Sharing the Hope of Christ in Native American Communities

After a mission trip to a Navajo reservation, Brad Hutchcraft felt God calling him to minister to Native American youth so they could experience the hope that can only be found in Christ. Today, Brad is the director of On Eagles’ Wings, a ministry that shares the love of Jesus Christ with Native American youth across the United States and Canada. 

Listen as Brad shares how God changed the course of his life, how these young believers are reaching their own communities with the Gospel, and why Brad knows that “as long as there’s breath, there is hope.” 

Learn more about Brad’s ministry On Eagles’ Wings.
 

Connect with us through email at gps@billygraham.org or on Facebook at Billy Graham Radio.

If you’d like to know more about beginning a relationship with Jesus Christ, or deepening the faith you already have, visit FindPeacewithGod.net. 

If you’d like to pray with someone, call our Billy Graham 24/7 Prayer Line at 855-255-7729. 

Transcript

Brad Hutchcraft:  
[00:00:00] The highest rates of suicide, the highest rates of abuse, violent crime, and all these different things … and how do we not know about this? 

Jim Kirkland: 
[00:00:08] That’s Brad Hutchcraft talking about the struggles of life in many Native American communities. Communities like the one he used to live in. 

Brad Hutchcraft:
[00:00:18] I started talking to some of these young people, and it forever altered the course of my life. 

Jim Kirkland: 
[00:00:23] Brad is the director of On Eagles Wings, a ministry that shares the love of Jesus Christ with Native American youth. We’ll hear him share how the ministry began and some incredible stories about how God is moving through their work. It’s all coming up on this episode of GPS: God. People. Stories. I’m Jim Kirkland. Many Native American communities are plagued with hopelessness, much stemming from crime and despair. Thankfully, there is someone we can place our hope in. His name is Jesus Christ. And Billy Graham will share more about how Jesus Christ can change your life and give you hope and purpose. If you’d like to learn more right now about Jesus, go to our website. FindPeacewithGod.net. And when you’re there, click on Begin a Relationship with Jesus. That’s at FindPeacewithGod.net. And the fastest way to get there is using the link that is in our show notes. 

Audio and Music Tag:
[00:01:20]

Brad Hutchcraft: 
[00:001:26] I remember telling my dad I don’t want to have to live up to a certain name. I don’t want to have to live up to the Ron Hutchcraft name because it was really known and everything in that area.  

Jim Kirkland: 
[00:01:36] If Brad’s name sounded familiar to you, it may be because his father is Ron Hutchcraft, an author and speaker who has spent over four decades working in Christian ministry. Much of that time was on Christian radio on his program, “A Word with You”, which is now also a podcast. Because of his family’s strong faith in Christ, Brad says he has known about God since he was a young child; but that didn’t mean he was following Jesus as a teenager. 

Brad Hutchcraft: 
[00:02:05] I never got into the party scene with my friends or anything. I carried my Bible to school. And, uh, everyone saw that … and started off high school fairly well. But quickly over the next couple of years, especially my sophomore year, in high school just started making a lot of bad choices, um, as far as just relationship stuff, and just the Bible on the outside I was carrying was very much not how I was living behind the scenes. 

Jim Kirkland: 
[00:02:33] Ron was aware of Brad’s rebellious living. And his response to it surprised Brad. 

Brad Hutchcraft: 
[00:02:40] He just said I don’t want you to live up to my name because I’m imperfect. And that’s never what I wanted for you. I want you to live up to the name of Jesus. And reminding me of God’s love. And it really hit home. It was just like I’ve had this wrong. I’ve had this … it hasn’t been a really personal relationship. And so, the last year and a half of high school just a really big heart change. 

Jim Kirkland: 
[00:03:07] After his dad’s forgiveness and grace and his own change of heart, Brad thought God was calling him to work in Christian radio, following in the footsteps of his dad. But God had a different plan in place for Brad’s life. It started to take shape when the Hutchcraft family discovered some heartbreaking facts about the struggles of the Native American youth. 

Brad Hutchcraft: 
[00:03:28] The highest rates of suicide, the highest rates of abuse, violent crime, and all these different things. And our family never knew what was going on in Native America. 

