He was on his way to a party, but the church on the side of the road seemed to be calling him.
Compelled to veer off course, he found himself driving around the steepled building.
David didn’t grow up in a religious home. He’d never been interested in faith before either. As a teenager, he decided to follow the crowd, chasing idols and worldly vices. Nothing changed as he got older.
“Anything that you can imagine a 34-year-old doing, I was doing it and had done it,” said David. “I had a serious anger problem that landed me in prison.”
During his time behind bars, he had actively belittled the chaplain and other cellmates who said they were Christians.
Now, his heart was telling him to go inside. Something was different.
After the eighth lap around the church, he finally pulled into the parking lot and tentatively walked inside. As soon as he walked through the door, a pastor greeted him. For some reason, David immediately shared his entire story with him. To David’s surprise, the pastor had a similar testimony.
“We spent the next eight months walking through the Bible before I gave my life to the Lord,” said David.
David devoted himself to studying God’s word and, eventually, went on a missions trip. During this time, the Lord sparked his passion for the lost, specifically the homeless on Skid Row in downtown Los Angeles.
“The Lord pressed a calling on my life for people who struggle with addictions—drug, alcohol, pornography,” said David. “He has uniquely gifted me to talk and relate to these people.”
In 2018, David became a short-term missionary with EveryEthne to minister to addicts in Des Moines, Iowa. This year, he made the decision to continue his work as a long-term missionary.
