Josh Liljenquist’s team & creator operations.

My life was dark and lonely. I sold and used drugs for 30 years to cope with the pain from past trauma. For so many years, I felt like I wasn’t really living—I was just existing.

I realized that I had been letting myself and my family down for so many years. I believed that my family didn’t care if I lived or died, and I truly believed I would either die using drugs or end up in prison. At the time, I was okay with that, but I know now that was a lie from the devil.

The day I accepted Christ into my heart, everything changed. The Lord started working on my heart and has restored so many relationships in my life.

Yes. I had relapsed shortly after I got married, and my wife left me because of it. Instead of getting clean, I pawned her wedding ring and lost all the money in one night.

I was literally going to end my life, but God had a different plan for me that night. He put it on my heart to call a friend at 4 a.m. I made that call, and the next day I went to treatment. Looking back, I know God was there even when I couldn’t see it.

It meant surrendering every single thing in my life to Him. It meant putting God first in everything I do. For me, that means being obedient, being in the Word, and being the hands and feet of Jesus.

It isn’t just something I say I believe. It is something I try to live every day.

I started praying and asking God for different things. One of the biggest things I prayed for was for Him to take away my cravings for drugs, and He did.

My wife was in recovery during this whole time, and slowly, trust started being rebuilt in my relationship with her and with my family.

My priorities became much more God-driven. I focused on putting God first, praying, and putting my family before everything else. I also started caring more about other people, meeting people where they are, and not judging them.

When I first met Josh, one of the very first conversations we ever had was him telling me that God was telling him that I was going to strengthen his faith.

At the time, I felt like that was an answered prayer. Our relationship started becoming like family—like brothers, and sometimes even like a father-and-son relationship.

What I’ve realized is that conversation was one of the very first things God was showing us. Since then, I truly believe almost everybody we meet has had their faith strengthened in some way, including our own. I believe God had a plan for bringing us together.

For almost three years, I had been praying for God to continue bringing people into my life who know Him and people who don’t, so that we could grow together and praise Him through everything we do.

Then I met Josh and Ben and realized that God was using each of us differently, but bringing us together as a team to glorify Him.

After 30 years of drug use, years in prison, and years of being homeless, I used to think that maybe all of those years were for nothing. Now I believe God is using my story as part of this team to show other people how good He is and to give people hope.

My role is to go through the nomination forms that are sent to me. I don’t just briefly look at them—I really read the stories and try to understand the person being nominated.

Then I reach out to the person who nominated them and have a conversation with them, asking questions so we can understand more about the person and their story.

I also help set up the times, days, and locations for filming. And I try to help in whatever way I can to make things easier for everybody else on the team.

I usually start very simply by asking their name and asking how they are. I keep it short, simple, and genuine.

From there, I feel like God gives me the gift of discernment and direction for where the conversation needs to go. I don’t judge anybody. The goal is to meet every single person where they’re at because we’re all different.

I remember what it was like to be judged while I was in addiction—whether it was by family, friends, or people in the community.

I’ve met so many people throughout my life who have gone through the same things I have, and being able to share with them how Jesus changed my life has shown me how important it is not to judge people.

I don’t want anybody to feel the way I felt growing up or throughout my addiction. I believe God doesn’t want me to judge anybody. He wants me to love people and meet them where they are.

I try to mention God in every conversation I have with people. I always feel a sense of urgency about it—not because I want to force anything on anyone, but because I feel it in my heart.

Most of the people I talk to are genuine believers, so I’m able to go deeper with them about how good God is and how my faith is strengthened every day through the people we meet.

I believe many of the people we meet are answers to prayers.

Every single day, I pray the same thing. I ask God to continue bringing people into our lives who know Him and people who don’t, so that we can help each other grow and give Him praise in everything we do.

That has been a prayer I’ve been asking God for over the last few years. So when God put this team together and brought me onto it, I felt like I was seeing an answered prayer right in front of me.

It absolutely has.

When we leave, I feel like the families and people we meet feel a sense of relief—like maybe their prayers have been answered, just like mine have been.

Seeing that reminds me that God is working through these relationships, and it strengthens my faith because I get to see Him working in people’s lives.

Meeting Azeza and her family has really changed me.

There was a time in my life when I was very, very racist. I didn’t understand Muslim culture or their religion, and I had a lot of hatred toward Muslims. I never talked very highly of them.

Then I met Azeza and her family with Josh and the team, and it changed a lot of things in me. It made me realize that God is the only one who judges, and that Jesus loves every single one of us.

That experience showed me that God can change your heart in areas you didn’t even realize needed to change.

I want people to know that it is never too late.

God wants to use you in a mighty way. After 30 years of active addiction, He changed my life forever.

If God could change me, I believe He can change anybody. It is never too late.

I truly believe that each one of us has a special gift that God gave us on this team.

For me, I believe part of my calling is making sure that every person we meet knows the Lord and knows Jesus. Since I’m the one reaching out to the people on the nomination forms, I get the opportunity to hear their stories, hear about their struggles, and build relationships with them.

I believe God is calling me to help reach the people He wants us to meet and to glorify Him through everything we do.

Every day, I feel like my cup is overflowing. Since we met last December, I’ve seen so many people’s faith strengthened, including my own.

And I want to do whatever I can to make Josh and Ben’s lives easier—whatever that looks like. If God has put me on this team, I want to serve, help, love people, and glorify Him in everything I do.