Jim Kirkland: 
[00:03:40] The summer before Brad went to college, the Hutchcrafts decided to go on a mission trip to a Navajo reservation in Arizona. 

Brad Hutchcraft: 
[00:03:48] We took this trip. And I started seeing some of the devastation firsthand and started talking to some of these young people firsthand. And it went from stats on a page to what was really happening. So, this one young person, 10 years old, I had the opportunity to lead this young person to the Lord. And they came up to me at the end of one of our events and just simply said if I come to one of your events later in the week, will you tell me more about Jesus. Really simple question. And it forever altered the course of my life. I just started crying on the way back to where we were staying. And, you know, looking at the stars in the southwestern sky and everything, just talking to the Lord. I went back and wrote God a letter and said Christian radio is great. And there are people that need to do that. You’re calling me to be outside of there. You’re calling me to be making a difference in Native America. And whatever You ask me to do, I’m gonna do it. 

Jim Kirkland: 
[00:04:45] Brad’s brother, Doug, also felt God’s calling to serve Native Americans. 

Brad Hutchcraft: 
[00:04:50] We moved out to the Hopi reservation in Arizona, started a ministry out there, uh, to reach young people. And I went and joined in the fight right after college. And so, I lived on the Hopi reservation for almost 15 years. We were just trying to figure it out. Basically, two White boys from New Jersey trying to say, hey, we-we want to reach out, uh, to these Native young people. But what God has done through that is He’s given us an opportunity to share that with others on now over a hundred different reservations across the U.S. and reserves in Canada to say, hey, this is what we found worked. You don’t have to do this exactly, but here are the principles we found worked. If you will do these things, we’ve seen it makes a difference in Native young people’s lives. 

Jim Kirkland: 
[00:05:31] A few of those principles that Brad says have worked include showing them unconditional love and reminding them that there is always hope. And very importantly, On Eagles Wings encourages new Native American believers to share their faith in Jesus Christ with others. 

Brad Hutchcraft: 
[00:05:50] Because it’s not about me. It’s not about our ministry. It’s about these Native young people who have found hope and are carrying that message boldly. And they’re able to stand there and say this isn’t a White man’s God. He was a Mediterranean Jew. He probably had darker skin just like us. He had his land taken from him. He faced abuse. He faced all these different things. He died a violent death. It sounds so much like what is happening in Native America. That when these messengers have this message, the walls come down. And these local young people are willing to take a stand in front of their friends, stand up and make a public declaration that I am asking Jesus into my heart this night. And you can have the same hope. Because when we’re able to share the gospel, people can argue with a whole lot of things, but they can’t argue with your story. It’s your story. You lived it. And so, the great thing is that works in Native America, but it works anywhere too. 

Jim Kirkland: 
[00:06:46] We asked Brad to share some of the stories of how Jesus Christ has changed the hearts and lives of the young people he’s worked with. 

Brad Hutchcraft: 
[00:06:55] Dozens flood into my mind. Um, there’s Joe who was involved with some bad stuff, especially a lot of drug use. He had, uh, buried a lot of his friends by the time he was 15 years old. He had seen a lot of death. Gave his heart to the Lord. And from there, it wasn’t an immediate, you know, I left everything behind forever. Joe went through a lot of back and forth. Started getting stronger and stronger. Became one of our team leaders. We helped him go to Bible school. He graduated from Bible school and, uh, worked really hard there. And, uh, he is actually now overseeing the part in our ministry in Arizona. 

Jim Kirkland: 
[00:07:32] And then, there’s Rachel who was suicidal until she surrendered her life to Jesus. Today, she travels with On Eagles Wings and shares her story. 

Brad Hutchcraft: 
[00:07:42] Rachel’s got a voice that you will hear over our speakers and everything. And we were on a reservation a couple of years ago, and a lady came from down the street. This lady was a couple of blocks away and just said … the way she told the story was I had the rope around the tree, and I was ready to hang myself because she was about to go to jail and go away from her daughter for a while, and everything. She said God led me to come down to the court and look for Rachel. And so, she got to talk to Rachel, who had also almost taken her life. Rachel led this young lady to the Lord before she goes away to prison and was a part of helping save a life. 

