Editor’s note: The following story discusses suicide. If you or someone you know battles harmful thoughts, please dial 988 for help.
Bryce Crawford, a 22-year-old Christian evangelist and founder of Jesus in the Street, said he once reached a breaking point at age 17.
“I just wanted to take my life,” Crawford said in a Sept. 11 episode of “The Lila Rose Show” podcast.
Host Lila Rose asked Crawford about the season when he nearly committed suicide. He said depression, anxiety, disillusionment with hypocrisy in the church and anger over suffering had left him believing that taking his life might be the only way to escape the pain.
On Christmas Day 2020, Crawford said he went to a Waffle House before making what he described as an irreversible decision. The restaurant was packed, so he shared a table with a stranger whose account of a troubled marriage unexpectedly forced Crawford to confront his own view of God.
“The 18 inches between my head and my heart finally connected,” Crawford said, describing the moment the Bible lessons he had heard since childhood became personal. He said he suddenly understood Christ’s sacrifice as evidence of God’s unconditional love, a realization he described as the first time Jesus became real to him.
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Crawford then ran to his car and prayed. “Jesus, if you’re real, take away my anxiety and depression,” he recalled saying before adding that, “in a moment he took it away.” Crawford presented the experience as his personal testimony, saying it began nearly six years of following Jesus and eventually led him into public evangelism.
He also acknowledged that his Christian life has included renewed struggles rather than a simple story of never feeling anxious again. After a later episode left him bedridden for about 24 hours, Crawford said he went for a run and heard what he understood as the Holy Spirit tell him, “You’re not a hypocrite; you’re just human.”
That testimony shaped the way Crawford says he approaches people in public. He recalled that he initially ran up to strangers, told them Jesus loved them and ran away before they could ask questions, but he eventually learned to remain present and listen; Heartlander News has similarly reported that Crawford sees difficult conversations as a way to grow deeper in his faith.
Crawford said a dream in 2023 helped clarify his next step: record conversations in difficult places so Christians could see how to engage people they might otherwise avoid. He attributed the dream’s message to Loren Cunningham, the late founder of Youth With A Mission, and summarized it this way: “America needs Jesus and you can reach the nations from focusing on America.”
According to Crawford, the recorded conversations grew into evangelism videos, Bible teaching and a podcast. His ministry website now describes his work as preaching, digital media, Scripture and campus outreach, while ChurchLeaders has previously covered his appeal to younger Christians and his testimony.
Looking ahead, Crawford said he wants to see “evangelism groups on campuses across the country fired up about sharing their faith.” He said the goal is not a polished brand but “real boldness, real tools, real strategy” that help believers use their own stories to point people toward Jesus.
Rose asked whether Crawford believes the culture is changing. He said he sees growing interest in local churches but urged Christians to pursue “real devotion and not like an emotional high,” a distinction that captures the thread running through his story: faith, he said, must move from a private idea to a lived commitment.
Crawford’s account remains testimony rather than independent medical or statistical evidence, but his stated hope is straightforward: that people who feel far from God will encounter Christians willing to listen, speak honestly and live what they believe.
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