PASTOR JOSE LUIS FLORES' STORY

Pastor Jose Luis Flores

Founding Pastor

Victory Life Fellowship of Corpus Christi

THERE WERE DRUGS, GANG FIGHTS, AND PROSTITUTION ALL AROUND ME. THIS WAS THE SCENE IN THE BARRIO WHERE I GREW UP. AT THE AGE OF 12, I WAS INTRODUCED INTO THE WORLD OF DRUGS BY AN OLDER MAN. I NEVER IMAGINED THAT THOSE FEW DROPS OF HEROIN WOULD COME TO CAPTIVATE AND CONTROL MY LIFE. FOR 13 YEARS I WOULD BE BOUND BY HEROIN.

Four years had gone by, and the memory was still fresh in my mind. I was 8 years old when the Welfare Department intervened in my home because of the many problems that existed. My father was an alcoholic and my mother was mentally ill. The decision was made to place me in a foster home. I became rebellious, and I couldn’t understand how such a thing could happen to me.

I had been steeling with a friend for almost a year before we were arrested for a number of robberies. In those days, It was believed that “Once and Addict, Always and Addict.” When we were brought before the judge, my friend was tried and sentenced to prison. I was tried as a minor and sentenced to serve a juvenile life sentence in a reformatory. That means I was to be kept behind walls until I was 21 years of age. In the reformatory I learned the trade of a barber. I went onto finish the 9th grade, and participated in the group therapy sessions. At the age of 17, I was released because of my good conduct, but in my mind and heart, I WAS THE SAME ADDICT.

Six months after my release, I was back to stealing and doing anything I had to in order to support my habit. I knew what I was doing was wrong but I couldn’t stop myself. I wanted to quit, but I didn’t know how. I knew if I kept going sooner or later I would be headed back to the reformatory or prison. I decided to move to Chicago, hoping that this change of environment would help me to change. But in Chicago, I soon made contacts and the “Vicious Cycle” continued. Many were the times I thought the way out of my problems would be to take my own life, but I could never bring myself to do it. My mother was not so fortunate. Sometimes we say “I’m not hurting anybody but myself” but oh how wrong we are. Many were the sufferings of my mother that one day she took up a rope and ended her life. She just couldn’t take it anymore.

In Chicago I had nowhere to go so I ended up living in an abandoned building with other addicts. The thought of suicide was never far from my mind. One day as I went to Humboldt Park, where drugs were sold, a “Rally” was being held. An ex-addict was sharing his life of drug addiction and how Jesus has set him ‘free’. I stopped to listen to him. I said to myself, “If Jesus could help him, then maybe He can help me.” I had nothing to lose. When he finished speaking I drew near to him. I told him that I was that person he was talking about, and that I was tired of the life I was living. He asked me to repeat this simple prayer with him, “Jesus forgive me for all of my sins, Come into my life, and change me.” In that moment I felt like another person. The weight I felt I had been carrying around for 13 years disappeared. “I WAS FREE”. The Chains of Sin had been broken. Later I was sent to the Victory Home program (today known as Outcry in the Barrio) in San Antonio,Texas where God was to mold and prepare my life to work with others who are striving to come out of that pit of darkness and despair.

Today, Corpus Christi is the site of both a “Outcry Home”, and a church, Victory Life Fellowship, where the message goes out that “JESUS IS THE ANSWER.”

YOU CAN RECEIVE CHRIST RIGHT NOW THROUGH PRAYER. The following is a suggested prayer: “Lord Jesus, I need You. I am convinced that I am a lost sinner, and I ask forgiveness for my sins. I open the door of my heart and receive You as my Lord and Savior. Amen.”