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Andy, a young family man and construction worker, was rushed to the hospital with a gunshot to the head in a case of mistaken identity. His co-worker and friend, Peter, came to see him in the hospital and marveled that even with bullet fragments still in his head, Andy walked out of the hospital with no problem.
Realizing that God had spared his life, Peter told Andy, “God has given you another chance.”
“That was a wake-up call for him!” Peter said. “He started going to church and bringing his family.”
“God has given you another chance.”
In January of 2022, the Options Blog featured Peter Villa of Bakersfield, California, who shared his experience attending a ministry training for a Boxes of Love® outreach and how it helped him become a bold and effective witness at his workplace.
Andy was one of three co-workers with whom Peter shared the gospel, using the methods he learned in ministry training sessions sponsored by Cru® Inner City Bakersfield. Two of the men trusted Christ as their Savior, but Andy was still skeptical.
Peter co-pastors Kern County Seeds of Greatness Church with his father-in-law. The church has been a partner in ministry with Inner City Bakersfield for several years, participating in evangelism and discipleship seminars and using Compassionate Products™ — food, blankets, warm clothing and evangelistic tools — to meet physical and spiritual needs in the surrounding community. In addition to his pastoral duties, Peter is a husband, father and grandfather who works in construction.
Peter’s first encounter with Inner City came when he was a teenager in a church youth group. Richard Garcia, now team director for the local Inner City team, was his youth leader. Years later, Peter’s pastor invited him to a ministry training in preparation for a Boxes of Love® outreach sponsored by Richard and his team. Boxes of Love is an annual outreach featuring a holiday meal, a Bible, and other gospel presentations that Peter’s church uses to reach hungry families in their neighborhood. Inner City provides the food and the gospel materials at no cost to partner churches and ministries across the country.
Peter freely admits that he has struggled with boldness and confidence in witnessing, but the training sessions taught him how to initiate a spiritual conversation using the 4 Spiritual Laws, a booklet created by Bill Bright, founder of Cru.
Since the 2022 Boxes of Love event occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic, it was not possible to go door to door with the much-needed food. Instead, the Bakersfield team decided to provide grocery gift cards that the partner ministries could give to families they knew were in need. For Peter, using the Boxes of Love grocery gift cards was a perfect conversation starter with his co-workers.
There was a time, though, when Peter wasn’t the one initiating those conversations. Despite his experience with the youth group, it was a long detour from that to becoming a pastor who shares his faith with others. As a 15-year-old, Peter was deeply involved in his church until a young adult. Then he left the church and went his own way, resulting in two failed marriages and losing custody of his kids. Twenty years later, Corina, Peter’s high school sweetheart, came back into his life. They married, but she soon tired of going to church without her husband, so Corina issued an ultimatum.
“She said it’s either me and the church or your life(style), so I started going back to church,” Pete said. “I took the kids to church when I had them.”
They have been together for 15 years.
“I haven’t looked back since. My kids saw a change in me.”
“When you’re done, you’re done,” Peter said of his former lifestyle. “I haven’t looked back since. My kids saw a change in me.”
Now, he alternates Sundays preaching with his father-in-law.
In addition to pastoring his church, Peter still has contact with the three work friends even though they’ve all moved to other jobs. Andy, who still has not made a confession of faith, is open to spiritual conversations.
“I still ask him to make a decision for Christ,” he said. “When you’re ready, you’re ready. You gotta be sick and tired of being sick and tired. That doesn't stop me from trying. I still reach out to him.”
Peter continues to share Christ with new co-workers, one of whom is his brother-in-law. The men often initiate questions about the Bible over lunch.
“I direct them to the Word of God using the 4 Spiritual Laws,” he said. “Richard taught me. They were not raised in church; don’t know a lot. Sometimes I pray with them. We would look it up, and I would take them to the Word of God.”
Among the things they don’t understand is why going to church is so important, even asking if Jesus ever commanded His people to go to church.
“I showed them where He said don’t forsake coming together,” Peter said.
Peter just attended another ministry training to prepare for the Homeless Care Kits, a winter outreach with his church. Homeless Care Kits contain a blanket, warm clothes, a toiletries kit, and a Bible to be given to those living outside. One thing he has learned from the training and experience is not to force the conversation but to trust God and His Spirit to direct it.
“Don’t force your beliefs on somebody,” he said. “They get negative, shut you out, turn away. I learned to be sensitive to the Spirit. I try not to bombard them.”
He will get the chance to put his additional training to work soon.
“This weekend when I hand out the blankets, (I’ll) ask if it’s OK if I pray for them,” Peter said. “I try to win them to the Lord.”
Peter still considers himself a learner, even though he’s attended several ministry training courses.
“There’s a few things I still want to get strong in, getting more active with the guys, doing more than what I am doing; trusting the Lord that when I get to them, He’s going to give me the words to say,” he said.
A powerful part of Peter’s witness is his public walk of faith through tragic circumstances.
“I lost my daughter and grandson within two months,” Peter said. “It was a rough year, and I would still come to work. They asked me, ‘How do I do it?’ I would tell them it’s all God; He gives me strength and sustains me. The Holy Spirit gives me peace and comfort. They know I’m a man of God, and I’m human. They commend me on being strong. You can have joy, peace in the middle of your storm.”
Something most of us desire to have is confidence in witnessing to others. Peter has gained boldness through the evangelism training he’s received from Inner City.
“We’re the ambassadors, we represent God, the only Bible they'll see.”
“There’s a lot of people that are waiting for us to come out and share; they’re all around you,” he said. “All I had to do was invite them and talk to them; either they reject Him or they don't. We’re the ambassadors, we represent God, the only Bible they'll see. I found it was exciting. All this time, I could have been doing this.”
Peter and Kern County Seeds of Greatness Church are valued partners in our mission to live out the Great Commandment and the Great Commission in the inner city through working with pastors, churches and ministries who know their communities and the needs people face.
Along with Corina, Peter continues to reach out to the poor and marginalized in his community as well as encouraging his adult kids to make serving God — by serving others — a part of their lives.
“I don’t want to force it on them,” he said. “I let God move in their heart.”
Michelle A. Melchor is a writer and lead editor for Cru Inner City. She has served with Cru for 49 years.
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