Ty Cobb Backer: 0:00

And we are live. Welcome back everybody to episode 261 of Behind the Tool Belt. Thank you for joining us on this Tuesday morning edition. We decided to do today instead of Christmas morning or Christmas afternoon. Now, we could have probably gotten away with it, but I figured I wouldn't put everybody through that on Christmas afternoon or morning. So today we have another special guest and stay tuned, and we will be back after our short intro from our sponsors.

Speaker 2: 0:56

Welcome to Behind the Tool Belt, where the stories are bold, the conversations are real and the insights come to you live, raw and uncut are real and the insights come to you live, raw and uncut. Every week, host Ty Cobb-Backer sits down with game changers, trailblazers and industry leaders who aren't afraid to tell it like it is no filters, no scripts, just the truth. Please welcome your host of Behind the Tool Belt, ty Cobb-Backer.

Ty Cobb Backer: 1:24

Welcome back everybody. Happy Christmas Eve everybody. Man, it's come quick this year. I don't know what happened, but man, it's here, it's tomorrow, tomorrow's the big day and we have another great special. You know I say special, special guest every week, but truly, truly, today we have one of my mentors, from a distance, whether you know it or not, jeff, the founder, the leader of Impact Nations Global Ministries. Jeff, I had the wonderful honor and privilege and pleasure to travel to Uganda with Jeff a couple, I think two years ago now, and, and for me I'm, I've, I'm still different, changed, changed person from. You know, from the time I met you, jeff, to the stories that I got to listen to on stage down in Austin, texas, at that revolt retreat, have been following you ever since. I know we've had a couple conversations and you know, here we are today, jeff. So Jeff Battles everybody, welcome. Welcome, jeff. To Behind the Tool Belt, my man.

Jeff Battles: 2:36

Thank you so much, man. What a privilege to be on here. We've talked about it for quite a while, so I'm glad that we could finally make it happen. So appreciate you.

Ty Cobb Backer: 2:48

Yeah, me too. I think we were trying to carve out some time when we were over in Uganda, but you were. You were crazy busy and involved with all kinds of things that I had no idea and very, very uh man, eyeopening uh things that I got to experience while we were over there. Uh, you know, it definitely put me in a different mindset of you know when I think things are going. You know not so well for me and has put things in perspective on so many different levels. It's amazing what you do and that's kind of why I wanted to bring you on the show today. I mean no better person. I think you know the day before Christmas, I mean no better person. I think you know the day before Christmas, someone that that gives more than I'm sure you have. You know most, probably most of your life. But let's let's dive into a little bit of like your background, like you know what it was like, how you got here and what it's like now.

Jeff Battles: 3:38

Yeah, I appreciate once again, man. I appreciate everything and giving me this time and opportunity. You know, when it comes to our ministry, you know it. Actually the ministry was birthed at one of the really lowest and darkest times of my life. To be honest with you, you think that when you start a ministry, you start something that you believe God is calling you to do. You started at a mountain peak or at a high place in your life when everything is going well, but that's actually not the way that it happened, and it's interestingly enough as tomorrow we celebrate the birth of Christ. If you think about it, even Christ was born in the dirtiest place that you can possibly be born. In fact, the time that he was born, the king had ordered the killing of every young male under the age of two. So you think about the circumstances that he was born in and became king.

Jeff Battles: 4:24

And so when I was called to the ministry, my wife and I were going through a divorce. We were going through the hardest time of my life. I was a liar, I was living in sin, all of these things were happening, and it was then when God said I have a mission for you, I have a plan for you and I thought why would you call somebody like me? My life is a wreck, I can't do anything right, but it's interesting. That's really how you know the character of God is, when you realize that he sees who you're supposed to be, not who you are right now. And and I believe that if we see more people that way, we stopped looking at them for the choices that they made yesterday and start realizing that they have a potential for tomorrow. And so that's really when it all started is.

Jeff Battles: 5:05

I got called at that point in time and my very first mission was in the Middle East. With my military background, I needed more. I couldn't just sit in a church pew every week. So, yeah, I got called and that was the Middle East my very first time, and it's never been the same since then. I think when someone, someone gives you a chance when you don't deserve a chance, I believe it pushes you a little bit harder each day to be better, because somebody believing in you goes a lot further than someone condemning you from things that you did publicly and ruined a lot of your, a lot of your past and a lot of relationships that you had. So so it was a very powerful start, but I'm just so thankful that I'm in that opportunity, and so, from today forward, we just believe that we want to spend as much time as we can making people's lives better.

Ty Cobb Backer: 5:52

So yeah, yeah. So what, what was I mean? I, I know you said that you were, you were going through some a rough patch in your life and it sounds like most of it was. Was, you know, self-induced due to bad decision-making, or substance or mental, whatever the case might be. But what, what? What happened? Like when, when you decided to to take the path that you're on now, like where? Like did you lose your house? Like you're? Obviously you said your wife was leaving you, but like, how did you know? Like, okay, today's the day I'm going to change, or was it like a progression over time?

