Putting the "Go" in Gospel

Hi, this is Roy Jones with ManTalk Radio Podcast. Our mission is to break down the walls of race and denomination. Your chosen Truth Radio Broadcast will be starting in just a few seconds.

Thank you. This is the Truth Network. We're taking a chance today on Truth Talk and we're talking to a chance. His name is Chance Walters. He's an evangelist. He loves Jesus.

Who is Chance Walters? Well, that's a great question, Stu. I'm an evangelist. I live right here in North Carolina and my heart burns for Jesus.

We have our own non-profit. I speak in churches, schools, and in other countries. And so we just want to put the go back into the gospel. Amen.

And so it's great to be on the show. Yeah, and it's kind of cool because there's a little noise behind us. We're in a crowded room.

There's men over there praying. It's kind of nuts in here. Wednesday in the Word, a couple of your guys, these guys, some big hitters came today. We got in the Word.

We're studying Corinthians and we're at Dario. That's why it's a little loud, but this guy's a moving target. So we didn't want to take a chance of not getting an interview with him. So Dave Compton, when you saw Chance Walters walk into Wednesday in the Word, you got kind of excited.

What about this guy, Dave? Oh yeah, and I said, Stu, by chance, is that Chance? I interviewed Chance several years ago on the community focus on WPET when he was with Teen Challenge and I thought, there's a really excited guy. He's very passionate about Teen Challenge that has a rich history, you know, and a warm legacy.

Gives you a fuzzy feeling, all the good they've done. But Chance, when you walked in, I thought, wait a minute. I know that guy.

By chance, is that Chance? So God bless you. Good to see you. Amen. Chance, God's used you as an evangelist to bring a lot of people to faith in Christ. God, you get up and you preach at ballparks. You preach at mountaintops.

You preach all over the world. How did Chance come to know Jesus? We want to hear your story.

That's a great question. You know, we just got out of Bible study and Stu was talking about communion, this dude in remembrance of me. And I think one of the greatest keys to spark personal revival is remembering where you came from. I'm telling you what, I was a drug addict. I was an alcoholic far from God. I wasn't looking for him.

He was looking for me. I was in jail for my fifth DUI in Myrtle Beach and I didn't have anywhere to go. But I looked to God and I ended up in a place called Teen Challenge and I got saved April the 30th, 2003. Jesus changed everything for me.

That was the humble beginning. I tell people as I travel, the best drug I ever did is my parents drug me to church. And so I was raised in church and I knew all about God, but I didn't have a personal relationship with him until I was 23.

I needed hope. So here you are, you come to Christ, Teen Challenge. We see this guy up there preaching, inviting people to come to Christ, inviting people that were in the same boat you were in. What got you into the ministry? Kind of what happened after there in your testimony?

I love to say that the DNA of every leader is just time spent alone with God. And so I committed to just be with God and I read my Bible. I had never really read the Bible before. It was something on the inside. If you want to know the story, I was in a church service and I had never given anything to God.

And I remember pulling out a $20 bill. I walked down to the altar and it was one of those churches where you wave your off and you're in the air like you just don't care. And I slipped out of my seat. I went down to the altar. I put it in the box and there was a verse and it said Psalm 2a. So I love to say when in doubt, whip the Bible out.

I went back to my seat. I found that verse. A lot of people are listening for a voice, but I would challenge you today to look for a verse. And in this moment, the first gift I ever gave to God, he gave me my life verse. Psalm 2a, ask of me and I will give you the nations is your inheritance.

The ends of the earth is your possession. So I started praying that prayer. God use me.

If you can use anybody, Lord, use me. And he sent us to 28 nations, 48 States in the moment, preaching the gospel. It's been a wild ride.

That's amazing. All these folks that God's used you to invite to Jesus, give us maybe a flavor, a couple of testimonies. There's some, maybe some crazy moments, maybe some close calls of what's happened abroad. Also to kind of awaken us up to the reality of the need for souls out there to hear about Jesus.

