Faith Walk / William Carroll
Faith Walk / William Carroll
Episode 22: Spreading Salvation: Stories from the Streets with William and Janie Carroll
Can a motorcycle ride be a vehicle for God's word? Join us as we share a heartwarming conversation with William and Janie Carroll who shed light on their unique ministry, Chariots of Light. This insightful episode uncovers their faith-filled journey, using motorcycle ministry as a platform to spread the love of God. Their story is highlighted by a touching encounter at a major event in Sturgis where a prayer changed a man's life. We also discuss the pillar of unity and the importance of understanding a ministry's continuity when looking to get involved.
Our guest, Janie, shares her journey of overcoming fears that initially hindered her from sharing her faith. Buckle up as we take you on a ride filled with stories of personal experiences ministering to people on the streets and praying for healing. The power of agreement in prayer is underscored, emphasizing its role in successful evangelism. Further into the episode, we delve into the significance of confessing and believing in Jesus Christ for salvation and inspire our listeners to open their hearts to Him. We conclude the episode with a call to action to spread His message and keep Him at the pinnacle of our lives. Let's illuminate our world with the light of faith, one encounter at a time.
Good morning and welcome to Faith Walk podcast with your host, william Carroll, and today my co-host is Janie Carroll. On this podcast we talk about how God has taught me the Word of God, how I learned the Word of God, stood on the Word of God, walked in faith with God and saw by doing this, his signs, wonders and miracles in my life and the life of others. And so what I always say is religion puts God in the box, but relationship take God out of the box. God wants to prove to this generation that he is God and he will back his word and do what he says he is. See, we just we think God is so small sometimes and we just don't act like it. He wants us to go out in the world and show the world that he is God and he backs his word. So, on this podcast, this morning we're just gonna be talking a little bit with my sweet bride here and we're gonna be talking about the chariot's of light and just a little bit about how we got involved in that. First off, I want to I want to say that the chariot's of light is a ministry of Jerry Savelle and we go out to the rallies, we go out to events, we ride the motorcycle, we go to Tory runs, we share Jesus, we use the hand of God, and we'll get into that a little bit later, but I'm gonna give you the scripture that is our motorcycle ministry scripture.
William Carroll:It's Philippians 2 and 15. It says that you are blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation among whom you shine as lights in the world. And that's one of our things, you know to shine your light into the world. And I like to go back up and get Philippians 2 and 14, because I had to learn this lesson once I started the chariot's of light, and it's do all things without murmuring and disputing, or murmuring and complaining that you may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding forth the word of life anyway. So you know when I I'll just say that when when I first joined the chariot's of light. You know, I just I don't know.
William Carroll:Sometimes you feel like you're, you know, the black sheep of the family and I kind of felt like I was the black sheep of the family and I was, just, you know, always striving sometimes. You know we have to learn. When you're involved with the ministry, whether it's chariot's of light, whether it's bill glass behind the wall, with whatever ministry you're involved in, you have to learn the way they do things so there is a cohesion in everything you do. You know you don't want everybody doing their own thing. And so, janie, when we got married, I was a member of the chariot's of light and she joined. I took her to some of the events. Actually, janie, our first event was together, the. The major event was Sturgis was yeah that was.
William Carroll:That was our honeymoon trip. It was we took a week and we went to Sturgis for a week and that was her first time to be on a on a major event. Well, actually it was my first time to be at a major event and we had the, we had our tent set up in Sturgis and we would go out and we would take turns and we would work with people. And that morning we were at at our well, it's a little service before we go out, where our international national director, bill Horn, was speaking. And we went to it that morning before we went out and you just kind of get a word for the day, you kind of get a lead in where God's going and just to kind of stir you up, you know, and set you on fire.