Jeff Battles: 6:28

Yeah, well, you know, it's interesting because at the time I had, I had more money than I could ever imagine. I was even mentored by Donald Trump in seven different times we had met and he mentored us in business. And I had a massive house, had five or six cars, I had everything on the outside that you, you would think that people would want and that they pray for every day. And the problem was is the outside was perfect but the inside was full of filth. Um, you know, I was, um, I was just doing the opposite. I was standing on stages reciting scripture, but I was living the exact opposite of the way that I was preaching and teaching. So, um, I, literally I just took a nosedive. Um, and, and I've, I've realized in life when, when God exposes you for the things that you're hiding, uh per se, in the dark, it's not really a punishment, it's an opportunity for us to open up, turn around, get back and head on the right direction. So God had told me to give up that business, to let go of that, because it was. It was that success. I was on Success Magazine four different times. It was that success that kept me so full of pride. So it's success is good in itself, but, but when you do it in the wrong way and you're full of pride, he will take you backwards to start from square one, just so you know. Okay, success is not bad. But who I was was, and so I needed to start all over again. So I literally had to get rid of everything. I sold off all of my possessions to go start ministry and, and and it wasn't really a punishment, it was God stripping everything in my life that I was holding onto, and I found my strength in him instead of all the things that I could acquire on my own or the things that money could buy. So after all of that had happened and I had hit that low, I was actually in.

Jeff Battles: 8:13

My wife used to pray for me in her closet when I would be out living in sin and doing stupid things, and she would go in that closet and pray. It was a big walk in closet and it was one. It was one day when she had left and the kids had left. So I was in a in a six bedroom house with the only bedroom that had anything in. It was mine and it was me and, and, uh, I'd walked into her closet to just go in and pray or do something. I was just, I was at law. And so, um, I walked into her closet and I literally felt the power, from where she had been praying for me that entire time, that I was being an idiot. And so when I went in there, I brought my pillow in that room and I believe I stayed in there for hours and all I could do is just weep, and all I could do is cry. And I found myself so weak that I couldn't even get up off of the floor.

Jeff Battles: 9:00

And it was in that moment when I couldn't even get up is when God literally entered and just said I have a job for you. And now imagine when your performance is horrible, your life choices are horrible, your circumstances are horrible, you're declining faster than you've ever increased in your life. And that's when God says I have something for you to do, I'm calling you. I'm calling, I'm appointing a mission to you. I'm appointing a mission to you.

Jeff Battles: 9:24

And I believe that it was that moment that I realized, like every single circumstance biblically, every single person, that God pulled. He pulled them from the ground, he pulled them from the lowest point of their lives and said I have something for you, and so it was that time that everything really transformed and changed for me. I still, I'm still not perfect, I still make stupid choices, I still, but I realized that every time I fall, I know now you just get up and you keep going in the same direction that you were going in, if it's the right, if it's the right way. So, so yeah, it was a challenging start, but I'll tell you I wouldn't trade it for anything, because it's those rocky times and it's those valleys that teach you how good the mountaintop really can be.

Ty Cobb Backer: 10:03

And it's those valleys that teach you how good the mountaintop really can be. Yeah, amen to that. Amen to that. So you touched on the word success quite a few times there when you were talking. Would you say that your definition or your perception of success has changed? One hundred percent. So so what would? How do you define success today?

Jeff Battles: 10:26

Well, I think success without peace, without joy, without purpose, I think is not really truly success. I mean, we a lot of times success has been polished up is on the outside, if you have the tangible things. But I think really success is that's just a by-product, in my opinion. I believe success starts on the inside If you have joy, if you have peace, if you know the direction you're supposed to be going. I know people that have the nicest cars, the nicest houses but have no idea where they're supposed to be at and what they're supposed to be doing. I think the poorest person in the world. All they have is money. Um, money is a by-product. Money is a is a byproduct. Money is a tool that you shouldn't serve money, but money should serve you. And I believe that when you start putting money second or third or fourth, I believe that it's a lot easier to attain, when it stops becoming such an idol in our lives. And that's really what's happened for us.

Jeff Battles: 11:18

In fact, if you remember, it was a little over a year ago it was December of last year that I sat on the phone with you and I said to you I contemplated even quitting the ministry because funding it was just so difficult and so hard. And I said you know, I was expecting all these business owners to support us in what we're doing and it really didn't happen. And so I prayed. I said, god, if you don't want me doing this anymore, if you don't want me traveling the world anymore, then you just need to give me a sign and show me and I thought he was giving me a sign that hey, no support means you should stop. And what I realized is I was asking for support but I wasn't asking for wisdom. And so I realized the success that you had had in business, the success that, just from the years of grinding and just in one direction, I thought you know what, give me 30 minutes of your time.

Jeff Battles: 12:06

And, if you remember, you gave me and a few other people 30 minutes of your time and I haven't had to go back because I literally took the nuggets that you said in that 30 minutes and I just applied everything that you said. I didn't well, I don't want to do it this way I just you already were creating a path to success. I just took those items that you said, I wrote them down and we applied them that month and today, even though the giving in the ministry was down today. In the month of December, over $30,000 has gone out in global support and admissions. This month. It was one of our biggest months in just support that we've ever had, thanks to a 30-minute phone call when you just said, do this, do this, do this, and I said okay, okay, okay. And so I just wanted to let you know that that that that 30 minute call has has gone a lot further than you think.

