_transformed: 2 lessons and a prayer - An Interview with Rick Cartagena
by Rev. Terrence G. Clark
An imprisoned hardcore gang banger is transformed into mighty ministry reaching others that are like he was.
Rick Cartagena says his story started when he was 12 years old. He was born and raised in the North Philly area of Pennsylvania. His family wasn’t dysfunctional because of an absence parent. In fact his parents were together when
he and his 4 siblings - 3 brothers and a sister were growing up. All the same, his father was a severe alcoholic. (Although noting that today, his father is a born again Christian, alcohol free, and serving the Lord.) “Back then my father was always a fighter, said Rick and when he came home he demonstrated by physically abusing my mother.” Rick started to rebel before becoming a teenager. He remembers stealing cigarettes from his father’s stash and going out back with friends to smoke. Then he thought, it was innocent, but realizes now, it’s what escalated into something far worse.
The cigarette smoking led to smoking marijuana and that’s when the problems really started. “I began to start losing interest in academics and schooling,” said Rick.
At the age of 13 he was already being looked at by scouts. Scouts from both baseball and football teams were watching him because of exceptional scholastic sports activity. However the marijuana interfered and he lost interest in academics and his grades dropped. Eventually, Rick got kicked out of the Mastbaum Area Vocational Technical High School he was attending in the city. After that he dropped out of school altogether.
“I just had no interest in schooling, said Rick. So I started hanging out on the street corner more. By the age of 15, we formulated our gang.” As Rick’s gang quickly became one of the worse gangs in the city history, his marijuana addiction was also becoming worse. “I was smoking marijuana in the morning, again at noon, and all throughout the evening. I couldn’t eat without smoking marijuana. You can imagine my health deteriorated as a result of it. And of course, along with the marijuana, I was drinking a lot of alcohol. And that basically got out of control as well. We were clubbing all night long. We were partying all night long. I was living my life recklessly. Even though that part of life was bad, the worse part of my life was the violence.”
Ricks gang continued to grow, getting more violent. They were involved in shootings all across the city. They were involved in other gang related crimes. They were warring with other neighborhood gangs and as a result there were a lot of homicides. This part of his life went on for a several years. “Most of my childhood friends are dead, said Rick. Most of the people that I was acquainted with back then are dead. I survived because I got arrested.”
Now Rick was in jail facing a 15 year sentence, but it was in Jail that his soul was about to be arrested by Jesus Christ through the Holy Ghost.
An imprisoned hardcore gang banger is transformed into mighty ministry reaching others that are like he was.
Rick Cartagena says his story started when he was 12 years old. He was born and raised in the North Philly area of Pennsylvania. His family wasn’t dysfunctional because of an absence parent. In fact his parents were together when
he and his 4 siblings - 3 brothers and a sister were growing up. All the same, his father was a severe alcoholic. (Although noting that today, his father is a born again Christian, alcohol free, and serving the Lord.) “Back then my father was always a fighter, said Rick and when he came home he demonstrated by physically abusing my mother.” Rick started to rebel before becoming a teenager. He remembers stealing cigarettes from his father’s stash and going out back with friends to smoke. Then he thought, it was innocent, but realizes now, it’s what escalated into something far worse.
The cigarette smoking led to smoking marijuana and that’s when the problems really started. “I began to start losing interest in academics and schooling,” said Rick.
At the age of 13 he was already being looked at by scouts. Scouts from both baseball and football teams were watching him because of exceptional scholastic sports activity. However the marijuana interfered and he lost interest in academics and his grades dropped. Eventually, Rick got kicked out of the Mastbaum Area Vocational Technical High School he was attending in the city. After that he dropped out of school altogether.