Jim Kirkland: 
[00:08:20] Brad says it’s especially impactful when believers like Joe and Rachel share what he calls their hope stories. 

Brad Hutchcraft: 
[00:08:28] They’re able to say, you know what? We have been the suicide attempts. We have been the abuse victims. We’ve been the gang members, the drug dealers; but we have found hope. And His name is Jesus. And they’re able to stand there and say that’s who I was. That’s who I once was, but I’m not that anymore because of Jesus. And, yes, I make mistakes. Yes, I’m going to make bad decisions along the way, but I’m a new creation. The old is gone, the new has come. We say it all the time. As long as there is breath, there is hope. It seems like there is no hope. As long as there is breath, there is hope. 

Music tag:
[00:09:00] 

Jim Kirkland: 
[00:09:11] There is always hope in Jesus Christ. God loves you enough that he sent his son Jesus to die for you and give you eternal life. We would love to tell you more about that hope. Visit our website. FindPeacewithGod.net. If you’re a follower of Jesus, you’ll also find help to grow your faith and learn how to share your own story of hope. Again, the address is FindPeacewithGod.net. Coming up, Brad is going to share a really helpful piece of advice about getting out of your comfort zone and following God’s calling for your life. 

Audio tag:
[00:09:50] 

Billy Graham: 
[00:10:00] Ours seems to be a hopeless world. 

Announcer:
[00:10:02] Billy Graham … 

Billy Graham: 
[00:10:04] Hope is both biologically and psychologically vital for man and woman. Do you have that hope? There’s the hope of righteousness. In Galatians 5:5 it says, “ For we through the Spirit visit for the hope of righteousness by faith. You have to have righteousness before you can come into the kingdom of God. Where do you get it? Where do we get this righteousness? Christ purchased it for us at the cross. And when you come to the cross, He clothes you in his righteousness so that when you come before God, He doesn’t see you; He sees the righteousness of Christ instead of you. And He accepts you and receives you because of that. And the best for us here tonight is yet to come if we’re in Christ. There’s nothing hopeless about our future. There’s nothing but joy and gladness and encouragement and excitement as we look to the future. Today, there’s a line drawn for you across your life. Will you cross that line and open your heart and say, Lord Jesus, come into my life? I don’t understand it all. I’m confused about some aspects of it. I don’t understand all about the Bible. But I just come in sheer faith and say, Lord, receive me. Here is my hand, Lord. Here’s my heart. Here’s my life. I want to serve you and live for you. I want you to forgive my sins and change my life. Will you cross that line? 

Jim Kirkland: 
[00:11:42] Do you have the hope that only Jesus Christ can provide? If not, we can help. Go to our website, FindPeacewithGod.net. And click where it says Begin a Relationship with Jesus. That’s at FindPeacewithGod.net. And you can always find a link to the page in our show notes. Our guest on this episode has been Brad Hutchraft. You can learn more about his ministry to Native Americans at their website, oneagleswings.com. You can also find a link to On Eagles Wings in our show notes. Remember when Brad mentioned feeling a call from God to work in youth ministry on a Native American reservation? Well, looking back, Brad has this insight to offer us about following God’s plan for our lives. 

Brad Hutchcraft: 
[00:12:30] If God is calling you to get out of your comfort zone and go someplace that you’re wondering can I be used, if He’s calling, the answer is yes because I’ve seen it happen. It may take longer because of your background or whatever, but God, when He calls, He is faithful to give you everything you need to accomplish the mission. 

Jim Kirkland: 
[00:12:48] We echo Brad’s encouragement. Listen out for God’s calling in your life, even when it leads to unexpected places. Our thanks to Brad Hutchraft for joining us on this episode of GPS and to you for listening. If you’ve enjoyed this episode and want to hear new episodes as soon as they release, subscribe to GPS on your favorite podcast app or on YouTube. In the middle of life, GPS is here in the middle of the week every other Wednesday. I’m Jim Kirkland. This is GPS: God. People. Stories. An outreach of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. Always good news. 

Music tag:
[00:13:27] 

End of transcript