Matthew 24:14, “This Good News of the kingdom shall be proclaimed in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.”
Today the good news is being preached to the ends of the earth and God is using anyone who is willing to be used by Him- even former drug addicts and gang members for his glory.
A group of men comprising of ex-drug addicts, and gang members from Stockton, California, who are part of Victory Outreach Church were preparing to preach the gospel in the neighborhood. This is an organization which aims to bring the gospel to hurting community members by sharing how their own lives were changed due to it.
It was established in 1985 with a goal of evangelism to the local community, involving reaching out to people on the streets and bringing hope to the hopeless. “We reach out to drug addicts, convicts, gang members, The hurting, the lost, the abused, any and all people that our hurting,” Karlos Valazquez from Victory Outreach said, “We believe that there is hope through Christ for everyone.”
On an Instagram post, Victory Outreach wrote that they were out to evangelize when they were stopped by the police, because they were a large number of people most of whom were former gang members and drug addicts.
“A strategic squad was sent out tonight to hit the streets and spread three gospel, and the enemy tried to shut things down by having the Cops called, We almost thought they were gonna shut us down from spreading Gospel,” the post explained.
But soon things took a beautiful turn. “They stopped us and then the young man that is praying for the officers explained what we were doing, the officers listened and asked if we would shut it down within 20 mins and we agreed,” Valazquez said. “The young man asked the officers if they mind if He prayed for them. The officers said they did not mind and so he began to pray for them. One of our guys saw this happening and began to record.”
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The group prayed for God’s protection over the police officers and their families in Stockton. They also prayed against any devastating news coming to the police officers families and that the officers would understand their value in society and in God’s eyes. “Keep using them to model peace, model justice, and to model love,” one of the young men prayed. They thanked God for sending strong and compassionate police officers to the Stockton community, and the good work they were doing day after day.
“It was an amazing moment, afterward the officers thanked us and They let us continue and they went on their way,” Valazquez said. The group felt really good after the day’s events, and gave God all the glory.
The group wrote, “But God turned things around and they loved our message and everything that was being spoken. They even let us pray for them!!! Praise God!!! We ain’t stopping!!!”
There is no force powerful enough to stop the work of the Lord, and we thank God for the wisdom and understanding shown by the group towards the police and touching them with their prayers and testimonies.
