Bryce Crawford explains why he takes the Gospel to hostile places many Christians avoid

Podcaster Bryce Crawford remembers vividly the day he had decided to take his own life: Christmas Day 2020.

It was the middle of the pandemic, a season when many people, stripped of their usual routines, were left to wrestle with questions they had never slowed down to consider.

Crawford had battled depression and anxiety since about the eighth grade and, that year, reached the point of planning what he calls an “irrevocable decision.” But on the very night he intended to go through with it, Jesus saved him, prompting a prayer that God would take away his anxiety and depression – a burden he says has been gone ever since.

Today, Crawford is a social media and street evangelist, the host of The Bryce Crawford Podcast and the founder of Jesus in the Street, a ministry focused on sharing the gospel online and in person. He’s also traveling from city to city as part of the I Love Jesus Tour, sharing his testimony and urging others to surrender their lives to Christ.

At 22, he is both a product of and a prominent voice within what some are calling a Gen Z revival – a generation he says is hungry for truth.

“Jesus supernaturally encountered me,” he says.

“Because God loved me first, it’s just compelled me to meet people where they’re at.”

Crawford has 800,000 followers on YouTube and 7 million more across TikTok and Instagram, thanks in part to street evangelism videos that show him sharing the gospel in public spaces –  with Satanists, Muslims, Pride Parade activists, atheists and just about everyone in between.

He gained the confidence to share Jesus in tough situations the same way anyone else would: through trial and error.

“I used to run up to people and say, ‘Jesus loves you,’ – and I’d run away before they could respond, because I didn’t have the answers to their questions,” he told The Lion, smiling. “And then I slowly started standing in the face [of pressure] and letting people ask tough questions – that allowed me to dive deeper into my faith. I’ve always been sharing my faith. I’ve always been passionate about it, because I found the antidote to everything that I thought was incurable in my life. I know all the mistakes I’ve made that no one knows.”

He hopes his own boldness will inspire others – especially younger people – to speak openly about their faith.

“I thought: Well, man, if God could do it in my life, he sure as heck can do it in anyone else’s life. And so that’s kind of where that love overflowed and ultimately led us to sharing in our faith.”

That public witness is “more than just a social media or a ministry thing,” he said.

“This really is a lifestyle that we live because we really believe that He is the necessity,” Crawford said.

Sometimes, that mission leads him into especially difficult conversations, including with people battling drug addiction or mental health struggles.

“Whether it’s mental health or substance abuse – things can be intimidating, but the gospel has no barrier based on language. It has no barrier based on if someone’s under the influence. God can move in anyone’s heart,” he told The Lion. “You know, it’s so funny. Oftentimes, people that are under the influence tend to be the most honest. They say things they shouldn’t say. They open up about secrets they shouldn’t share. And so you’ve got to read the room and use common sense going in – is this person really hungry and desperate, or are they just under the influence?

“But all in all, whether someone has a million dollars in their bank account or none, whether someone’s sober or not sober, whether someone has clothes or not clothes, the price tag that God puts on their life is the same.”

Crawford’s U.S. tour concludes March 29 in Los Angeles.