Ashley S

How do you feel that your experience at Breakthrough has equipped you to go out and be the hands and feet of Jesus?

Breakthrough was one of the best ways to challenge my faith and step out of my comfort zone. They were right about crossing “the chicken line” and being utterly bold in your faith. They demonstrated the confidence and love I aspired to have when going out and sharing Jesus with the world. It can definitely be intimidating at first, but they provided a safe place and community of people to support me and help me to grow further.

Has your experience with Breakthrough Ministries inspired you to do ministry differently? If yes, please tell us how you did ministry before your Breakthrough experience and how it is different now. 

The first thing I noticed was how the staff worshipped. They didn’t care who was watching or how they worshipped. When they were singing to the Lord and it was like it was just them in the room. To me, who can often find myself being self-conscious, that was incredibly powerful and inspired me to let go and just worship. The second thing was how they reached people. I feel like sometimes people think to go out and spread the gospel you have to do some big mission trip or do something extravagant, but this program showed me the simplicity of kindness and the power of prayer. It was something to apply to my everyday life.

What would you say to them if you could share one thing with someone who has never experienced Breakthrough Ministries or might be on the fence about volunteering with us? 

Trust that God will give you the experience you need. When I first started, I was expecting some kind of life changing moment with a stranger I prayed with, but I actually got the opposite at first. I was rejected by every single person I asked if I could pray for them. It was honestly a little disappointing, but God came around in his own way. I was sitting at a piano and playing when an elderly man sat down beside me. He asked to play with me and so we did together. Afterwards, we got to chatting and I asked if I could pray for him. After consenting, I held his hand and thanked God for bringing me this man that I hadn’t even been looking for in the first place and what joyful spirit he had. When I opened my eyes the elderly man was brought to tears, said thank you, and we parted ways. I never got his name and I never saw him again, but I knew he needed that as much as I had. So my advice is to just sign up for this program and do it. You might go in expecting something, but God will give you what you need to experience!