Ty Cobb Backer: 12:55

Yeah, thank you for sharing that. You know, cause I, I, I try to think back to that call because you've said a couple, you said it to me a couple of times, you know, or thanked me a couple of times, whether through a comment on social media or over the phone. For me, I just, you know, I, I didn't realize at that time how impactful it was going to be for you, so I'm grateful for the trials and tribulations and ups and downs and ebbs and flows that I've been through and that's how you know. When I asked you, how do you measure success today? It's definitely impact over profit and the impact that we have, the amount of impact that we have on people's lives today, is how I measure impact, not necessarily by the dollars in my checking account. It's the amount of people that we're able to impact. And I also feel like that I've been given a second chance and I call it the extended warranty and how you get that phone call. Sometimes you get those spam calls all the time and they're trying to extend your car warranty. I took them up on that and when I got that call I was like you know what, thank you, thank you for that extended warranty.

Ty Cobb Backer: 14:05

I'm on borrowed time today and you know I had to make a decision. You know, what am I going to do with this time, this borrowed time that I'm on today? Am I going to, am I going to take it, take advantage? And, uh, you know, and I found God um in the basement of churches, and that's typically where, where we do a lot of our work is not necessarily in God's house, but like in his, in the basement of God's house, whether it's the food pantries, um, whether it's the uh, the other events and things that that I um participate in, and and, and that's kind of where I found and he spoke to me through, obviously, other people, in the pages of the books and stuff that I read and, and, uh, stuff like that.

Ty Cobb Backer: 14:51

But you know the, the, the part of success where I think so many people get it wrong. You know they're they're chasing the dollars or they're chasing the sense, and it's like what happens is is like that actually gets in the way of of God, like whenever you put money in front of God or or whatever program that you're involved with. Those are the things that you tend to lose, and I think for me and I've gone through it, I've gone through it before and I've hit rock bottom myself and it's kind of like that's where I needed to hear his message, because the noise that I created in my life I couldn't hear what he wanted me to do. Yeah, and it's, and it sounds like that there was some.

Ty Cobb Backer: 15:29

You know, you hit your bottom differently, but we all have different bottoms with that feeling of the guilt and the shame and the fear. I think is all the same. I think the feelings are all the same, regardless of how we got there. And I was trying to think of a think, of an analogy. Yesterday, after I spoke to you and asked you if you wanted to come on the show, I was trying to think like do you think? I guess it's more so a question like do you think why does it take someone like you and me to have to lose everything before we think it's a good idea that we were on the wrong path?

Jeff Battles: 16:05

Yeah, I think that really the whole idea of everything I think that's the reason why is because we thought everything was the wrong thing. Everything was the parts of life that we build ourselves. But I've realized that, just like in the book of Jeremiah, it says before you were formed, in the womb, I knew you, and so there was a plan for me and you before we were even born. And I think the problem is is God has his plan, but then we have our plan because we have free will and a lot of times we decide what we think we're supposed to do. We make our own choices. And that's the powerful thing about second chances is that when we realize, wow, this is the wrong road, we have the opportunity to turn around. And that's my prayer that, especially through this holiday season, that people realize that it's okay to turn around, it's okay to say I was wrong, it's okay to say I made a mistake, and I think that's the biggest part is, pride keeps us on that road for so long.

Jeff Battles: 17:00

For me, I found my identity in what I consider to be success. I found my identity in $100,000 cars. I found my identity in a six bedroom house, and that's what's crazy is because I thought people loved me. And on the outside, when I walked out on stages, everyone was clapping but they had no idea who I was. They didn't know I was suffering. They didn't know that I would have traded my situation for theirs, even though they were broke, they were poor. I would have traded in a heartbeat because I was literally driving that $100,000 life in the wrong direction as fast as I could go. But today it's interesting. We have more tangible things today than we did back then. But it doesn't control me, it doesn't drive my ship anymore, if that makes sense. It's nothing to get something that I always wanted and then turn around and give it away because I realized what I always wanted was the peace that I have now, was the joy that I have now and, most importantly, even the purpose that I have now. So I wouldn't trade that for anything today.

Ty Cobb Backer: 18:01

Yeah, yeah, me, neither, me, neither. And it's like you know, my motivation today is differently. It's not the things necessarily that that you know I have acquired from doing the next right thing all the time it's, it's more so the, the, what, what I can give, and it's like my, I guess my, for me, my priorities have changed a lot and again, I'm not perfect, by no means, but usually there's red flags that go up and I realize like I'm getting off track here a little bit. But you know, it's just funny. You know, money has become more of, the has has allowed us to have a bigger impact. It's almost like I didn't know how I wasn't responsible enough, I guess, at the time, early on in my career, or or prior to cause I our stories are a lot alike. So I had I had, you know, small success about two decades ago, and and small success a little bit of a fortune, and and and for a short period of time, and I ended up losing it all. Okay, and it was because I had put everything in front of God and and it, it. It appeared that everything that I had put in front of God was removed from me. Ok, but what the crazy part of that was is that he left me everything that I needed. Now, mind you, I was behind bars.