William Carroll:And if you remember that day I told you when I woke up that morning I said I feel like I got pressure on my and it was hurting so bad and I've never had pressure on my but my I felt like it was gonna blow up that day. I mean, it just felt like it was gonna blow up just out of the blue. And so Bill had asked did anybody need prayer? So I said, yeah, you know, I went up and I prayed and they prayed for me and the pressure left and while we were on the streets ministering to people, there was a guy with a. It was a motorcycle group, but it was Airborne Ranger Group, is what it was. It was 101st Airborne Ranger Group, because I remember it on the vest and he was walking by and I began to share and we share the hand of God. The hand of God is, if you reach your hand out and they take your hand, that God, god has them by the hand. See, I don't have Janie by the hand.
William Carroll:God's got her by the hand and we'll talk how you're doing, where you've been. And then we ask them a question. We say you know, if you were to die today or 20 years from now, do you know where you would spend eternity? And she would answer the question, or they would answer the question. You know, yes, I know Jesus. You know I'd be in the arms of the Savior or no, you know I'm gonna split hell wide open. And then we ask him, on a scale from one to five, what is the closest that you would say truthfully, your relationship is with God right now, today. And when they answer, you know they may say one, two, three, four, five. I've even had a guy say seven one time.
William Carroll:I said, well, you need to pray for me, you know. But we were out on the street and this guy walked by and I asked him and he said, yeah, you know, I'm saved, I love the Lord. And I said, well, you know. And I started telling him about our service we had earlier and I said, man. I said well, he wanted me to pray for his knee. So he said, man, my knees hurt. And I said is there anything I can pray with you for. And he said yeah, you can pray for my knee. So I prayed for his knee and he goes, he starts kicking his foot around and he says man, that feels better. And I told him. I said well, listen. I said God, I believe God does miracles. And I said this morning I felt like I had pressure on my eye and I asked for prayer and I said I've never had pressure on my eye, but it felt like it was gonna blow up, it was hurting, it was felt swollen when I touched it and I said it went away. And he looked at me and he said I feel like I got pressure on my eye today. And this was a big guy, he was bigger than me, I'm a big guy, he was bigger than me. And I told him. I said well, would you mind if I pray for you? So I laid my hands on his eye and I prayed and all of his buddies were standing around and we prayed for him. And I said, as soon as we got through, he said my eye feels better. He said God just healed my eye. And he said and my knee feels better. And so you know, that's what this podcast is all about.
William Carroll:Say that if we take God to the people and they really wanna know. Some people act like they don't, but they really wanna know and that's what God wants us to do. You know, I mean we are the modern day, disciples. Acts didn't end, you know, we're in the book of Acts, well, anyway.
William Carroll:So I was riding with the chariots of light when Janie and I met and Janie started going with me and going to the meetings, because women can be a part of the chariots of light, because it's a ministry, it's not a motorcycle club. And so Janie was pretty shy and timid and we oh, by the way, I gotta tell you her riding name, her riding name's Keeper the first time Janie called me and asked me. Actually she sent me a text and I hadn't known her for a while and anyway she sent me a text. She says I have nobody to take me to Nacodotius to swap some cars around. She's gonna leave one at one dealership. And then she had bought another one and she said I don't have anybody that can take me. Can you take me? So I said yeah, and we picked up the girls, her two girls and we went down there and it was a great day. Actually it was a really good day.
William Carroll:Katie, the little one, my gift from God, that's what I call her. She was about nine years old, but she looked five and she just climbed up in my arms because the breeze was blowing, it was cold that morning, that day, and so she just made me hold her the whole time and Mama here kept saying, katie, you need to get down, you need to get down. And then the other one, Kaylen who is a blessing in my life, she said well, can we go out and eat? We never get to go out and eat. And I said yeah. So we went out and ate some Italian food.
William Carroll:But when I got home I told my daughter I said, well, I found her. And she said you found who? I said I found a keeper and I'm gonna keep her if she'll let me. And so her riding name on her vest, which we should have brought them out, but we didn't bring them out. We may on another podcast. Her name is Keeper and so, and she's a keeper, I'm gonna tell you.
