants to just preach and preach with power, but the office of the teachers and the fivefold, we’re not seeing the full fivefold. I believe in the effect is how God intended to be. I believe we’re lacking in that, but I mean we’re even seeing adults even that don’t know. They don’t know the word of God, studying the word of God. And it’s just a thing that people are like, oh, that’s the thing of the past. We’re just seeing a big lack in that. And I believe that good sound biblical teaching, people having encounters with God, life changing encounters with God. (10:03): And we’re seeing that as soon as they have an encounter with something real and they can see it, just like Thomas, he said, “I will not believe until I can touch your nail scarred hands and the holes in your side. I will not believe in it.” There’s people out there that will not believe until they experience something real. And so the question is, what are we giving them? Are we giving them Christ? Are we giving them Jesus? Because if we’re focused on the eloquence of our preaching and our speech, we miss the babies in Christ. We want so much to give the meat and all this revelation and these things, but what they really need is just a simple gospel. Who is Jesus? Who is Christ? And I think we lose focus of what really matters. When Evangelist Daniel King (10:52): People don’t know who Moses is, it’s tough to break down the meaning of the original Hebrew words. They’re so far lost that they don’t even know what you’re talking about. And so I really like what you’re saying about using the supernatural and emphasizing the supernatural. I think when people think of youth ministry, sometimes they just think it’s pizza parties and flashing lights and smoke. And Pastor Bailey Bradshaw (11:20): Games. Evangelist Daniel King (11:21): And games. But we need more than that in order to really reach this generation because the church cannot compete with the concerts, with the nightclubs, with what the world has to offer with Hollywood. I mean, Hollywood puts a hundred million dollars into a movie and the church comes with a budget of $12.50 to compete with it. Karla Bradshaw (11:48): Yes. Evangelist Daniel King (11:49): And so what is it that young people are looking for? Pastor Bailey Bradshaw (11:54): Well, I believe that nowadays the youth are looking for, they’re looking for control and power and the truth. And I believe that’s why sometimes they go to the new age looking for power and control and that’s only bonded. So we’re focusing a lot in trying to connect with them and to get to know them and praying for them a lot and trying to preach the word and preach them the truth. Sometimes when Bailey’s preaching, we see that they have a lot of questions. They have a lot of curiosity and curiosity is good, but when you go to curiosity to somebody else that doesn’t know the Bible, you can lead them astray and they can focus on something that looks like the truth, but actually it’s not. Evangelist Daniel King (12:47): Let’s compare the United States with the Dominican Republic. Yeah, Pastor Bailey Bradshaw (12:52): Sure. Evangelist Daniel King (12:53): How do you feel that they are similar and how are they different in ministering in these two different places? Pastor Bailey Bradshaw (13:01): I believe we’re different in a lot of ways. In DR, well, Dominican Republic, they’re very fire. We’re very fire people. I believe we have that in common with Africa, honestly. Something that we probably have in common is I believe that the way sometimes. How would I say this? What would you say that we have in common from the US? Have you seen? Not Karla Bradshaw (13:31): Much. Not Pastor Bailey Bradshaw (13:31): Much, honestly. Jesus. Yes. And also with the youth, they focus a lot of doing a lot of teachings. They do every month a specific teaching and they go through that. They don’t have a lot of games and if they do, it’s Bible focused so they can know how to read the Bible, how to have hunger for God. Because for our youth, we’re trying to teach them about Jesus and to pray for hunger because that’s the main thing with hunger. That’s when they go to Jesus and look for more and more. And so yeah, we’re very different from the US, honestly. Evangelist Daniel King (14:09): And so you’ve ministered in Dominican, you’ve ministered in Brazil. Do you see that there’s a difference between young people in America and young people in some of these other places? Karla Bradshaw (14:20): There’s a major difference. I’ve been to Uganda, Kenya, Colombia, and there’s a major difference. So people would say that in the other countries, say Columbia or Dominican Republic, they’re more traditional because in the US we have what we call iPad kids. We see them and I feel like so many parents have just, especially serving in children’s ministry, it’s hard to keep their focus. And so I feel like the church in the United States has had to compete with technology and compete with all the entertainment and we feel the need to compete. We have all these videos and this technology, which is great. And I believe we need to do what we can do to reach them. But in Kenya, technology is not so easily obtainable. It’s not something. And so their desire and their hunger for the things of God is beyond anything I’ve ever seen in my life. (15:18): And it’s transformed my ministry to give me a different perspective. Jesus is a big thing to them. That’s all they have is Jesus. But here we have access to the best of the best and you can go to Walmart and get whatever you can imagine and everything’s so easily accessible through the phone and all these things. And I believe (15:45): That’s a real downfall, but I think people, regardless of technology, regardless of maybe their attention span and their focus, I believe that demonstration and power and becoming real, like the great men of God like Oral Roberts or Osborne and all these great men of God, these healing ministries, that’s something, it happens and amounts, but you