“I just had no interest in schooling, said Rick. So I started hanging out on the street corner more. By the age of 15, we formulated our gang.” As Rick’s gang quickly became one of the worse gangs in the city history, his marijuana addiction was also becoming worse. “I was smoking marijuana in the morning, again at noon, and all throughout the evening. I couldn’t eat without smoking marijuana. You can imagine my health deteriorated as a result of it. And of course, along with the marijuana, I was drinking a lot of alcohol. And that basically got out of control as well. We were clubbing all night long. We were partying all night long. I was living my life recklessly. Even though that part of life was bad, the worse part of my life was the violence.”
Ricks gang continued to grow, getting more violent. They were involved in shootings all across the city. They were involved in other gang related crimes. They were warring with other neighborhood gangs and as a result there were a lot of homicides. This part of his life went on for a several years. “Most of my childhood friends are dead, said Rick. Most of the people that I was acquainted with back then are dead. I survived because I got arrested.”
Now Rick was in jail facing a 15 year sentence, but it was in Jail that his soul was about to be arrested by Jesus Christ through the Holy Ghost.
A Life Changing Lesson In Prison
“Somebody talked to my about the Lord,” said Rick. “And pretty much preached hell so hot that I knew that my life up to that point had been a lie and I had to make a decision. I didn’t make a decision right away, but I got a letter in the mail a few weeks later from a bible correspondence course ministry. There were two lessons. At the back of the second lesson, there was a sinner’s prayer. In that course, I learned all about the grace of God and the Love of God. But, I also learned about sin and the consequences of sin and the reason for which Jesus Christ went to the cross. And, I was convinced. I was convinced that I was a sinner. I was convinced that my life was a lie. I was convinced that I needed Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior in order to escape hell. So when I got to the sinner’s prayer at the back of the second lesson, I repeated it with my mouth, heart, and strength. This was in 1989 and I basically haven’t been the same since. I devoted my life to go to church in prison. I devoted my life to prayer and fasting. I devoted my life to studying the Word of God and sure enough when I got out, I continued serving the Lord.” |
Life Now
“Now, I have been going from state to state. I’ve gone to Tyler Texas - Pastor Rudy Barnes mega Church. I have gone to Fredrick Pennsylvania to give my testimony. I’ve gone to Vermont to give my testimony as well as to preach the word. I am the director of evangelism with CLPRM Evangelism which is a recovery ministry. We are very big on going into the prisons every Tuesday. Every Wednesday we get in touch with inmates families. We conduct marriage meeting across the tri-state area. We are in Bristol, PA with bible based recovery meetings. Thursday we are in the Frankford section of Philadelphia. And on Fridays we are in Bensalem. And, we present Christian Concepts every second Saturday of the month. We do a large luncheon every quarter and invite everyone from the recovery community to come out. And, there are many other things that we do. And, all this is for the glory of God.”
Remember Redemption
Rick revealed that he never asked for or ordered the life changing bible course that came to him. “It was the grace of God – a friend of mine Willie Serrano recommended my name to the ministry. I did not know this at the time I found out much, much later. One day a letter came with my name on it. I was excited. Inmates rejoice over receiving a single piece of correspondence with their name on it. I went back to my cell. It was strange material for me at the time because I never had a Christian experience at the time. But, I realized, it was something that I wasn’t going to throw away.”
The hell fire sermon he heard a few weeks earlier had already began opening his eyes. When the correspondence came - he was ready to receive salvation. He recalls studying the lessons in secret. Dousing pride leftover from his street life, he would have his back turned to his cell mate and cover over with his bed covering. With a small night light, he would read and study the material. “It took me some time. It was all new to me. But it happened, I was convicted by the Holy Spirit and I repeated the sinner’s prayer.”
Life Before Christ
Rick has been saved 24 years now. Looking back, he says, “his before Christ life” was full of turbulence, a lot of pride, and a lot of confusion. He said, he didn’t know the meaning of life. He said, he lived his life through his feelings. “It was the drug use, the sex and the women,” remembered Rick. "Because we had our own illegal enterprises on the street corners, and we were making a lot of money, I was able to live out of hotels every night, if I wanted to. I enjoyed the life filled with physical pleasure. I thought that was life. I was confused. I was empty. I was absolutely empty. I was living according to the feelings emanated by this lifestyle---this street thuggish lifestyle.”