William Carroll:I went and told my buddies at another little old benefit for the brother's keepers in Shreveport.
William Carroll:She couldn't go and I went over there and I run into my friends and all of my friends and I told them. I said I said well, I found her. They said found who? I said I found a keeper and I'm gonna keep her if she'll let me. And God has just blessed us and blessed the family. You know, my stepdaughters are not my stepdaughters, I don't call them my stepdaughters, I call them my daughters. And then somebody will go they're your daughters and I'll go well, yes, they're my daughters, but they are my stepdaughters. But anyway, what we wanted to talk about and I wanted to let Janie talk some here, since I took up about half the time already because I was trying to give her a little time to get you know, to get in the flow and to calm down a little bit, you know, because I know she's nervous but what was your greatest fear when you joined the chariot? It's like what was your greatest fear as part of the ministry.
Janie Carroll:Just in part of the ministry, but also with church or anything it's doing. Street ministry is asking somebody, can I pray for you? And them saying no, no, no, no, no. So, do you want me to tell them about the gathering?
William Carroll:Yeah, let's say, I'll ask if you want me to, I'll try. But she, you know, that's what she kept telling me. You know what if somebody? She kept asking me, you know what if I'm not like you, okay, she's not like me.
Janie Carroll:We're opposites, we're opposite you know she's quiet.
William Carroll:You know I don't meet a stranger and she can tell you everywhere we go. It don't matter, I'm one. I meet one person away from somebody, I know.
Janie Carroll:We were in Bucky's and Terrell and he comes out of the restroom talking to someone. He ran into someone he knew in the restroom at Bucky's and Terrell. He doesn't find strangers anywhere. Yeah, but.
William Carroll:And so she kept telling me you know, but what if? What if they tell me no? What if they tell me no? You know, well, I'm a little different. If they tell me no, I'll just say okay, and I'll just bow my head, say Lord, I just ask you to bless, and I just pray for him, you know, and then I'll go on. But we pulled up at the gas station here in Carthage, texas, and we were either coming home from somewhere or going somewhere, and I think we could come in from a chariot meeting and you was kind of pumped up, you know we got pumped up at the chariots meeting.
William Carroll:Probably not the reason. I even tried to be honest, so go ahead and tell what happened.
Janie Carroll:There was a man. He was outside the doors. He was selling little things he had made. This happens to be what I bought, but now this out, okay. While I was walking into the store I said, okay, when I come out I'm gonna ask him can I pray for him?
Janie Carroll:I was in the store, I come out and I thought I was ready and I asked him. I said can I pray for you? And he looked at me and he didn't just tell me no, he screamed at me no, he was not nice about it at all. I said okay, okay, that's fine. I said I'd still like to buy one of your key chains, which I did buy. I don't even remember how much it was now. But I come back to the truck and I'm laughing hysterically. At this point you would think I'd have been crying. But and William's like what happened? And I told him and he was like, why are you laughing? I said, well, now I've got that out of the way, I got it over with. He told me no, now I don't have to worry about that, although I still get very nervous, but I got that hurdle of you know, that worry got it overdone first, very first time.
William Carroll:Yeah, the first time out the gate, you know, and she's her greatest fears. You know, job says my greatest fears has come upon me. And that was after the destruction of his family, the destruction of his, you know, his family had died, he had lost everything he had and he was suffering and being tormented. And he said my greatest fears has come upon me.
William Carroll:So, you know, I always say you know, don't let your fears ruin your life, because your fears, where fear is faith, can't work. And if you're dwelling on what you fear the most, you know, devil knows, and he's gonna try to put that fear on you and try to make it well, he's gonna try to do something, or he can cause something in your life to happen, you know, by circumstances, or circumstances happen, and then you, you know, you get into fear. But after that, janie, you started. Well, let's see, we went to Fayetteville Rally and we were up there at Bike Blues in Barbecue, and we I watch, I don't usually minister with Janie because I have a tendency to wanna, you know, step in when she's kinda struggling.