don’t hear about it so much. And God is still moving in that way, but I’m believing for men of God that are pure in heart. And the Bible says that the pure in heart will see God. And I think God wants to restore purity to his church once again. Evangelist Daniel King (16:28): Amen. Well, let’s finish up. I want each of you to share with me the top two things that you would share with young people that you feel that they need to know or that would be an encouragement to them. And so we’ll start with you and then go with you. And so each of you give me two things that, the key messages you think young people need to hear. Karla Bradshaw (16:54): Yeah. God’s been leading me in this season and this time to preach to my youth a lot about hunger. What are the things that you’re desiring and why are you desiring those things? And when you have a hunger and an appetite for the things of God, and we see it, everything in the spirit, it translates to the natural. Say you go on a diet, you start eating healthy, you start eating salads. You don’t hunger for the junk food again because then Pastor Bailey Bradshaw (17:20): Now Karla Bradshaw (17:20): That you’ve had the wholesome and healthy things, then you begin to grow sick when you think about those. So having a hunger and a desire for the things of God, and I believe repentance. I remember it was just a few months ago, I preached on heaven and hell and the children’s ministry at the church to the kids. I’ve never seen the altar so full. It brought in a perspective and we don’t, especially here in the United States, you don’t hear repentance. I can’t even begin, I’ve been in church my whole life and I can’t even remember the last time I’ve heard a pastor ever mention hell, ever mention repentance. And so not being seeker friendly, but telling people, “Hey, you have to repent.” And men of God walking in power, my spiritual father, Pastor Ben Okello, there’s a service in Kenya and I remember he was just preaching the word of God, but he had such authority and power in that house and the people in that church. (18:23): I’ve been to the prayer meetings that they’re people of prayer and it was so powerful. He was just preaching the word of God and a witch screamed out and the demons left. He didn’t even lay hands on her, just at the word of God and the power coming forth, she was set free in the house of God. And so what I see a lot is people that are comfortable in the house of God, but they’re comfortable in compromise and sin, and they think that they can. And that’s why the Apostle Paul, he even kicked people out of the church. He says, “I’d rather you be in the hands of Satan than to be here and to think you’re okay and to think you’re doing right.” And so repentance and hunger would be – All right. Evangelist Daniel King (19:06): Those are two great words, repentance and hunger. What are your two things that you think young people need to hear? Okay. Pastor Bailey Bradshaw (19:13): So my first thing would be the youth right now are believing one lie. And I see that in our youth, they all have in common this. They believe they’re not good enough and they’re having all these insecurities and they believe they’re worthless and Jesus would never come to them because they’re worthless. And I would say that that’s a lie that the enemy has planted in a lot of youth minds. And the second one would be to show them exactly who they are, their identity in Christ and how the Bible has a lot of Bible verses showing you are wonderfully, beautifully made and that you are a son and a daughter of the most high God. And I believe that those are the two things that I used to need. Evangelist Daniel King (20:03): Amen. Well, let’s finish by praying for the young people of America. Would you pray for many people to be saved and that we would see a revival among the under 25 group? Yes. Karla Bradshaw (20:22): Yes. I’ll pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you for this day. God, I thank you for this opportunity. I thank you God for this man of God. I pray God for more open doors in his life. Father God, the blessings of God would be poured out on him, Father God. Lord, that you would give him revelation. God, I pray for the youth and the children and the young people of America, Father God, that they would find a place in your house, Father God. Lord, that we as men and women of God would build houses of prayer. God, that we would build houses for these young people to come into God, to have an encounter and to experience you, Father God. God, I pray for the youth and the children of America. Father God, that a fire and a revival like we’ve never seen before God will break out. (21:05): Lord, that you would draw men unto you like you’ll always have Father God. But I pray for a rising of pure young men and women of God in this generation. God, I pray that the remnant would rise in this moment, God, Lord, that we would take up the identity that you’ve given us, Father God, that we would know the authority that’s been given to us, Father God, and that we would walk in the power and authority, Father. Lord, that we would know that we’re not to be trampled on Father God, but that we’re called to stand above all, that we’re not called to be of this world or like this world, Father God, but that you have set us apart for such a time as this, Father God. And God, I pray that your peace would be among us, Father God, Lord, that you would help the minds of the youth in America. (21:48): You would help the minds of the children in America, Father God. And Lord, that your word would go forth, Father, in this day, in this age, in this generation to all nations. In Jesus’ mighty name, we pray and we declare amen. Evangelist Daniel King (22:03): Amen. Bailey and Carla, thank you for being on the Evangelism podcast. Thank you Pastor Bailey Bradshaw (22:08): So much. Thank you. Evangelist Daniel King (22:11): Okay. Pastor Bailey Bradshaw (22:12): Very Evangelist Daniel King (22:13): Good. That was excellent.