Remembering Brad Aldrich

Brad was a man on fire to share the Gospel. I first met him when he was

Brad and Kelly

planting Water’s Edge church in Frisco, TX more than 10 years ago. Brad was instrumental in the starting of Bezeugen. A few years ago, Brad told me that he asked me once to go hand out tracts with him and I told him that I would not do it. A year or so after telling him that, my wife, Mande, and I had been to the minor league baseball game in Frisco. When we came back to the car, I found a tract on the car. I looked at the web site and thought, “that seems like the ministry that Brad was starting.” So I checked online and sure enough it was. I connected with Brad and we got talking about witnessing.

Around the same time, Craig Boswell and I were studying the School of Biblical Evangelism. We had never actually gone out to share the Gospel with anyone. Brad called me to see if I knew anyone who was well versed in Way of the Master. He was training a group of about 20 college kids at the Galleria Mall and needed some help. I told him that Craig and I knew the material but had never actually done it. We were the best that he had.

So suddenly, Craig and I and Brad and one other guy were standing in the parking lot at the Galleria Mall training these college kids. After some brief training we went inside to eat dinner and then witness to some people. One of the girls asked me “how long have you been doing this?” I said, “counting tonight, this will be one!” She then said, “wouldn’t it be better to talk with people that we know than complete strangers?” I did not know (at the time) how to answer this. So I said, “hey, Brad, this gal has a great point” and explained what she had said. He asked her, “is your grandmother saved?” She said no. So Brad said, “let’s give her a call and share the Gospel with her.” At that, the gal said, “I think talking to strangers will be ok!”

I owe a lot of thanks to Brad Aldrich for his training, encouraging and boldness in sharing the Gospel. He and Craig and I did our first outreach together going to share the Gospel at the Marilyn Manson concert.  On Christmas Day in 2007, Brad and his wife and kids and Mande and I and Brendan spent Christmas morning making sandwiches for the homeless and going and distributing them along with the Gospel. Brad is the first one that taught me door to door evangelism. We leveraged his prayer model in the door to door work that we have been doing.

I am sad to report that on Friday evening, I learned that Brad had died. He leaves behind his wife and three kids. Please keep his family in your  prayers.

There are a couple of take aways from hearing of Brad’s death.

First, as we go out and share the Gospel we often tell people, “you never know when you are going to die!” This really drives the point home. Brad is one of those people that you would not have expected to hear of his death. So, the message that “today is the day of salvation” rings true. If you are a Christian, use this as a remembrance that the Gospel

Second, Brad leaves behind a number of resources that we can continue to use to learn how and share the Gospel. He had a passion for making videos to train and equip the body of Christ for Evangelism. The Cross Pollination Ministries YouTube channel contains many videos. I pulled together five of his videos into a blog post which presents the components of a spiritual conversation. Why not take 15 minutes to watch these five videos now. In addition, Brad had made a number of audio CD’s of which he had allowed us to host on the Bezeugen website. These training materials are still online and valuable. I encourage you to check them out.

Third, there are earthly needs for Brad’s wife and kids. Support can be sent to them via Cross Pollination Ministries. Checks should be made payable to Mountain Movers with Cross Pollination Ministries or just “cpmin” in the memo line and then mailed to

Mountain Movers International
2550 Post Oak Drive
Corinth, TX 76210-3029

I am glad to have known Brad. I will miss talking to him and spending time with him. I am glad for all the things I have learned from him. See you in Heaven, my friend.