Janie Carroll:And that's the thing with me. I would like him to do that, no so I back off.
William Carroll:And she was, you were with I don't remember who you were with. You were with either Greg or Greg's wife up there and I stepped back and she was ministering two people she was. You were praying for people. Do you have it? Do you remember any testimony on that? No, or okay, I know, me and you. Together we met Max. You remember Max. We met him on the side of the road over there. Well, on one of the streets, when we had walked away up the streets.
William Carroll:You know the guy that I've called I've called a lot of times and checked on him every year. Or he calls me and says, hey, y'all, come into Fayetteville and he was going through kidney dialysis, he was going through liver failure, he was going through so many things. And we walked up, you know, and he's just kind of leaning against the brick wall, and I said, hey, I said, how are you doing? He said, well, well, pretty good. And I told him who we were, what we did, and I asked him and he was saved. You know, he said, yeah, I'm saved, I'm serving the Lord. And I said, well, what do you need prayer for? Because you know everybody needs prayer and that's a, that's a. That's a thing that we can always do is pray with somebody in agreement, you know. Now, if they don't believe, god believes it will do a miracle today, but they want to believe that the doctor can help them be healed. Pray like that, get in agreement with them, you know. And so I always ask you believe God still does miracles? And he said, he said I need prayer from my body. And he had been over to our booth, you know, and he had a little cross that we give out. And he said yeah, I saw you guys over there at your booth, you know, and and they prayed with me. And he said but I need prayer from my body. And I said, okay, so,Janie and I, we asked him what he needed and it was liver and kidney I think it was his kidneys, actually. And so we began to pray for him, you know, and he was. He said that it was a.
William Carroll:I talked to him for two or three years, and I think last year was last year. I may have talked to him. I hadn't talked to him this year, but he was doing better ever since that day. And he said, man, he said that day you prayed for me. He said that day you prayed for me changed everything. He said it didn't change immediately, but it changed, started to change and see that a miracle happens now. It's something only God can do. There's no help for doctors, no help from anybody. Only God can do. A healing starts now and then it it progresses until you're fully well. But at that rally do you have, do you have any other memories from that rally or any other rally that we've been to or event we've been to, or I do?
Janie Carroll:I'm not good at. When you put me on the spot, we get off the camera. I remember 10 things right now Miss Viola.
William Carroll:Oh yeah, miss Viola. Miss Viola was what was she was? She was 89 or 90 years old.
William Carroll:Then, and that's been, yeah, At least five years ago- yeah, and, and she was, she was wearing coveralls and on my rise ministry page on Facebook is my. I have never changed it. Once I put that up, I've left it and I'm kneeling on the ground and she's praying for me. Her and her son came up and and she was, and I was sharing with her, you know, and she let me share, she let me share the hand of God with her, you know. And she said, yes, I'm saved. And she said I. She said, you know, I go out.
William Carroll:She said, all my life, every day since I've been saved, I go out and I walk on the streets. And she said, when I meet people, she said I tell them about Jesus and I ask them if, if, they know the Lord. And she says, and I pray for them. And and I, I, she, I prayed for her. We prayed for her closer walk with Christ that the Holy spirit would lead and guide us and show us, you know, people that needed to be minister to. And then I asked her if she would pray for me, because I felt like she was a patriarch of the family for one thing and she was a godly woman and I wanted, I wanted her to pray for me and pray for anointing on me that she's had on her life. You know, and I'm Janie took the picture, so she's the picture.
William Carroll:She likes to take pictures better than she likes to to share with people.
Janie Carroll:You know if the pictures on the wall the hot, well, you can't see it in the camera but, I, can't remember if it's over there or not.
