Jason Billester grew up between two worlds — his mother's family had money, fast cars, and big houses; his father's family had 120 years of ministry. He drew the wrong conclusion from that contrast and spent his early adult life chasing success, convinced he'd make his mark first and then sprinkle some generosity on the nonprofits later. Then a pastor threw him out of his office, a car accident put him in a coma at 13, two miscarriages broke him and his wife open, and their son was born needing emergency open-heart surgery. God kept slowing Jason down and redirecting him — and he kept missing the point until a health crisis forced him to finally stop and listen.

That's when the Holy Spirit told him something that reordered everything: all the Christian activities you're doing don't equal intimate time with me. Jason had been serving at a homeless mission for years, doing good work, going to church, tithing — and he had quietly stopped listening to God while doing it. The conversation that follows is one of the most practical and honest this show has done on prayer, faith, and what it actually means to build a relationship with God rather than just perform one. Jason walks through the PTL framework he developed — Praise, Thank, Listen — how he and his wife pray together every morning, how he learned to hear the Holy Spirit by writing down every time he thought he might be hearing it, and the story of a fundraising dry spell that ended when he stopped scheming and just asked God where to sit at a dinner. He also opens up the doors of Boise Rescue Mission — what it does, who it serves, why it takes zero government money, and what it looks like when broken people actually get back on their feet.

Jason Billester serves as Vice President of Development at Boise Rescue Mission Ministries, Idaho's largest provider of services for people experiencing homelessness. He came to the mission sideways — pursuing pharmaceutical sales, hoping the pastor who ran the place would connect him to something bigger — and got thrown out of the office and told to pray for a week. That week changed his life. Nearly two decades later, Jason has spent his career helping people understand and support the mission's Christ-centered work, shaped along the way by personal hardship, loss, a hollow prayer life he had to rebuild from scratch, and a steady conviction that the cross on the logo means everybody is welcome. 

• Boise Rescue Mission: Idaho's largest homeless services provider, 68 years old, four shelters, 500+ people served nightly, 800-1000 meals a day, zero government funding

• Growing up between millionaires and missionaries — and drawing the wrong conclusion from both

• The "get out" moment: Reverend Roscoe throwing Jason out of his office and telling him to pray for a week

• Jason at 13, riding in the back of an El Camino — the car accident that put him in a coma and changed everything

• The Costco card analogy: having Christianity as a membership, not a relationship

• Meeting Melissa at the church info booth — she wouldn't give him the time of day, they married 10 months later

• Two miscarriages: the belief that good behavior earns credit from God, and what it takes to release that

• Their son Josh's emergency open-heart surgery — and how suffering shaped the way Jason now serves broken people

• The ant and the elephant: taking all the credit for the elephant's work

• Money as manure: it stinks if you stack it, grows things if you spread it

• Tithing beyond money — 10% of your first fruits, including time and gifts

• The hunter-gatherer analogy: why giving away the mammoth is the best way to store it

• The health crisis that stopped Jason cold: insomnia, swelling, brain fog, eye pressure — and what God revealed through it

• The word that reordered everything: "All these Christian activities do not equal intimate time with me"

• PTL: Praise, Thank, Listen — the morning practice Jason built after that moment

• Using pillows from Ross as knee pillows — Melissa doesn't know

• How Jason learned to hear the Holy Spirit: a prayer mentor, a college-ruled notebook, and 18 times in one weekend

• Courting the Holy Spirit the same way he courted Melissa — patient, intentional, learning to listen

• The Starbucks analogy for specific prayer: "just enough room for cream"

• The fundraising dry spell — four months of nothing, then one prayer: "God, where do you want me to sit?"

• Sitting next to the owners of a billion-dollar candle company, the $500,000 check, and the $200,000 gift

• The story of Ray — from the streets to transformation

• From chasing success to becoming significant

• Why Boise Rescue Mission takes no government funding — and what the cross on their logo actually means

• 4,000 guests moved into stable housing over eight years; 1,300 gave their hearts to Jesus last year alone

• How to tour, volunteer, donate, and pray for the mission

• Faith & Formation

• Redemption & Integration

• Suffering & Meaning

Jason Billester / Boise Rescue Mission Ministries

• Website: https://www.boiserm.org

• Phone: 208-343-2389