Ty Cobb Backer: 19:23

Ok, and you want to talk about powerlessness, as I'm still trying to control the show. I'm still trying to be the director. Powerlessness, as I'm still trying to control the show. I'm still trying to be the director. Okay, in this concrete building, concrete steel building, and having people hang up on me, right, I get a five minute window to use the phone and I'm screaming and I'm hollering, still self-will, right, trying to be director, and people would just hang up, click, because they didn't have to put up with it anymore, because I was there and I needed all of that to humble, to get humble.

Ty Cobb Backer: 19:57

And what's crazy is it's like the minute that I dropped to my knees in that small little cell and I said to God like, please help me. And I've said foxhole prayers many, many, many times, but something changed. Somebody came to visit me and they were so grateful that I was still alive because of the way that I was living my life and treating others and treating my body and things like that, and he came in. He'd visit me once a week and eventually I was able to get out and it's like the second day that I got out of jail, like I hit the ground running, my purpose was different, my motivation was different. It was coming from someplace else and it wasn't. It was a motivation that that I've never felt before or got to experience until I actually had lost everything. And it was so funny, Like I went to work the second day.

Ty Cobb Backer: 20:44

I was out. The first day I would have went to work but I had to run around and do the parole officer thing and do all these things. But literally the second day I had already had a job lined up. I was on a roof. The second day I had found someone that could drive me around in my vehicle, that that was an assistant, that was my helper, and literally there was people like kind of waiting for Ty to get his shit together for me already Like people were put in place and like God had started putting people in my life and and my gratitude today is much different.

Ty Cobb Backer: 21:16

Like I find gratitude in other things, not money. Like I'm not grateful for having money and don't get me wrong, there are still times because we give so much away there and it, and it and it. Sometimes it creates, you know, uh, financial insecurity at times, but we continuously keep giving and then all of a sudden, like that's the silver bullet, Like that's the silver lining, where it's like continuously keep giving, and then all of a sudden it's like the next thing. You know, things are just working out, even when I'm giving, when I don't have myself.

Jeff Battles: 21:45

Yeah, yeah.

Ty Cobb Backer: 21:47

You know, it's a hundred percent. Can you still hear me okay?

Ty Cobb Backer: 21:50

yeah, yep, no, you're perfect, you're okay we hear you? Yeah, we hear you and I could talk about that for for for hours, but let's talk a little bit like what is for those that aren't familiar with. You know, impact nations? Why don't, why don't you explain to us what that is? Because I I think for us we're having a conversation, we know what impact is, but why don't you explain, like what it is that you're doing and some of the programs, not just locally but globally?

Jeff Battles: 22:17

Yeah, well, one of the things that people ask me all the time. You know, why are you going overseas so much? Why are you doing so much of your ministry work over there? It's real simple. That's just where I was called. Trust me, I wish I could be doing it here in the US. I'd be saving a lot of money, a lot of travel, a lot of time and even more safe.

Jeff Battles: 22:34

But you know, originally we started out we just started out by taking the gospel across the world. We started taking it to the Middle East. We started taking it to Pakistan, afghanistan, places where it was illegal to preach that message, and over time we started going to Africa, and so it started out preaching large crusades. We've preached to crowds of almost a half a million people at one setting at one time.

Jeff Battles: 22:58

But over time, as I continue to study the word and study the Bible, I realized that Jesus built his whole ministry one by one. He would literally go out of his way. In fact, in John, chapter 4, it literally talks about jesus was walking to this well, and he was so tired that he had to sit down and take a rest. So imagine god himself walking by foot, so tired that he had to sit down because he had a meeting with just one woman that was married five times and was living with another man that she wasn't married to. And it's like god himself would wear himself out to go meet a caliber of person just like that. And so some things shifted over the last, really, couple of years. Is we have so many individual stories and individual testimonies where somebody would just stand out in that crowd and we would really just invest and put our, our resources and our energy and our time and just our attention into one single person. You'd have a crowd of 10,000 people but one person would stand out, and so that one person we're still with today. That one person at this meeting we're still with today, whether it be a little kid in the village that we didn't forget their birthday, or whether it be a blind woman from a village who was taken advantage of it's one thing after another who was taken advantage of it. It's one thing after another. And so we have we have probably about 200 people across the world today, right now, that we individually provide for that. We take care of that. We cover their rent, cover their schooling, make sure their kids have an opportunity to go to school that they never had before.

Jeff Battles: 24:24

And so, even though we've ministered to the large crowds and we still do through the word, it really showed me don't forget about the one crowds and we still do through the word. It really showed me Don't forget about the one. Don't forget about that one person, because if their story stands out to you, there's a reason for that. And God's saying I choose this one and I want you to stay with this one because this one has a plan, this one has a purpose, and it's not that everyone does it, but your assignment is not everyone. You have to pay attention. When God says this one, he means for you. Your assignment is not everyone. You have to pay attention. When God says this one, he means for you. That person is for you to pour into, to love on. So that's one of the things that we really do is we pinpoint and narrow down. When God reveals somebody to us, we just stick with them through the thick and through thin, through hard times, whatever it may be. And it's amazing to see.

Jeff Battles: 25:07

In fact, I think you witnessed one of the young girls, whatever it may be, and it's amazing to see. In fact, I think you witnessed one of the young girls. She's now 14 years old, but we rescued her out of a really dark situation a few years back and now she's preaching to thousands of people every time she gets the opportunity. And if you knew her situation, if you knew her story before, you'd be like I'm amazed to see, like where God has brought her. But every miracle that God does today on earth, he does it through a man or a woman that says, yes, I'll do it. So that's really what our heart is right now. It impact is really the biggest thing that we're working on today.

