Geronimo Aguilar, pastor of the Richmond Outreach Center (ROC), one of the fastest-growing churches in the United States, spoke at Liberty University’s Friday convocation.

His church is known for offering an alternative style of worship, with hip-hop and rock tunes, and a goal to minister to the inner city and poor communities. “The 700 Club” has featured it as a “Church of the Week,” referring to it as “a church where soccer moms sit beside biker chicks and businessmen hang out with body pierced teens.”

Melany Pearl, director of Liberty’s Center for Multicultural Enrichment (Center4ME), poses with Aguilar. The Center hosted a reception for him following convocation.

Aguilar, known as “Pastor G,” has seen the hardships of the inner city firsthand.

He grew up in a broken home in Los Angeles, Calif. His father left when he was 3, and Aguilar was orphaned after witnessing the murder of his mother at age 8. Aguilar said by the time he was 15 years old, he had dropped out of high school, joined a local gang and began selling drugs.

“No matter how much money I gained, no matter how much I partied, no matter how much I hurt people, I couldn’t hide the fact that I was missing something in my life,” Aguilar said. “So to try to fill that void that I had, I started using drugs.”

By the age of 17, Aguilar said he had become a drug addict.

“No matter how many drugs I took, I could never satisfy myself because nothing will satisfy you 100 percent in this life but Jesus Christ. But I didn’t know that,” he said.

As a 17-year-old drug addict, Aguilar said he had never heard the Gospel, and he began contemplating suicide. He was walking down the street one day when he spotted a church and decided to walk in. He was greeted at the door and soon found himself face-to-face with the pastor of that church.

“He had long hair and tattoos all over his arms,” Aguilar said. “I’m looking at this guy and I’m like, man — this guy is just like me; he can’t be a pastor.”

The pastor sat down with Aguilar and shared his testimony of how he had also come from a broken home, dealt drugs and was in and out of jail for most of his life. Prison is where he first heard the Gospel. After hearing his testimony, Aguilar said he knew he wanted the faith this pastor described.

“I accepted Christ as my savior, right there, at 17 years old — the first time anyone ever shared the Gospel with me,” Aguilar said.

He soon found out the power of God when he discovered that the pastor who had just shared his testimony with him was the father who had abandoned him when he was 3.

“I know the world is a small place, but it isn’t that small. Only God can do something like that,” Aguilar said.

Aguilar closed by encouraging students to restore their broken relationships and get right with Christ.

“Find your fulfillment and your satisfaction in the Lord Jesus Christ,” he said.

this was from my school convocation, few weeks back and it is good stuff.

So enjoy it

God loves you