Testimony
My life of addiction did not begin in some dramatic way.
Like many others, it started slowly and seemed harmless at first.
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At the age of 12, I began smoking marijuana. In my mind, it didn’t seem like a big deal. I told myself it wasn’t hurting anyone. By the time I was 16, I had started drinking alcohol as well. Again, it seemed small and insignificant at the time.
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But addiction rarely stays small.
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Before long, I found myself living a life completely controlled by drugs and alcohol. Over the years that followed, my addiction led to two divorces, three trips to prison, seven DUI convictions, and countless nights in jail. I even spent time on the honor farm for drunk driving. I had been hospitalized multiple times thinking I had overdosed. I became addicted to nearly everything—needles, pills, alcohol, and drugs of all kinds.
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When you are truly addicted, you are not in control. The substance controls you.
I tried many alcohol and drug programs, but none of them seemed to work for me. Alcohol was my greatest enemy. Most of the time I could not even manage two sober days in a row. My life was spiraling out of control.
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By the year 2000, things had reached a breaking point. I had just gone through my second divorce and had lost custody of my children—two beautiful kids who deserved far better than the life I was giving them. I was even in danger of losing visitation rights.
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I wanted to stop drinking more than anything, but I simply could not.
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Then on July 14, 2000, everything changed.
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On a hot Friday night, I told my father that I was going home to find the Bible that was somewhere in my house and place it on the table next to a case of beer just to see which one would win. But on the drive home I had already made up my mind that the beer would win. I had convinced myself that I would just get drunk again.
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When I walked into my trailer, I went straight to the refrigerator, pulled out a beer, and popped the top. As I raised the can to my lips to take another drink, something incredible happened.
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That beer never made it to my mouth.
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In an instant, I found myself on my knees. I do not remember how I got there, but in the very moment my knees hit the floor, I knew something had changed. Deep in my heart I knew that I would never drink again.
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God had shown up.
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That night the Lord completely removed my desire for alcohol. I spent most of the night praising Him and thanking Him because I could hardly believe what had happened. The desire to drink was completely gone. I poured out every drop of alcohol I had.
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Soon after, I began attending church faithfully. I started praying, tithing, and seeking God. About six months later, God restored something incredibly precious to me—He gave me my children back. From that point forward, my kids and I attended church together every week.
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Although I had been delivered from alcohol, my walk with God was still not where it needed to be. For many years I continued to struggle with other areas of sin. I occasionally smoked marijuana and convinced myself that it was not a serious issue. Because of this, I often felt uncertain about my relationship with God. I had little desire to read His Word and knew deep down that something was not right spiritually.
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Then in 2010, another turning point came.
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My nephew had just passed away at the young age of 16. I went to see my pastor to ask for prayer for our family. During that conversation, the pastor asked me directly if I was still smoking marijuana. I admitted that I was. He asked me to go to my truck, get it, and bring it back to his office.
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I did exactly that.
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Afterward, he prayed over me.
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In that moment, God once again delivered me—this time from marijuana. Immediately I felt a strong hunger for God’s Word and a deep desire to know Him more intimately. At the same time, I felt an overwhelming desire to share the gospel with others.
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The more I began to know Christ, the more I wanted others to know Him too.
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Not long after that, I met a group of believers in Covington, Georgia who regularly went out into public places to share their faith. I had never met anyone like them before. I began going out with them on Friday nights to pass out gospel tracts and talk with people about Jesus.
At first, I did not know how to witness very well. On one particular Friday night early on, we faced a great deal of hostility from people we encountered. Some mocked us and others openly hated what we were doing.
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The man I was standing beside that night responded with nothing but love and kindness. I was amazed by his response, but at the same time I thought to myself that I could never handle that kind of abuse while still showing love in return.
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That night I went home discouraged and deeply depressed. I told God that if this was what sharing the gospel would always be like, I did not think I could do it.
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The next morning was Saturday, and I remained discouraged throughout the day. But on Sunday morning during Sunday school, the Holy Spirit spoke to my heart in a powerful way.
In what felt like the blink of an eye, God showed me something life-changing: when people persecute you, your response to that persecution is what makes all the difference.
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The world expects hatred to be returned with hatred. There is no power in that. But when someone responds to hostility with the love of Christ, it reveals something completely different. The more Christlike our response becomes, the more powerful our witness is.
Persecution does not weaken the gospel—it gives us a greater opportunity to show the love of Christ.
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In that moment I realized that no matter how people responded, my responsibility was simply to share the gospel and represent Christ. If someone rejects the message, I still have the opportunity to show them Christ through love and grace. If they listen, I can show them Christ through the truth of the gospel.
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Either way, God’s Word will never return void.
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From that day forward I knew that sharing the gospel was part of God’s calling on my life. Since 2010 I have gone out almost every Friday to share the gospel with others. That is now more than 16 years of faithfully witnessing on the streets.
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Over the years I have shared the message of Jesus at concerts, sporting events, town squares, festivals, and many other public gatherings. These are places where many people would never walk into a church building, yet they are willing to have a conversation on the street.
God has also brought many other street evangelists into my life who have encouraged and mentored me along the way.
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I truly believe that God allows my past—my addiction, my prison time, and my brokenness—to help me reach people who are currently living in those same struggles. Having been there myself, I cannot look down on anyone trapped in addiction or sin. Instead, I can share with them that there is hope.
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There is a God in heaven who saves.
There is a God who delivers.
There is a God who brings people out of darkness and into His light.
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Today I am simply a servant of my Lord Jesus Christ, and I am grateful for every opportunity to share the gospel with those who need to hear it.
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Lord willing, I plan to spend 30–40 hours each week in full-time street evangelism, going wherever God leads and doing as much as possible with whatever resources He provides.
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If you feel led to partner with this ministry financially, I welcome your support. If not, I humbly ask for your prayers. I never want to walk this journey without people praying that I remain faithful to God’s calling and within His perfect will.
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Above all, I believe that ministry must flow from a life rooted in daily prayer and time in God’s Word. Time with the Lord always comes first—then comes the work of ministry.
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John 3:16–18