Jeff Battles: 25:39

It's called a storehouse and what I've noticed over the years of going to church and being part of church is that the storehouse in the Bible was a place where all of the churchgoers would come and they would bring a little bit of food or a little bit of flour, a little bit of eggs. It wasn't about money to buy bigger buildings, it was about things that would meet the needs of the people and I noticed that's missing and I watched in church in Africa. I would watch how a single mother would come and have nothing. She would have no food, no diapers for her child, but she would bring money to the church and I'm like what is happening? How is this mother not able? I mean, she's coming to a place where there's three or four or 500 people and she's starving and it didn't and it wasn't settling.

Jeff Battles: 26:21

So, like a couple of years straight, I was burdened by this and I was like I was actually very angry at the church for a long time and then I realized like if there's something in your life that's causing you to not sleep at night, if it's causing you to wake up and you think about it when you wake up, it's because God is saying do something. He's like I'm calling you to do something about, brother, to discuss a land deal to where we can build a storehouse, to where single mothers, widows and even young children who have no family, orphans can go and get the things that they need. They can get this food, they can get the diapers, they can get the things that they need to survive, and so we're actually beginning that process right now. It's beyond anything I can do on my own.

Jeff Battles: 27:12

Financially it's going to cost more than I'm able to do, but God didn't tell us to plan based on what's in your bank account. It says plan based on what I'm showing you, what I'm telling you. So that's really one of our biggest missions right now is to build a very first across other nation in those times, um, and I believe it's going to be huge, it's going to be massive. I believe kenya and other nations are going to say how did you guys do this? Because we want to do it too, and it's a way that the church and the community and the people can contribute very little, but it can go so far with the people who have nothing. So that's our prayer right now is just to really fend for the ones that the Bible tells us to the widows and the orphans.

Ty Cobb Backer: 28:00

Wow, jeff, what would you say?

Jeff Battles: 28:02

your biggest challenge is the biggest challenge is, sometimes I get impatient and I'm like God, hurry up, I'm here and you're back here, so will you catch up with me? And there's a reason why there's a timing for everything. And so I get sometimes stressed, like, sometimes get a little bit of reward. Because wisdom allows you to get a reward anytime you want it. Anytime you need it, you can go out and get it.

Jeff Battles: 28:34

And so, uh, the wisest man and the richest man to ever live was was King Solomon, and the book of Proverbs is so full of power, it's so full of of just wisdom that if you apply it, it's amazing. It's literally like a, it's like a pathway and a guide to success in every different category of life. And so so I'd say, probably our biggest challenge a lot of times is just is me wanting to run faster than than what God is saying in the moment, because there's there's a process, and in that process is where you learn more than actually crossing the finish line. And so he wants us all to really invest and spend time in that process, in the valleys of life, because that's where he teaches you everything about himself.

Ty Cobb Backer: 29:18

Yeah, can you share with us like the most impactful story that you've got to experience while doing this?

Jeff Battles: 29:26

I will do that, but I will say that some of them are so, so crazy that I don't know that. A lot of people would even. And if I didn't have it on video and if I didn't have it on photograph, people wouldn't believe it. But you know it was. It was one of my very first trips you got to understand, my very first trip to Pakistan. I still had the, I still had the scent of sin on my life.

Jeff Battles: 29:51

So I'm there preaching in front of thousands of people and I was just reading from my Bible. I wasn't a good preacher, it was my first time ever and there were guns, people with guns up on top of rooftops and stuff watching me. And so I'm preaching and in the middle of preaching there was, uh, two women who brought this child up to the altar and uh, and the child was not alive, the child was dead. And you can imagine how afraid I was, because here you read in the bible about the dead being raised, the sick being healed, all of this stuff, and uh. But here I was, this, this sinful man, like starting for the first time, starting to preach my very first sermon I ever preached, was there. It was that sermon, first one I ever preached. And here they bring this dead baby to the altar. And they brought this baby because here they thought this man of God is there from America. He's just this mighty man God is using all over the world. Meanwhile I was scared to death. And so they bring this child and I didn't know what to do. At first the security team was making them leave, but all I could think about was in the Bible there was a woman with an issue of blood that she needed to get to Jesus. She didn't care what people thought she's like. If I can just get to Jesus, I know I'll get my healing, and so that's all I could think about. So I'm like, don't make them leave.

Jeff Battles: 31:05

And so I leaned over this child and I started like I was going to pray. I was like God, heal this. But I was going to pray, but all I could do is start crying. All I could do is start weeping. And I was like Lord, if I had known that you were going to put me in a situation and allow me to be in a situation like this, I never would have lived the life that I lived. I never would have completely turned my back on you, turn my back on my family. I never would have done that if I had known that this was the level you were going to take. And I cried and I didn't even pray for the baby because all I could do is repent of my sin. So imagine the preacher repenting of a sin in front of about 5,000 people.

