Reaching our community with truth is our utmost goal. It’s also the vision shared by Ricky Garza. As we continue our discussion with him, we learn how he is impacting the youth in his community with truth in love.
Statistically speaking, with Ricky’s upbringing (evicted from house to house due to his dad’s meth dealing “career” and his father spending time in and out of jail), Ricky should be living a much harder life than he is. The numbers would show that his adult life would include jail time of his own, affiliation with his local gang, multiple children born out of wedlock to multiple women, and dead before the age of 30.
But that is not who Ricky is today.
Ricky is actually a pastor, leading a congregation of Christ-followers at Gospel City Church, in the same town he grew up in.
As Ricky puts it, God never wastes experiences or opportunities. Looking back on his younger days, he remembers many days wondering why his family was forced to go through such tough times, even wishing that his mother would divorce is father instead of making them visit him in jail time and again.
Yet today, he views those struggles as one of the greatest blessings of all time. Because of what his family went through, Ricky and his dad can connect with people deeper and in a “real” fashion that otherwise they never could.
It’s simply funny to him that he’s become a pastor. He has no family history of church leadership. He didn’t grow up in an area filled with devout Christians surrounding him. Everything in his upbringing would typically point someone like him away from the church, not toward leading one. He never aspired to be a pastor as a kid. He actually wanted to be a firefighter, but as a teenager, he hurt his back which prohibited him from playing high school sports, much less the strenuous training and qualifying it would take to become a fireman.
But none of that can get in the way of God’s call on someone’s life.
Ricky recalls being at a men’s retreat and listening to John White, President of Firefighters for Christ, teach on the tenth chapter of John and how Christ is the Good Shepherd. And, in the midst of hearing the amazing heroic stories that John White shared, Ricky recalls hearing from God:
 
“I want you to save souls rather than just lives.”
 
Ricky wrote those words down in his Bible, stared at those words, and wondered, “What the heck does that mean?!”
And, within two months, the pastor of their church called Ricky into his office and asked him if he could fill the role of Interim Pastor. Now, keep in mind, Ricky hadn’t even graduated high school yet! This seemed to come completely out of nowhere. But, out of respect toward his pastor, Ricky welcomed the opportunity. It was like an Old Testament story: the guy who you would least expect, who wasn’t looking for an opportunity, who was aspiring for something else altogether, was the guy who God called into action for His mission.
Today, Ricky pastors a thriving congregation. And his dad is one of his most faithful volunteers! It’s amazing to see his family serve God together, especially in light of where they all came from.
Ricky puts it best when he says, “I’m not who I was. My past will not determine my future. There is always hope.”
All this adds up to Ricky and his dad’s opportunities to positively impact the lives of the people – especially teens – in their community. They have unbelievable credibility amongst the kids and families they speak to, with the ability to show that there is, truly, ALWAYS HOPE.