You know Brandon Heath.

His songs are all over the radio; songs such as “Give Me Your Eyes” and “Wait and See.” Did you catch him on the Dove Awards when he won Best Male Vocalist? Or maybe you saw him on tour last fall with Leeland and Francesca Battistelli. But do you really know Brandon Heath? Keep reading to find out where the album title What If We came from, what he’s done in Uganda, and why he wants to ride his motorcycle around the world!

Brandon was sitting on a beach in California with his mentor talking about the Lord’s faithfulness in both of their lives—Brandon with his singing career and his mentor, Bob, with his nonprofit ministry called Restore International. Brandon said, “I love the phrase what if we. It’s what starts the phrase about great things to come. I love the what if part, but I love the we part as well. Because the we is about community, and I’m so about community. It’s vitally important.”

He explains how he used to be a follower. He let other people come up with the ideas, and he’d help make them possible. But now God is calling him to be a leader and is giving him the ideas that will change the world. “I’m really tuned in to those ideas, because those are things God wants to do and chooses to use me to do them. Music is just one of those avenues. That’s where the whole idea of What If We comes from—it’s about a lifestyle. And always starting your sentences with that.”

So, what are some of the ideas that God’s giving to Brandon? During the past year, he returned to Africa with Bob. Bob’s ministry, Restore International, built a school in Gulu, Uganda—a town where children were kidnapped and forced to be soldiers for the rebel army. “One of the encouraging things about Gulu is that people who were displaced are now going back to their villages and rebuilding. People aren’t nearly as afraid as they were,” Brandon says.

From Gulu, Brandon went to Tokyo to meet up with Leeland. Then they traveled to Cambodia with Food for the Hungry. “I didn’t know anything about Cambodia until I went. We learned about the culture—the things that have torn the fabric of their society and has caused them to be really needy to their government— which is corrupt and ineffective.”

Brandon discovered how Food for the Hungry is helping Cambodians replant gardens and save money, and how they’re providing sponsorships for kids and families.

OK, I can hear you thinking, That’s great to be able to travel around the world and help ministries who are serving the poor. But what about me? What can a teen girl do about child soldiers in Uganda or sex trafficking in Cambodia? Here are Brandon’s suggestions!

Sign up to sponsor: “Sponsorship is always a great way to get involved. A lot of little girls are in poverty and end up in the sex trade industry. So as a teen girl you could change the trajectory of somebody’s life by getting your family to sponsor a child for $38 a month. That’s nothing!”

Be a servant: Brandon also encourages helping others on a more local scale. He plans to volunteer weekly at a local rescue mission in Nashville. So get your youth group together or gather some friends from school and find a place to volunteer.

Get moving: Consider going on a missions trip. If your own church doesn’t have one, pray about getting involved with the “Never the Same” missions trip with SUSIE Magazine.

Being Christ to Those Around Us
Serving others, whether in Africa or Alabama, is really about seeing others as God sees them and loving them like God talks about in 1 Corinthians. That’s the idea behind Brandon’s hit song, “Give Me Your Eyes.”

“I thought it was bizarre that I could sit next to someone on a plane for hours and literally touch his elbow yet not say a word to him. So that’s what began the idea of hearing people’s stories. Some people just need to talk, need somebody to bear their burdens with them. And love bears all. If I’m to love, how do I love better? And it’s laid out so well in 1 Corinthians 13.”

So what about it? Are you willing to ask yourself the same question Brandon did? Ask yourself, “What If We . . .?” and do it! Then tell SUSIE Magazine about it! (See box to find out about the “What If We” Contest!) And determine now to consistently look for ways that you can be Christ to those around you!

BRANDON HEATH ON . . .
“Follow You,” a duet with Leeland: It’s the song I’m most excited about. It’s time for me to go, because Jesus was the One who led us to the poor, so we have to follow that lead and find out what the needs are. Being a musician is cool, but I get tired of myself after a while. I want to do things that are a little bigger such as giving to the world, because they need a voice.

Chivalry: I love being chivalrous. It makes me feel more macho to open a door. That’s the role God gave men—to serve. Men are supposed to protect women, and women are supposed to support men. I want to honor that.

An alternate career: If I weren’t an artist, I’d probably be working on the property staff at a Young Life camp.

What’s playing on his iPod: Citizen Cope, a song called “If There’s Love.”

Motorcycles: I have two! One lives in San Diego, and one lives in Nashville. I’m wanting to do a cross-country trip from San Diego to New York. It would be the beginning of an around-the-world trip!

BRANDON’S MOST EMBARRASSING MOMENT:
I was with TobyMac backstage, and we were about to address 300 people in the room. I stepped up onto the podium and my jeans ripped.

IF YOU WERE A TEEN GUY, WHAT WOULD YOU SAY TO GIRLS?
Girls, don’t let guys lead you on, because they totally will. It feels good to be with a girl. Ask what the guy’s intentions are. If he doesn’t tell you soon, make sure you ask what they are.

WHAT IF WE . . . HAD A CONTEST?
Did you use the phrase “What If We” to come up with an idea to serve others? Tell us about it in 300 words or less. Three girls will win an autographed What If We CD, and one grand-prize winner will win an autographed CD and a Brandon Heath T-shirt! E-mail us at susie@susiemag.com and label your e-mail “What If We.”