Jeff Battles: 31:41

And so I finished weeping over this child and I get up and the women were pointing at the baby like what's going on? The baby's still dead, he's still laying here. Like I thought you were going to pray and I get up and I back up and I went to go read my Bible and as they picked the baby up to walk back to their seats, the next thing I knew I heard screaming. The women started screaming, I mean, and in that moment the baby started breathing. Even now it's emotional because I'm sitting there realizing I didn't even pray. I didn't even pray for that child to wake up, because I didn't even have the words to say. I'm like this is beyond what I can do because I'm a sinful piece of garbage. So why would God even listen to me at something like this? And when I heard them screaming, I realized what happened.

Jeff Battles: 32:31

It was in that moment that God showed me and he realized, like Jeff, it's never been about how good you've been, it's not. All I need is your yes. And God showed me in that moment if you give me your yes, I will do everything that I promised that I would do. And so you have to put yourself to the side how dirty you've been, how wicked you've been, and realize, yes, we've been bad, but he's always been good and it was. It was that time. And from that time I have seen so many things that I can't even explain that it doesn't even make sense. But it was that moment that realized he just showed me I'm God, you're man. Let's keep it that way. And so I'll never forget that time, because that was my very first mission, my very first time, and it's changed my life forever. Um, because there was no other explanation. This baby wasn't dead for five minutes, this baby was dead for three hours, for three hours.

Jeff Battles: 33:18

And they heard about the crusade and they're like this is our last hope, and I think I'm sorry, this is our only hope, and I think that's's our problem here in America is, god is like number four on the list. First, let's try medicine. First, let's try this. First, let's try this and then, after everything else has failed, let's turn to him. But that was their first thing. They heard there was a gospel crusade. They heard the Bible was being preached. By the way, these were Muslim women. They believe that Jesus was a healer, more than any Christian I've ever met, and they came because this is our hope, this is our chance, and that's what happened. So I think that's what really shaped the entire ministry and so many amazing things after that. But that probably was the most impactful thing I've ever experienced, and it's, by the way, that's not the only time it's happened. I've seen that happen now twice and I just it's unexplainable, but I'm so thankful for it.

Ty Cobb Backer: 34:12

Wow, I mean, I'm I'm speechless. I haven't heard that story yet. I should have probably asked you that a long time ago. But, man, that that and I believe it. I, I believe that that happened in your and you're right. I'm sure there's probably some people that might be listening to this or might listen to it later on and think, yeah, okay, whatever.

Ty Cobb Backer: 34:31

But I actually got to experience something when I was in Uganda with, like, what am I doing here? It's very uncomfortable, but I got to experience some things and saw some things and I questioned it at first and you did an altar call where everybody was coming up and you had asked us that had joined you on this crusade to help pray for these, for these people. And, uh, you know, I've never I mean, I have prayed for people. I've always been taught, you know, pray for those you know, especially those that I might be angry at, right, like, like pray for, pray for those people, for everything that you want for yourself, right, and and. But I've also prayed for, you know, my mom and and and my loved ones and people like that, but not to this extent. So I had this young gentleman and I don't even know if I told you this or not, but, um, I had this young gentleman and for, for those of you that know me, you know my story and why I'm here and why I do what I do today Um, but I was questioning myself and I was kind of getting some pressure from the guys, like, have you really turned your you know, your, your, your will and your life over the care of God? That's not exactly how they said it, but that's that's. You know, I I have. But you know, if I had ever had any doubt, if there was a power out there greater than myself, this, what happened to me, what I got to experience over there, has definitely smashed that idea of like, okay, there, you know there is. I know for a fact that there is so long story short.

Ty Cobb Backer: 36:11

I had this young gentleman come up to me and he had asked me to pray for him and I said what would you like me to pray for you? He's, and he looked at me in the face and he says I struggle with alcoholism, I drink too much, and at that exact moment I knew exactly why I was there. Jeff, like I said, for those of you that know me know that I've struggled with alcoholism pretty much my whole entire life Now. I've been sober for over 14 years now, but at that moment I knew exactly why I was there. Why God had placed me there was was to pray for this guy. And I'm not and for those of you that know me know that I'm not a Bible bumper or anything like that but I do.

Ty Cobb Backer: 36:56

I do believe in higher power and I choose to call him God today, and because of that trip, jeff, you had taken my level of spirituality to to a whole nother level that I didn't even know existed. And to to witness his miracles. Um, the things that we got to experience over there whether it was through, you know, those that were coming up that were suffering from black magic, or or all of these weird and crazy things that you see on TV and you see on the movies but to to be able to experience God's work in a, in a place where you would think that he forgot about or and question why are these people going through the things that they're going through? Um, but there there's what's called self-will and and there's there are miracles that happen that change our minds, that change our will, over to his will and and if I ever had any doubt that there was a power out there greater than myself.

Ty Cobb Backer: 37:56

That day I've been a changed person and because of that experience that I got to pray for that young man and I don't know a lot of prayers I, you know. I know the Lord's prayer, I know the serenity prayer. Don't know a lot of prayers. I know the Lord's Prayer, I know the Serenity Prayer and I know a couple other prayers and things like that. But after that it was like, and then there was more people approaching me. I don't know what that young man's life is today, but hopefully there was. You know, god had spoke through me to him and hopefully he's on the right path today, which I'm sure he is, because of what we got to experience in the words that God spoke through me to him.

