It is Saturday and my King had me drive to the park on the east side of Commerce City, Colorado. When I arrived at the park I was surprised to see it empty of people. It was already warm and turning out to be a beautiful day. This is definitely a tough park. Not very many parents will bring their kids to play here. The gangs love coming here. There usually is a lot of gang activity going on here. I even see a lot of homeless people who hang out here.
I just did not understand what was going on. My King had me pick up tacos for the gangs to eat. My King knew that I was becoming anxious and said, “Sonny, why don’t you just be patient. Just wait.”
So I continued to watch and see what was going to happen next. Soon a bunch of old cars started showing up. Whenever I see 15 cars showing up at the same time, I know it’s a gang. They all parked close to my pickup.
One of the gang members got out and said, “You have a nice truck, but you should not be here. This is our turf.”
I did not know this gang but I knew the one that was going to be coming next. I then replied, “Did you guys hear about the new owner of this park?”
They replied, “What do you mean?”
I said, “I bought this park.”
They were shocked and exclaimed, “You bought this park?”
I said, “Yes, my boss bought it for me.”
They then asked, “Who is your boss?”
I replied, “My boss is Jesus Christ.”
They then sighed, “You had us going there for a while. We thought you really did buy it!”
I said, “Jesus bought it with a price so that I could come here and talk to you about how much he loves you.”
As I was speaking one of the kids came up to me and said, “You smell like tacos.” I had a bunch of tacos in my pickup sitting next to me so I’m sure I did smell like tacos.
I said, “Yes, I have a bunch of tacos in my pickup. Are you guys hungry?”
He said, “Bring it on. We definitely are hungry!”
I said, “I need some help getting everything. My cooler is in my back seat and is very heavy.”
I have to put it there to keep it from disappearing. I found out that if I go into a store and it’s in the back of my pickup, someone always steals it. So it has to be locked up.”
They were anxious to help me so, I had plenty of help getting everything out of my pickup. While they were doing all this, a second gang pulled up on the other side of the park and began watching us. I waved them to come over and meet with us.
The gang leader asked, “Why are you calling them to come over? We fight with this gang.”
I asked him what his name was and he said, “Billy.”
I then said. “Right now we need to call a truce. Let us have a good lunch. They are hungry just like you.”
Billy than replied, “Okay man. I can do that.” He then looked at his men and said, “If anyone in that gang makes a wrong move, you guys just start shooting them.”
The other gang cautiously began walking across the park and asked, “What do you want man?”
I replied, “Are you guys hungry?”
There leader whose name is Charlie then said, “Heck yes, we are hungry! What do you have to eat?”
I then told him about the tacos and the drinks I had.
Charlie hopefully asked, “Do you happen to have a Dr. Pepper?”
I then showed him the Dr. Peppers that I had just waiting for him in my cooler. I told him the same thing I told the other gang. “We are not going to do any fighting. We are here just to eat right now.”
He had no problem with that and his gang began helping the other gang to eat and drink everything I had.
While they were eating, I was praying and speaking about Jesus to them. I then asked them if they had any prayer requests. They began to reveal things that needed to be prayed over. Many of their family members were down with covid. After I finished with their prayer requests, I turned my thoughts to them and asked, “Do you men know where you’re going to spend eternity? Because I do know where I’m going. I am going to be in heaven with my King. I would like to invite you to come with me. I will be waiting there for you.”
The new gang began to ask questions first. Charlie then asked, “How do you get to heaven?”
I then replied, “First of all you have to ask for forgiveness of all your sins.”
Charlie said, “I have way too many sins. I can’t even count them all.”
I then said, “Jesus does not keep track of the number of sins. He is more interested in you asking for forgiveness and what is in your heart.”
Charlie then asked, “Is it really that simple?”
I confirmed, “It really is that simple. He will not only change your heart, but He will transform it.”
Charlie then asked, “Will it bring healing between me, my mom, and my dad?”
I said, “Yes it will. They will see the change that Jesus has made in your own life.”
Charlie then replied, “I would like to try it.”
Charlie’s men were shocked at what he just said. They all looked over at him and said, “You are the meanest guy in the whole gang and you think that God is going to forgive you.”
Charlie’s answer was even more profound. He said, “Yes he will. God sent Jesus Christ for you and for me. I am tired of being mean. After you accept Jesus Christ you will not be walking in darkness anymore. Jesus Christ is not a religion but having a relationship with him. You have to worship him, pray with them and read his word. I do not have a Bible right now.”
I replied, “I have a whole box of Bibles in my pickup.”
As I was walking towards my pickup, they all shouted out they wanted Bibles too. These Bibles were the New Testament only. I began passing them all out asked, “Who wants their names written in the Lamb’s Book of Life?”
They paused a little bit but they came one by one. James was the first one who said, “I am tired of living this life. I am tired of hurting people. I am tired of waking up hungry. I want to go home.”
When James made this confession it emboldened the rest of them to take the step. They all began coming forward and they began thinking about their families. One asked, “What if our parents do not take us back?”
I began to encourage them and said, “God is faithful! As soon as you tell them what happened today, just see what happens. Call them and tell them.”
They all began calling their parents on their phones. In the beginning they were pointing their pistols at me and now they are crying. The gang I knew was watching everything that was going on. Billy came up to me and said, “Those guys are pretty tough. We just fought them last week and now they are crying.”
As the gang continued to watch they began to see the change in their lives. Billy then said, “I do not know if God will forgive me of all my sins but I will ask.”
I said, “He will. Not only will he forgive your sins but he will forget them. He is not going to hold them over your head. Once you ask, just watch and see what will happen to your heart.”
Billy’s gang began crying as Charlie’s gangs parents started showing up. Some of the parents recognize some of the boys in Billie’s gang and said, “Your parents just live three blocks from us.”
Billy then said, “We keep to ourselves.”
Billy’s gang continued watching as the parents were showing up for their sons in Charlie’s gang. Billy’s gang too decided now is the time for them to give their lives to Jesus Christ.
God is doing some amazing things right now. Most of the time when I witness to gangs only a small percentage give their lives to Jesus Christ. But lately whole gangs have been turning their lives over to Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit has been working overtime to transform hearts in these men to bring them into God’s kingdom. I even noticed this witnessing on the streets. God will say to me, “Stand here and they will come to you.” I do not need to say anything. I will stand up next to a wall holding my Bible and the people come to me. People begin to walk by me and they notice God’s word in my hand. They stop and look at me and will say, “Hey, I sure could use some prayer today.” Just on Friday night, I prayed for 33 people who came to me and did not even know who I was. God gets the Glory and the Victory for all that. I just get to see it.
They continue to come. Others recognize the writing I have on my clothes and will say, “You must be a minister out here on the streets. We would like you to pray for us.” I expect the crowds to continue to grow each week as I witness on the streets. I firmly believe that God is trying to reach everybody to know who Jesus Christ is. He promised that he would not come back until every man has heard about Jesus Christ. I also know that he is working hard to have a unified church where we all believe in exactly what Jesus Christ believes in and we live our lives just like he did.