ACT 1:  A Turbulent Takeoff:

 

Imagine boarding a plane with no clue about the destination, a cocktail of turbulence, unexpected passengers, and divine in-flight entertainment. Welcome to my life. My journey to Christ wasn't a first-class ticket to enlightenment but a cattle-call flight through the stormy skies of existence, marked by existential free-falls and celestial course corrections only God could plot. It's a story so bizarre, even Kafka would shrug and say, "Too much, man."

​

So there I was, a nice Jewish kid, marinated in cultural identity and simmered in skepticism. Christianity? It was the other aisle seat—fervent believers flashing faith like frequent flyer miles. Not my path, said my upbringing. Raised in a household that leaned toward atheism, I felt increasingly disconnected from, well, everything.

​​

Adulthood hit like a sudden drop in cabin pressure: addiction, job instability, homelessness. My search for God was the only constant, even if the signal was as spotty as inflight Wi-Fi. I went down every spiritual rabbit hole imaginable—Buddhism, New Age, Hinduism, conspiracy theories, astrology, tarot, you name it, I went down the hole. And the holes got dark very quick. I was drawn into the mafia in Chicago and was even a block away from the Boston Marathon Bomb.  Why I was there, only God knows. But I remained undeterred and kept seeking, and finally God helped me out of the darkness with a smile :)

​

This is a whole part of my story I will dive into at a later date, but let’s just say learning that I was a miserable, selfish sack of doo doo, who never smiled, was the first step to getting to know Jesus. I picked myself out of homelessness and started an advocacy organization in St. Louis called Smilocracy dedicated to the homeless’s plight.

 

St. Louis became a surprising layover. There, I saw believers with faith engines running at full throttle, changing lives. Inspired, my new-found organization passionately advocated for the homeless based on my testimony. I poured my heart into this mission, becoming a beacon of hope for others. But despite the newfound purpose and the thriving ministry, I still couldn't fully embrace Jesus. I left St. Louis with spiritual loose ends, the journey far from over.

 

ACT 2:  A Desert Detour

​

Then came Arizona, my personal desert—cue the dramatic music. I was 40 years old like the Jews wandering in the desert for 40 years, I too looking for the promised land.  There I met a woman whose devotion to Jesus was both inspiring and irritating, like a relentless in-flight movie. Our debates were spirited, but she always rerouted to Jesus and the Bible.

​

Curiosity got the better of me. I started reading the Bible, initially as a debate tactic, but it soon became clear: Jesus was the inescapable character in this saga. I joined Bible study sessions, stirring the theological pot with tough questions and hot takes. Yet, every discussion seemed to guide me back to Jesus.

​

The more I read, the more I realized Jesus had been the frequent flyer on my life’s journey. God’s presence became as palpable as turbulence on a prop plane, leading me to earnest prayer.

 

One scripture wouldn’t leave me alone, like an annoying seatmate: “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” (Matthew 7:7) This verse became my navigational beacon. Asking, seeking, knocking—each act was aligning my life's chaotic fragments into a divine flight plan.

 

Not long after, I found myself crossing paths with Bob Webb—a Christian engineer who became my new co-pilot on this journey of faith. Bob's insights into prayer were like discovering the hidden controls of the cockpit. Suddenly, it felt as though God had strategically placed Grandpa Bob in my life specifically to teach me about His Son, Jesus. Grandpa Bob, with his 80 years of accrued wisdom, took me under his wing. Despite the four-decade age gap, we quickly formed a sacred bond, like an unlikely buddy cop duo.

​

Bob, a former engineer and pilot, had a knack for teaching scripture with the precision of, well, an engineer. He deconstructed the Bible and prayer with the methodical exactitude of someone reverse-engineering an alien spacecraft. Even a child—or a new believer like me—could understand. Through his mentorship, I began to see my incredible potential to serve God, a potential that had previously felt as elusive as an exit row seat on a budget airline.

​

ACT 3:  Building a NEW "PrayerCraft" for my life

​

Inspired by Grandpa Bob’s teachings, I felt compelled to write. Before I knew it, I had authored three books titled Little Prayer Warrior, where Grandpa Bob is the main character teaching little boy Matthew—me—to pray. These books were a revelation, perhaps even prophecy. I know that's a loaded word, but we're talking biblical stuff here.  The mind blowing part is that the books revealed the vision for the EvangelizePHX app and the Prayer Force!  

 

Please check out the books if you haven't.  They are important to this journey.

 

So, there I was, having just written these books, when the EvangelizePHX App took off from the runway of my imagination. The mind-blowing part? The story in the books started to become real in my everyday life.  It was like Inception, but with fewer dream layers and more divine intervention. Every character in the book started appearing around me.  This wasn’t just narrative fiction; it was a prophecy in paperback form. My story started bleeding into reality as we built EvangelizePHX and recruited other Christians in our town to join the Prayer Force.

​

I need to preface, I am still the biggest kid in love with Jesus, just learning how to pray. My relationship with Him and God is still in its infancy—it’s been only a year since I accepted Christ as my savior. Imagine me as a spiritual toddler, still wobbly on my feet but eager to run. Yet, it seems like God wants me to sprint because this platform and the avalanche of evangelism I've been doing are proof that He’s got me on the fast track.

​​

Which takes me to the part of the story that I am writing today.

​

What you see on this website is the culmination of a lifetime of failed ideas, visions, and entrepreneurial ambitions. It's like I’ve been on a series of budget airlines that never reached their destinations. All those turbulent flights have led to this—the Prayer Force, the EvangelizePHX App. I’m as mystified as anyone that this all exists.

​

That's why I honor and glorify God in everything I do and create. Nothing I'm doing with EvangelizePHX is me. It is all God. I'm just asking, seeking, and knocking for what to do—most importantly, in Jesus's name—and this is what God has provided me to do and create. A special shoutout to that woman I debated so fiercely at the start of my journey to Christ. Please forgive me, Love.

​​

I need to close by saying how much I love Jesus, how He truly has become the captain in the cockpit of my life, navigating me to where I need to go through prayer. The lessons Grandpa Bob has taught me really work. It's evidenced by what is on this website, the Prayer Force, the evangelism I've been doing, and so much more. Again, all glory goes to God; I didn't do any of it.

​

​​

Dedication Prayer and Prayer Force Pilot School

 

Please check out my Dedication Prayer to God. It was Grandpa Bob's idea to write it, and I'm so grateful for him and his presence and wisdom in my life. There’s so much more I want to tell you, and I’ll be sharing it all on the app’s website through my prayers, podcasts, and social media channels, which I pray to get up very soon!

​

Also, please Sign up for Beta of the App. We’re starting Prayer Force Academy with Captain Jesus as the main evangelist instructor. It’s gonna be amazing. He taught me everything you see on this site!  Kids, especially are going to LOVE IT!!!

​​

Finally, I want to thank my beloved fiancée, Jini. Thank you for turning me to Christ. I miss you and love you.

 

With ALL the love of God in my heart... in Christ Jesus' holy name,

Matthew

​

July 7, 2024

7:07 pm