Ty Cobb Backer: 38:32

I don't even know if I'm making any sense right now, but it's just something that you have to experience, right, and I think there was actually a photo that somebody took of that moment when we got to experience that over there. But anyhow, I believe you, jeff I'm not sure why my mic's cutting in and out, you guys might not hear it. We hear you, good, okay, but yeah, so I wanted to. I wanted to hear your. You know what was the most impactful and what your biggest struggle was over there. So let's what. What keeps you motivated? Let's talk about that, because I know inspiring can be very tiring and I know it at just a small level that I'm at. How do you stay motivated? How do you not get resentful, how do you not get pissed off at people when you're you're just continuously pouring into them and things just don't appear to be going the way that they should be?

Jeff Battles: 39:26

Yeah, well, you know, that's actually a great question, because I think that's not just in ministry, but I think it's in life, I think it's in business, it's in anything really. You know, I'll tell you, love is the most powerful force on earth. It's more powerful than anything else. And you know, I'll give you a quick example One of my last trips, two trips ago, we were ministering in a church and there was this young girl who came to the altar, maybe 10, maybe 11. And I went to lay hands on her and pray for her and she started like screaming and falling in the ground, as you've seen before, and she started having like demons, demons like just manifesting in her and just she was like screaming and yelling and kicking and fighting and and we prayed and we cast these things out of her and and she, when she realized what was happening, she was looking around crying, like so embarrassed. And then what had happened is both of her parents are gone. She'd been sexually abused at 10 years old and she was so embarrassed because when that happens publicly, it's like, oh God, everybody just saw this. And she was sitting there crying.

Jeff Battles: 40:35

I come down off the pulpit from preaching and I sat in the front row. I just gave the microphone to the pastor and I said here you finish. And I went and sat by her and I just put my arm around her and I just said you don't realize what God just did for you. He didn't expose you, he didn't embarrass you, I said, but he just he just pointed you out and um, and I said, I can tell you from this day forward, um, we got you, you got a family now in America that we've got you. Your, your parents, that you were born from, may not be here anymore, but you've got a family now that's not going to give up on you. And from that time she's been in school. She never could afford school. She's in school now. And I got a call about three weeks ago that the home that she was renting she was living with a church member, the home was getting demolished because the landowner says I want the land, not the house. So they were tearing it down and so we were able to get her in a new place, a new house, and so they just sent the videos and the pictures.

Jeff Battles: 41:33

And so what am I saying is I'm saying that it's not fake. We actually love the people and when the people count on you. When they count on you to succeed and to win, I wake up every morning before four o'clock in the morning. Do I need to? Yes, I do, because there's people, not just my own household, but there's people across the world that are counting me to keep my head straight, to keep my focus straight, to keep everything, and I look at them and I look when they thank me and they thank our team and they thank everybody. That's a part of this. I can't let them down.

Jeff Battles: 42:04

So what keeps me motivated every day is something bigger than me. When you look into the eyes of people that had no hope, that had no chance, and because you said yes to God, it wasn't that much for me to be able to get them a house, to be able to get them, because rent is nothing out there, and so that's what keeps me motivated every day is truly the love for the people because of the way that they've loved me. You know I spent most of my life not being loved because I wasn't a very lovable person, and so when I felt love for the first time you know, outside of, like my family, my wife when I felt love for the first time, I realized like I want to give more and more and more of this to people who've never experienced it, because if you've never experienced being loved before, then you've never really lived life. So so that's, that's really what keeps me fired up every single day. Man is just the people that are counting on us to win.

Ty Cobb Backer: 42:57

Yeah, amen to that. Amen to that Because I, I've seen the work that you put in, the hours that you put in. You know your your full-time job now with with the roofing company and stuff, and this isn't your first rodeo when it comes to construction and stuff, so you're doing an amazing job. Just so you know you be both, on both fronts. You're you're doing an amazing, an amazing job and we love. And before we get off here, I, I want to make sure that people know how to get a hold of you and if they want to donate or participate or or join you on a crusade, what, what is the easiest way that some so the best way is is the Web site is impact nations global dot com.

Jeff Battles: 43:39

There's a place there where you can, you can, you can reach us. That way is probably the best way. There is also a Facebook page, impact nations global dotcom. But or, I'm sorry, impact nations global. But I say the website is probably the best way you know to do those types of things and especially if they want to be a part, we're actually it's interesting in our roofing company right now we're doing a promotion. Most people are giving away iPads and things, but what we're doing is for referrals. We're putting, we're putting the name of the people who give the referrals over and we're doing a drawing that whoever wins is getting an all expenses paid trip to go on a mission trip with us. We wanted to do something different that was based on our core values, and so it's kind of exciting to see. But yeah, impactnationsglobalcom is the website, so I appreciate that.

Ty Cobb Backer: 44:23

Yeah, no problem. Vic put it in the comments there. So anybody that's listening wants to participate or or donate. I got one more question for you, jeff, before we, before we get off here. I know you touched on a couple of these things, but what? What has working with Impact Nation taught you about leadership, faith and service?

