In this episode of Conversations With Buddy, I have the privilege of sitting down with Curt Jones—a longtime entrepreneur, leader, mentor, consultant, and passionate follower of Jesus Christ. Curt has spent more than five decades building businesses, developing leaders, raising capital, serving ministries, and helping organizations turn vision into action. But behind all of those accomplishments is a much deeper story: a young man who once challenged God to prove Himself real.
Curt shares the powerful story of his “Ultimate Ultimatum” on October 17, 1971. As a teenager growing increasingly frustrated with what he describes as “churchianity,” Curt wanted to know whether his faith was truly real or simply something he had inherited from his parents. He prayed a bold and honest prayer, giving God six months to show up in his life. Curt describes what happened the very next morning, when a senior student unexpectedly invited him to a Bible study, and how just 63 hours later he found himself leading that study.
That small Bible study eventually grew to hundreds of students, and Curt describes how a group of young believers began praying, serving, loving people, and seeking to influence the culture of their high school. He shares stories of transformed lives, including one student who openly opposed what was happening but eventually came to faith in Christ. Curt also recounts the remarkable story of an all-school trip to the Oregon coast involving nearly 1,100 students and the opportunity to share the Gospel around a beach bonfire.
We also talk about Curt’s extraordinary journey in business and leadership. Over the years, he has been involved in launching, building, financing, and advising numerous businesses, ministries, nonprofits, and organizations. His experience includes financial services, marketing, capital formation, fundraising, organizational development, and community outreach. Yet Curt emphasizes that his greatest lessons have come through the people who mentored him and the teams who helped turn ideas into reality.
Perhaps the most important question in this conversation is what does it look like for God’s Kingdom to come “on earth as it is in heaven”? Curt shares his current passion for bringing churches, businesses, nonprofits, government agencies, schools, first responders, and community organizations together around a common purpose: loving and serving people. From Hope Center and community outreach to his vision for greater unity among churches in Woodburn and Keizer, Curt believes faith should move beyond the walls of a church building and become something people can see through the way we love and serve our communities. This is a powerful conversation about faith, leadership, entrepreneurship, mentorship, purpose, and what it means to live a life of success turned into significance.
Connect with Curt Jones
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The Gospel is “good news”… The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 15: 3-4, “For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.”
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https://www.youtube.com/@BuddyJamesPuckettIf you or someone you know want to be on the podcast, please reach out to me on Instagram @conversationswithbuddy or text me at 503-851-8031.
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About Buddy Puckett:
Buddy Puckett has been in the mortgage and finance space and mentoring men for over 25 years. A mentoring opportunity all started when he first began in the mortgage industry in 1998, when he began to mentor a younger guy who happened to be married. This person was not making great choices and it was sadly affecting his marriage. We all are 1 decision away from something really dumb, so accountability became something Buddy knew he needed as well. Buddy’s wife, Shawn, suggested he start a podcast in 2022 to share the stories of people who have struggled,
failed, overcame by realizing the life of love, joy and peace is only available through a relationship with Jesus Christ!
“Jesus said to him, ’I am the way, and the truth and the life; no one comes to the Father except through Me’.” John 14:6
Buddy Puckett NMLS #270057, Arizona BK#0018883, AZ LO-1032154; OR ML-176 For more licensing information, please visit
www.guildmortgage.com/licensing. The positions, strategies or opinions of the author do not necessarily represent the positions, strategies or opinions of Guild Mortgage Company or its affiliates.
Guild Mortgage Company: Equal Housing Opportunity, NMLS #3274 (
www.nmlsconsumeraccess.org).
Episode 214