William Carroll:I don't know, I think it may be, but listen, we've enjoyed this today and I've enjoyed having my keeper with me today and she's such a blessing. You know, she looks a little younger than me, not much. I like to tell the story. You know, people would say well, you know she looks a little younger than you. I'd say yeah, I'd say well, when I graduated high school she was three years old. I said but you know, it took that long to get me prepared for her, for God to prepare me for her, you know, but it's been such a blessing, she's such a blessing. My two extra daughters is just is a blessing. They've been a blessing. And you know, a lot of people get a lot of people get their families. You know, you have strife in the families once you bring some step children in, or some bonus girls, because I got bonus girls too.
Janie Carroll:We actually had our first bonus, one that was in our wedding. So, we started our marriage with his mind and not any of ours, but ours that's right, that's right.
William Carroll:And she's the blessing too. You know, we got her twice. She came back, you know, with a baby and fixing to have one, and then and now she's got three and she's just such a wonderful mother and she's just doing so good. You know she. You know, you know what. I've got a friend that says he's in the Chariots of Light,Steve Munds. He says there's no bad kids, there's only kids that make bad decisions. And you know, I mean that just stuck with me and it's true. You know there's no bad kids, it's just kids that make bad decisions. You know there's there's there's bad people that make bad decisions, but you know, god can turn that around in their life. And, jamie, it's been an honor and a privilege for you. We're going to have to do this again.
Janie Carroll:Yeah, we might have to talk about it.
William Carroll:We can do it again and as soon as we turn it off and do it. But thank y'all for listening. You know this is a. This is a joy, this has been a joy for me. This podcast Listen, don't just hit like. You can find us on YouTube rumble. You can if you want to watch it, or anywhere. Uh, uh, bussproutcom is faith walk and faith walk William Carroll on uh Apple pod, google, in tune Alexa. You can even put it on your Alexa man and say, alexa, play faith walk, william Carroll. And it's to encourage you, it's to, it's to encourage this generation that you know that God's see what God has done in my life and in our life. Janie, god will do in their life. They just have to step out in faith, like you did. You know it's hard.
Janie Carroll:Sometimes it's hard for people.
William Carroll:That's right If they say no, she come back. And she said, well, he said no, I'm over there. And I said she said well, what would you have done? I would have said, oh, okay, in the name of Jesus, father, I asked you to bless him, let him tell all of his stuff and just meet every need he has, Amen. And I said I walked off cause he probably would have cussed me.
Janie Carroll:He was not he was not very.
William Carroll:He was just not a happy guy, but he's the one. She planted a seed by not forcing it on him.
Janie Carroll:She planted a seed. I didn't get ugly back with him, I stayed. I didn't immediately walk off, I stayed and I took him.
William Carroll:I dropped something from him and sometimes that is a, that's a big seed, yeah. And I told her, I said you planted a seed in his life and God's gonna water it and it's gonna be fertilized and it's gonna produce fruit to the glory of God. And I said that man will be saved. And I believe it because because of her, because of her staying, her reaching out, not getting mad, because he's knowing was ugly. And and you know, hey, listen, if you don't know Jesus Christ, let me tell you right now you need to accept him as your Lord and Savior.
William Carroll:In Romans, chapter 10, verse 9, it says that if you believe in your heart that Jesus Christ died for your sins and you confess him with your mouth, then you shall be saved. So you just have to pray a simple prayer Lord Jesus, I confess that Jesus Christ died for my sins and I asked you to come into my life To be the Lord of my life. Save me, lord, from the destruction of my life that I'm walking in in Jesus's name. If you pray that prayer, I'm gonna tell you God honors that prayer because that is a Confession of your mouth and if it's a confession of your heart, god knows, he hears and he will. Hey, listen, he will save you.
William Carroll:And so listen, nick, come, share, share this. If this blesses you, share it with somebody. Don't just hit like come on, you know, I want. You know. This isn't about me, this isn't about. This is about lifting up God. This is about taking him out of the box, because I see all these Podcasts and, man, there is a lot of trash out there, baby, lots of trash, and I want to put God on the top. Not that I want to be on the top, but we need to get podcasts like this one on the top, trending that we can reach this nation and the world for Jesus. Amen, until next time. God bless y'all you.