Apparently, what attracted Rick to Jesus Christ was brokenness. Prison had cast reality into the cell along with him. He was still waiting to be arraigned at the time. He was a 17 year old juvenile to be sentence as an adult. On the street he thought he was invincible. But now, his unchallenged world was much smaller. Behavioral consequences he had escaped for so long had caught up to him. He turned to these bible lessons desperately looking for answers.
“The bible study lessons pretty much exposed me to the will of God and the mind of God", explained Rick. "The meaning - the purpose of life was all wrapped up in those two lessons. They were put together so perfectly. They answered all the questions I had. I know now, I didn’t know it then when I said that prayer, that the Holy Spirit came up on me and changed my whole perspective. And the classic verse in John 8:32 pretty much sums it up - and you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free. That day I was set free, I was delivered that day. Demons had to depart form my life. The Holy Spirit entered my life and I began to enjoy freedom that I never had before. I experienced peace that I had never known before and I still live with it. And, I walk in my first love with the Lord to this day."
“Now, I have been going from state to state. I’ve gone to Tyler Texas - Pastor Rudy Barnes mega Church. I have gone to Fredrick Pennsylvania to give my testimony. I’ve gone to Vermont to give my testimony as well as to preach the word. I am the director of evangelism with CLPRM Evangelism which is a recovery ministry. We are very big on going into the prisons every Tuesday. Every Wednesday we get in touch with inmates families. We conduct marriage meeting across the tri-state area. We are in Bristol, PA with bible based recovery meetings. Thursday we are in the Frankford section of Philadelphia. And on Fridays we are in Bensalem. And, we present Christian Concepts every second Saturday of the month. We do a large luncheon every quarter and invite everyone from the recovery community to come out. And, there are many other things that we do. And, all this is for the glory of God.”
Remember Redemption
Rick revealed that he never asked for or ordered the life changing bible course that came to him. “It was the grace of God – a friend of mine Willie Serrano recommended my name to the ministry. I did not know this at the time I found out much, much later. One day a letter came with my name on it. I was excited. Inmates rejoice over receiving a single piece of correspondence with their name on it. I went back to my cell. It was strange material for me at the time because I never had a Christian experience at the time. But, I realized, it was something that I wasn’t going to throw away.”
The hell fire sermon he heard a few weeks earlier had already began opening his eyes. When the correspondence came - he was ready to receive salvation. He recalls studying the lessons in secret. Dousing pride leftover from his street life, he would have his back turned to his cell mate and cover over with his bed covering. With a small night light, he would read and study the material. “It took me some time. It was all new to me. But it happened, I was convicted by the Holy Spirit and I repeated the sinner’s prayer.”
Life Before Christ
Rick has been saved 24 years now. Looking back, he says, “his before Christ life” was full of turbulence, a lot of pride, and a lot of confusion. He said, he didn’t know the meaning of life. He said, he lived his life through his feelings. “It was the drug use, the sex and the women,” remembered Rick. "Because we had our own illegal enterprises on the street corners, and we were making a lot of money, I was able to live out of hotels every night, if I wanted to. I enjoyed the life filled with physical pleasure. I thought that was life. I was confused. I was empty. I was absolutely empty. I was living according to the feelings emanated by this lifestyle---this street thuggish lifestyle.”
Apparently, what attracted Rick to Jesus Christ was brokenness. Prison had cast reality into the cell along with him. He was still waiting to be arraigned at the time. He was a 17 year old juvenile to be sentence as an adult. On the street he thought he was invincible. But now, his unchallenged world was much smaller. Behavioral consequences he had escaped for so long had caught up to him. He turned to these bible lessons desperately looking for answers.