Jeff Battles: 44:42

faith and service. Uh well, one of the biggest things is, uh, you know, put yourself second. Um, we, we are so blessed, we have, we have everything we could ever ask for and everything that we could ever need. And and I think it's not just, it's not just in ministry, but it's in life, it's in marriage, it's, it's, it's literally be willing to be second place, um, be willing to put what you want and what you need second, because you know, I've learned that when you, when you give to others what they need by default I think it was Jim Rohn that said that, if you if no, I'm sorry, it was Zig Ziglar If you help enough other people get what they need, by default, you'll get what you need.

Jeff Battles: 45:26

If you help enough other people get what they need by default, you'll get what you need. And and and I, and I truly believe that, and that's one of the things that's taught me is you have to kind of die to yourself and die to your own plans and say, yes, god, whatever you say, I'll do, and I found that there's there's more peace and there's more joy and there's more just everything. When no-transcript, so I would say I just I've learned to put myself second, and by default. I found my joy in that place because I'm able to serve, and Jesus says himself the highest position that you could be in is not king, not pastor, not preacher, but servant. And I've learned that the hard way and now I'm thankful to be able to be that.

Ty Cobb Backer: 46:11

Amen to that, and in order to lead, you need to know how to serve first.

Jeff Battles: 46:16

That's right.

Ty Cobb Backer: 46:17

Most definitely, and that I think that that is a great message, jeff. I mean, I think for a lot of people, leading isn't about, you know, being a dictator, you know. It's about empowering and impacting other people's lives and giving them the strength and courage and pointing out to them that that they do have gifts and sometimes it's our job to point out their gifts and help enable that, so they can flourish within, within your dream as well.

Ty Cobb Backer: 46:47

You know, and I talked about it all the time- I think it was Ed Milet that our dreams have to be big enough for everyone else's dreams to flourish in. But I'd like to take that one step higher. It's like our legacy has to be big enough for everyone else's legacy to flourish in and to keep the ego out of the way and allow people to grow. Um, and that's really what has helped me over the years too. It's like you know it and you talked about it earlier. It's like it all starts here.

Ty Cobb Backer: 47:14

It all starts on working on ourselves and getting out of the way at times and knowing when to lead from behind and knowing when to grab a hold of the helm, and, and, and it's tough, and, and sometimes it's hard to navigate those waters, because sometimes it's like is this one of those times that I need to step in? Is this one of the times that I need to let them make a mistake? Because, being the human beings that we are, we don't like to see people screw up or take a step back. We want to help, but then that can also be a dangerous area too, by by catering too much to them, because then they can't figure things out on their own. But you know, before we get off here, because we're just about at our hour mark here, I believe. What is something that you want to leave our guest with? You know, whether it has to do with Christmas, whether it has to do with Christ or just something in general. What would you like to leave us with that we?

Jeff Battles: 48:07

can carry. First thing, I want to say that if people want to reach us not just to give and not just to but if they want to reach us, if there's something that somebody needs, if someone needs a little hope and if they need someone to talk, to reach out there and we'll find you, because that's really our number one purpose and it doesn't cost anything to have a phone conversation. We don't need money to talk to someone. So that's really our number one purpose and it doesn't cost anything to have a phone conversation. We don't need money to talk to someone. So that's number one.

Jeff Battles: 48:32

Number two I would just pray that many of us have been raised in church, many of us have spent time in church, but sometimes we think that just because our parents had a relationship with God, that sometimes we automatically get grafted in. But we all have to make a decision for ourselves and I would just pray that each and every person listening today would not see how good of things that we've done or how good, but look back at your life and just reflect at all the moments and times that he's brought you out of that he's brought you into today and given us another opportunity, opportunity. And so I would just say, through this Christmas season, as we're with family and we're exchanging gifts, just sit back and just smile and just enjoy the fact and know that he gave us another chance, he gave us another opportunity, and don't worry about tomorrow. The Bible says don't stress tomorrow.

Jeff Battles: 49:18

Tomorrow has its own set of worries. Just focus on today. And when Jesus says he taught, he taught us to pray, says give us this day our daily bread. Just worry about today. Enjoy where you're at right now, don't worry about tomorrow. Yesterday's already gone. Just be present in the moment that you're in right now and just uh, let god do what he's going to do. So I appreciate you, ty and uh, very much and I look forward to next time. I'll come in the studio and hang out. We'll go grab some food yeah, I love that.

Ty Cobb Backer: 49:44

I love idea. You're not that far away from us. You're about four, I think, four, four hour drive or so too far.

Ty Cobb Backer: 49:49

We should definitely hook up and connect more often, jeff, I and and I I take the blame for not reaching out more and supporting what it is that you do, um, but just know that we are supporting you from a distance and I love what you're doing, jeff. Keep doing what you're doing and don't don't ever get resentful man, because you are. You are making an impact and thank God for you and thank God for for the tribe of people that you've created and rallied to have the impact on the amount of people that you're having impact on, and you are truly a blessing to to more people that I'm sure you can fathom. So keep doing what you're doing.

Jeff Battles: 50:26

That means a lot, brother. I thank you.

Ty Cobb Backer: 50:28

Yeah, merry Christmas to you and your family, and Merry Christmas to everybody that's watching and who will be watching this on the replay. And next week we will be streaming live once again, tuesday at 8 am, the day before New Year's Day. That way everybody can get some rest, spend some time with their families. Until then, you guys take it easy.