I travel full time. And so I see a lot, you know, we love to go to places where the gospel has never been preached before. And so a lot of people don't understand this because they've never maybe left their state or their community, but we go to Southeast Asia two or three times a year and host gospel crusades. And so I've been going to Pakistan.

It's a Muslim nation. And this past year we saw our largest crusade today to a hundred thousand people in one place, 88,000 people filled out a decision card that they wanted to give their life to Jesus. And whenever you're in those moments that it changes you to see people in poverty and they're coming to hear the greatest story ever told. And so there's this mentality of we want to do it again. We want to do it again.

And so we'll be back in Pakistan the last weekend of March this year. And people are just hungry to know the truth. He hops the globe telling people about Jesus. He really believes in the go and gospel. That's how he started the interview.

His name is Chance Walters. He's an evangelist. Chance, what is it like to see the light come on? And you've seen this happen multiple times, but you still go and you still preach. What's it like to see that light come on where people go from darkness to light, where they're changed, to see people just fall on their face and call out to the Lord to be saved? What is that like?

Describe it for people out there listening that may not have seen that recently. Yeah, if you're listening out there today, I want to say that there's no greater feeling to be a part of the redemption process for somebody's life, knowing that you are instrumental in their salvation. And see, I used to be an addict.

An addict is, you know, an addiction is something that you do that you don't want to do, but you can't stop doing it. And so I was an alcoholic, a drug addict, and I didn't know how to stop until Jesus saved me. Now on the flip side, I can't stop preaching the gospel. I'm so addicted to Jesus.

I got to provide an opportunity for somebody else to receive the same gift that I received almost 20 years now. So he's the God of second chances, if you need one today. People listening are like, well, I'm not going to go share the gospel with my neighbor. I'm not going to go preach the gospel. That's for guys like Chance. That's for Billy Graham. That's for John Wesley.

I'm not going to do that kind of thing. What do you say to people out there? I think I heard Greg Laurie say less than 4% of believers are even sharing their faith. And we have the words of life. We have the message of the savior who came the only one that can set us free. You've been set free from the bondage of sin. I've been set free, but Chance, what do you say to folks out there about the importance of sharing the gospel?

You can do it too. The greatest evangelistic tool that we have in our life is our personal testimony. And if you've been touched by God, you have a testimony. You know, my wife, she's never drank any alcohol.

She's never done any drugs. And I'll never forget when we first met, she used to hear me preach and she'd be like, wow, what a story. And she said, Chance, I wish I had a story like you.

And I'm like, no, you don't. Nobody has to go to the depths of sin like me. And the greatest story is when somebody gives their life to Jesus at a very young age and they serve him faithfully all the days of their life.

So you could have a story like my wife, or you could have a story like me, but you've got a story. And that's the greatest way to share the gospel is through your testimony. His name is Chance Walters. He's an evangelist. He loves Christ. He popped into Wednesday in the word this morning and he's blessed us.

We can hear the music in the background. There's guys still talking and praying all around here. Chance, as we take us home, what's the website for folks, for your ministry and how can our listeners pray for you, man? You're out there sowing seeds and preaching the gospel.

ChanceWalters.org is our website, but we have a podcast called On the Revival Road. That's our tagline because we're always on the road. And so we would love to connect with you and see you soon. Your final challenge out there, your heart for America, what keeps you going? You're going to leave here. You're going to go set up another thing. You're going to go be preaching tomorrow night. You take your sweet family all over the place to preach the gospel.

What keeps your engine going? What do you do that makes you feel most alive as we wrap this interview up? Well, I'm a hope dealer and so I have hope.

I've read the end of the book. We win. And so I believe that there's hope for America. I believe there's hope for you. And I just believe the best is yet to come. So don't give up.

Let's keep moving forward. Amen. Don't take a chance on eternity. Trust Jesus today. Chance Walters, evangelist. Thanks for letting us have fun with your name. We love you, man. God doesn't do anything by chance, but he's using a guy named Chance right here to lead people to Christ. Stay in the word at Dario's. I'll see you next week. This is the truth network.