“The bible study lessons pretty much exposed me to the will of God and the mind of God", explained Rick. "The meaning - the purpose of life was all wrapped up in those two lessons. They were put together so perfectly. They answered all the questions I had. I know now, I didn’t know it then when I said that prayer, that the Holy Spirit came up on me and changed my whole perspective. And the classic verse in John 8:32 pretty much sums it up - and you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free. That day I was set free, I was delivered that day. Demons had to depart form my life. The Holy Spirit entered my life and I began to enjoy freedom that I never had before. I experienced peace that I had never known before and I still live with it. And, I walk in my first love with the Lord to this day."
Struggles with Freedom
Rick said it was when he was released from prison that struggles in his Christianity began. He got saved in the Graterford Penitentiary in PA. Rick shared that life in state prison is not easy and he had to defend himself in more ways than one. Still his salvation was initiated in a confined environment. “I was still confined. I didn’t have to deal with the temptations on the outside like a free person. Like, I wasn’t tempted with women. I wasn’t tempted with drugs or crime, at least not to the same level as on the outside. In prison, you could still get the drugs - but it wasn’t expensive. I wasn’t living in criminal activity. You are told pretty much when to get up, when to go to bed, and when to go to eat. Life was being managed for me.”
Rick said when he got out of prison he was suddenly faced with the temptations of the free world. He now had the responsibility of finding work, the responsibility of getting his driver’s licenses, the responsibility of paying bills, and the responsibility of everything else that came with free life. “I didn’t know how to handle it. I didn’t know how to hand the opposite sex. I was away for a long time. I didn’t know how to manage a relationship with the opposite sex. I didn’t know how to handle physical attraction with a woman.”
He remembered running into an old female friend right after he had been released. “I couldn’t handle it so I found myself quickly shacking up with an old friend.”
Rick said making that wrong decision violated his faith. Although he wasn’t getting high or involved in crime he was living in sexual immorality. He said this conviction was so over whelming it caused him to backslide from the Lord for 8 months. “So, finally I made the decision to leave the home to get away. I explained it to her in detail and it wasn’t easy. And, I violently came back to the Lord. I had to make a desperate sacrifice to come back to the Lord.”
Back to Shaking the Streets - Street Meetings
Rick’s explains his ministry is 100 percent evangelist in nature. They don’t conduct traditional services. They don’t conduct church within four walls. They call themselves a church without walls. Not only do they minister to those who are incarcerated and their families, they got to the streets - literally, conducting church on the street. Collaborating with neighboring churches, they target a certain area in the city, obtain a permit and conduct service on the street. But not just a service, they give out free clothing, thousands of hamburger, hotdogs and soda. The kids cool down and have fun in sometimes two giant inflatables - waterslides & bounce rooms. Others get face painting. And there is the service. A powerful sound system is strategically set to carry the sounds to not only that street but the surrounding communities. Guest gospel musicians and worship leaders are brought in to minister on the small stage erected in the middle of the street. Testimonials are given throughout the day from those who have experienced deliverance through the abundant life giving Christ. At the end of the day, in a small kiddie pool, there is a baptism offered to those who have responded to the altar call, and to any born again believer who had yet been baptized. The event usually last all day.
There are a lot of us represented in this activity, acknowledged Rick. We counsel one-on-one with people. We pray for people. We preach the word of God. It is my privilege and honor to preach the gospel out there in the middle of the street. We see souls get saved. Those who get baptized are given a certificate to remember what happened on that day.
A Message
“I would say to anybody who considering criminal activity, getting high, or drinking that Jesus Christ is the answer. The thing that drove me to the lifestyle, I lived for such a long time, was the need to belong. It was the need for love. And, I would tell you, you don’t have to get high to find love. You don’t have chase after drugs or women to find love. There is a solution. There is an answer. There is a peace that the world cannot give. If you are search for the meaning and purpose in life, you will not find it in a bottle or in a marijuana cigarette. You will not find it in clubbing or gang violence. Jesus Christ is the answer for your dilemma. You have a void and a need inside of you that drives you to find pleasure in drugs, that drives you to wanting to get high, that’s the world way. But you don’t have to do that. Look to Jesus Christ. He will transform your life from the inside out. He will transform your life for his glory.”
