David Washington used to rule the streets as a drug dealer, but now he is serving God as the pastor of Kingdom Covenant Church in Chicago.
Washington shared his conversion story with The Gospel Coalition, pointing out that coming to Christ has "saved his life."
Washington joined the "Gangster Disciples," one of the largest street gangs on Chicago's South Side, when he was only 12 years old. He was already a drug dealer as a teen and subsequently became a gang leader.
He shared that his family were "more church attenders than practicing believers," so he did not really have a good Christian role model in his life. His mother and father attended church more when he got involved with the "Gangster Disciples" as they sought God "to save me."
But it was no use. Washington got heavily involved in drugs. When he was 19, he was spending over $100 a day to sustain his drug addiction. He was also targeted for death by rival gangs, and faced a 15-year sentence for armed robbery and unlawful use of a weapon.
The day before he was due in court to plead guilty, Washington's gang threw him a party. "It was a going-away party," he said.
While surveying the people in the room, Washington got hit with God's truth. "I was looking at these people, who I thought were my brothers — people I'd be willing to go to jail for, to give my life for — and God revealed to me that this party wasn't really about me, and none of them really cared about me," he said. "I could see guys trying to get with my girlfriend."
He left the party, went home, and told himself that he threw away his life for nothing. With nothing left to lose, he bargained with God: "If you're up there, if you hear me, I tried everything I can think of. It's time to try you. You're the only one that can get me out of this situation. If you exist, if you can get me out of this situation, I will read my Bible. I will do what it says to the best of my ability. I will not claim my gang."
The next day, a miracle happened. His parole officer did not show up in court. His arresting officer and the victim, a rival gang member, were also absent. Because of this, the judge dropped his charge for unlawful use of a weapon and lowered his armed robbery charge to simple robbery.
He was sentenced to one year of intensive house arrest probation, followed by two years of probation and around 200 hours of community service. "I was convinced God was real after that," Washington said. "And once convinced, there was no turning back. I gave God everything I had."
When he got home, he received a call from a pastor from Salem Baptist Church, asking him if he'd like to go to a men's retreat. "It changed my life," he said. He became close with pastor Harvey Carey, and ended up serving his community service at Salem.
Washington never went back to using drugs, but he did go back to the gangs. However, they tried running away from him after knowing his intent — to introduce God to them.
But some people would sit and listen to Washington, and in the end, he was able to bring thousands to the Lord.
There are many other people like Washington who turned to God after living sinful lives. Former drug addict Ryan Longmuir from Scotland is one of them. He went to New Zealand in 2000, but he got into trouble after customs intercepted a package of 100 ecstasy pills that he had posted to himself from Scotland.
He was facing a jail term, so he phoned a friend back in Scotland. She offered to pray for him, and suggested he do the same. "I thought 'you're off your head' but I decided to try it, and I got down beside my bed and I said, 'I don't believe that there is a God, but if you're real then show me that you're real and I'll believe in you,'" he told the BBC.
In the end, he was able to go out on bail. His life changed overnight because of that prayer. Longmuir got his life on track and started a successful catering company.
His impressive list of clients now include mobile phone network O2, luxury carmaker Bentley, and investment bank JP Morgan, among many others.
