Dear Friends and Members of IBC,

In this current series of the ‘Word of the Week’, we are looking at the lives of some courageous, godly men and women whose testimonies vividly demonstrate God’s faithfulness and power. This week and next week, we will consider the account of how Nicky Cruz became a Christian, and later a full-time minister and evangelist. Nicky’s life is one of the most powerful testimonies in recent times of how God can turn and change someone’s heart, regardless of how far away they might seem from Him. His story is told in the bestselling book Run Baby Run.

Nicky Cruz was born in 1938, in Las Piedras, Puerto Rico. He is still alive and active in ministry today. His parents were spiritualists, well-known in the neighbourhood where he grew up, and his house was typically frequented by different mediums and people seeking seances and voodoo. Neighbours would call his home ‘The Witch’s House’. Nicky was subjected to much physical and emotional abuse at the hands of his parents, with his mother once calling him ‘the son of Satan’ whilst in a trance. This led to him constantly running away from home and struggling to find an outlet for the turmoil of emotions and anger he felt inside. From a young age he would kill animals and pick fights at school. He soon became so difficult to handle that his parents decided to send him to New York, to live with one of his brothers.

Arriving in Brooklyn, New York, as a teenager, Nicky was enrolled in a high school with many Puerto Rican children. He quickly discovered that several rival gangs were represented at this school and he was picked on within his first weeks of settling in. His time in school and his brother’s apartment didn’t last long. His involvement in fights and general restlessness soon saw him attempt to find his own place to live. He managed to find a small apartment in Ft. Greene Place, one of the largest housing projects in the world, home to more than 30,000 people. However, he had no job or available income, and so resorted to committing his first robbery to pay the necessary rent. Within just a few weeks of living in Ft. Greene Place, he became initiated into one of the most notorious and violent gangs in Brooklyn, the Mau Maus.

Initiation into a gang meant that the potential member had to prove that he wasn’t ‘chicken’, thus allow the other gang members to hit or stab him. Before Nicky’s introduction, he watched as a fearful teenager had second thoughts about joining the gang, which resulted in him being brutally stabbed and warned never to return. Nicky was severely beaten by several gang members but passed the test and was given a revolver as a welcoming gift. He would soon get the chance to use it, as a few days later he was told that the gang was having a fight or ‘rumble’ with a rival gang. This was one of the gang’s favourite activities, and Nicky quickly got the chance to show how he also loved to fight. Within months he was elected as the gang president and would soon orchestrate numerous stabbings, robberies and kidnappings. His life over the next four years revolved around such gang activities, and although he was frequently arrested, even becoming well-known by the police, they were unable to ever charge him with anything. After one court hearing, Nicky was appointed a court psychologist to determine whether or not he was psychotic. The psychologist reported that he had never seen anyone as cold and savage as Nicky, and that there was little hope for him. But….

Find out next week in part two about how God got a hold of Nicky’s life and produced an amazing transformation!

God bless you

James