Rick said it was when he was released from prison that struggles in his Christianity began. He got saved in the Graterford Penitentiary in PA. Rick shared that life in state prison is not easy and he had to defend himself in more ways than one. Still his salvation was initiated in a confined environment. “I was still confined. I didn’t have to deal with the temptations on the outside like a free person. Like, I wasn’t tempted with women. I wasn’t tempted with drugs or crime, at least not to the same level as on the outside. In prison, you could still get the drugs - but it wasn’t expensive. I wasn’t living in criminal activity. You are told pretty much when to get up, when to go to bed, and when to go to eat. Life was being managed for me.”
Rick said when he got out of prison he was suddenly faced with the temptations of the free world. He now had the responsibility of finding work, the responsibility of getting his driver’s licenses, the responsibility of paying bills, and the responsibility of everything else that came with free life. “I didn’t know how to handle it. I didn’t know how to hand the opposite sex. I was away for a long time. I didn’t know how to manage a relationship with the opposite sex. I didn’t know how to handle physical attraction with a woman.”
He remembered running into an old female friend right after he had been released. “I couldn’t handle it so I found myself quickly shacking up with an old friend.”
Rick said making that wrong decision violated his faith. Although he wasn’t getting high or involved in crime he was living in sexual immorality. He said this conviction was so over whelming it caused him to backslide from the Lord for 8 months. “So, finally I made the decision to leave the home to get away. I explained it to her in detail and it wasn’t easy. And, I violently came back to the Lord. I had to make a desperate sacrifice to come back to the Lord.”
Back to Shaking the Streets - Street Meetings
Rick’s explains his ministry is 100 percent evangelist in nature. They don’t conduct traditional services. They don’t conduct church within four walls. They call themselves a church without walls. Not only do they minister to those who are incarcerated and their families, they got to the streets - literally, conducting church on the street. Collaborating with neighboring churches, they target a certain area in the city, obtain a permit and conduct service on the street. But not just a service, they give out free clothing, thousands of hamburger, hotdogs and soda. The kids cool down and have fun in sometimes two giant inflatables - waterslides & bounce rooms. Others get face painting. And there is the service. A powerful sound system is strategically set to carry the sounds to not only that street but the surrounding communities. Guest gospel musicians and worship leaders are brought in to minister on the small stage erected in the middle of the street. Testimonials are given throughout the day from those who have experienced deliverance through the abundant life giving Christ. At the end of the day, in a small kiddie pool, there is a baptism offered to those who have responded to the altar call, and to any born again believer who had yet been baptized. The event usually last all day.
There are a lot of us represented in this activity, acknowledged Rick. We counsel one-on-one with people. We pray for people. We preach the word of God. It is my privilege and honor to preach the gospel out there in the middle of the street. We see souls get saved. Those who get baptized are given a certificate to remember what happened on that day.
A Message
“I would say to anybody who considering criminal activity, getting high, or drinking that Jesus Christ is the answer. The thing that drove me to the lifestyle, I lived for such a long time, was the need to belong. It was the need for love. And, I would tell you, you don’t have to get high to find love. You don’t have chase after drugs or women to find love. There is a solution. There is an answer. There is a peace that the world cannot give. If you are search for the meaning and purpose in life, you will not find it in a bottle or in a marijuana cigarette. You will not find it in clubbing or gang violence. Jesus Christ is the answer for your dilemma. You have a void and a need inside of you that drives you to find pleasure in drugs, that drives you to wanting to get high, that’s the world way. But you don’t have to do that. Look to Jesus Christ. He will transform your life from the inside out. He will transform your life for his glory.”