(NASHVILLE, TN) - When Blake Solarek talks about pizza, he isn't really talking about pizza.
"We make wood-fired pizza," he says, "but pizza isn't the mission. The pizza is the invitation. The people are the mission."
That simple philosophy has become the heartbeat behind Doughjo USA, the Nashville-area nonprofit Blake founded after Jesus completely transformed his life.
"It's a prodigal son, 180 testimony," he says. "I was going through my rock bottom of living for myself—selfishly trying to fill the Jesus void in my heart with everything that I could think of. And it left me empty."
Then everything changed.
"Jesus met me about a little over a year and a half ago in my rock bottom and started doing a work in my heart. From that, He changed everything about my life."
Although he grew up attending church, Blake says he didn't truly know Christ.
"For me and my family, we went on the big holidays and it almost seemed like we were in church to check the box so other people would see we were in church."
He admits that after encountering Jesus, he realized how little he actually knew about the Bible.
"I actually couldn't have told you what John 3:16 said," he says. "I felt convicted. I said, 'How am I going to call myself a Christian if I don't know the Bible?' So I dug in and got to know the Word for myself."
That journey led him to discover something life-changing.
"I got to know that it's not unusual and it's not new for God to use someone that's broken and feels disqualified to show His power, His redemption and His sovereignty through broken vessels."
Instead of simply calling himself a Christian, Blake wanted something deeper.
"I knew I wanted to live every day as a disciple," he says. "Saying 'Christian' seemed watered down. Maybe that's just me projecting, but I wanted to be a disciple every day, every hour, pointing people to Jesus."
There was just one question.
How?
"All I knew how to do was make pizza."
So he prayed through a simple idea.
"'Make pizza for Jesus.'"
He began making pizzas, giving them away at food pantries, playing worship music and simply loving people.
Today, that simple act of obedience has grown into Doughjo USA.
Doughjo USA serves handcrafted wood-fired pizzas free of charge at homeless ministries, churches and community outreaches throughout Middle Tennessee.
But Blake is quick to explain the food is only the beginning.
"We love to build relationships and then share the Gospel through that instead of just through words. We love to do it through actions too."
He sees biblical symbolism everywhere in the work.
"Jesus fed people in the Bible," he says. "'Feed My sheep'—that's what He told Peter."
Even pizza ingredients remind him of Scripture.
"He's used bread and water before. He calls us to be salt. He says Christians are like a little bit of yeast, and those four ingredients make up our dough—flour, water, salt and yeast."
Then he smiles.
"I think it's very biblical. The foundation of the Gospel is Jesus, and the foundation of the pizza is the dough—the most important part."
Blake knows firsthand what it feels like to carry the weight of a past filled with mistakes.
"I had a checkered past," he says. "Because of that, I have legal consequences that are very real."
Those experiences shaped the vision for Doughjo USA.
"I know the struggle of second-chance opportunities and trying to get gainful employment after having a pretty rough criminal record."
His dream extends far beyond serving meals.
"What we want to do next is create jobs."
He believes discipleship happens through everyday life.
"I believe you really have to spend the majority of your day with someone and disciple them to really get through. That's what we do at work."
His hope is to one day employ men and women rebuilding their lives while mentoring them spiritually.
One encounter especially confirmed that vision.
Blake met a man named Bruce while serving pizza. Weeks later they crossed paths again at a church serving people experiencing homelessness.
"Afterward he came up and asked for an opportunity to work with us."
Solarek says it broke his heart that Doughjo USA wasn't yet in a position to hire him.
"It spoke to my heart that there's a need."
The relationship continued.
The two met for coffee, served together at a breakfast ministry, and a few days later Blake called Bruce.
"He said, 'Blake, can I call you back? I'm buying groceries for someone. They're homeless.'"
Solarek laughs remembering his response.
"'Bruce, you were homeless like two days ago! What are you talking about?'"
Bruce had found housing through a local church and was already helping someone else.
"It was just a full-circle moment."
Stories like Bruce's fuel Blake's passion.
"There are other men I've met that got out of prison and have trouble supporting their families. They're sitting on the couch—not because they're lazy—they want to work."
He believes many simply need someone willing to believe in them.
"We want to prove ourselves that we're new creations out here, but the world just marks us by our past, by our criminal records. So there's a gap there, and I pray Doughjo USA can fill that gap—one pizza professional at a time."
When asked how life has changed since following Jesus, Blake doesn't hesitate.
"It'd be easier to say how it hasn't."
He recalls spending most evenings drinking away his problems.
"I would spend the majority of my days on a bar stool. Instead of fixing problems, I'd rather spend it complaining to the bottom of a bottle."
Now?
"Jesus met me and I lost that desire to drink."
After a 72-hour fast leading up to his baptism, another addiction disappeared.
"A couple of days later I realized I hadn't smoked any cigarettes."
The extra time opened the door to healthier habits.
"I started replacing old habits with new habits."
Today, he spends time in the gym, serves in ministry, attends church, is married and is preparing to welcome his first child.
"My whole life has done a 180," he says. "If someone knew me a couple years back and met me today, they probably wouldn't recognize me. And it's all because of Jesus."
"He changed my heart and changed my life. He gave me purpose and direction."
More than anything, Solarek wants people who feel beyond God's reach to know there's still hope.
"My life is marked by mistakes and shortcomings," he says. "I've tasted the fruit of living the life the world proclaims is so good—and it left me empty."
Jesus pursued him anyway.
"Jesus still met me even when I wasn't perfect, even when I was the worst sinner, like Paul said."
His encouragement is simple.
"It's never too late for anybody."
Blake continues:
"I just want to encourage anyone that maybe thinks they've disqualified themselves that the cross is big. You can always come under the shadow of the cross. Jesus will meet you there."
For believers, he has another challenge.
"You're saved—and what's the next step? Go love the poor. Heal the sick. Get out and proclaim the Good News."
That's exactly what he hopes Doughjo USA continues to do.
"I hope when people think of Doughjo USA, they think of Jesus and they don't think about the pizza."
Then he adds the sentence that best summarizes his ministry:
"The pizza is just the tool to bring down walls and really show and share the Gospel through actions and truth."
For more information about Doughjo USA or to invite the ministry to your church or community outreach, visit www.doughjousa.com.