Reckless FaithSample

One lesson in reckless faith came from Pepe. He and his wife had children, a house, and employment. As they watched the nightly news together, they would hear reports on crimes committed in an area called La Coyotera.

One evening, they reported the police were afraid to go into this community, and so it was a favorite hangout for criminals. Pepe decides he has to act. He takes a bus and sits down in a bar in the heart of La Coyotera.

When he returned home, he was excited—he felt a rush in his spirit and he returns night after night, sharing his faith with the men in the bar and outside on the streets. Eventually, he leads the bar owner to the Lord. One night the bar owner asks, “What would you do if you had this building? If this wasn’t a bar where people could forget about their problems, what would you do here for this community? How would you help them forget about their struggles?”

Pepe promises to pray about that question. A year later, he opened a mission. In the morning, people came to receive a hot breakfast while they heard him share about not forgetting their lives, but finding true purpose in Jesus Christ.

Pepe died a few years ago. He is now in our great “cloud of witnesses” (Hebrews 12:1) but his story tells us it is important to take the first step because that’s how every journey starts.

Some of those who heard Pepe preach were able to take their first steps out of addiction, others heard him and took their first steps toward reconciliation.

Pepe made an impact in the lives of hundreds of people because he lived life with a reckless faith. He breathed spiritual confidence into those around him. He was not a great preacher, nor was he able to pray eloquently. He was not a gifted fundraiser for his mission. Another person might have been great at all those things and still had a lackluster ministry, bearing little fruit and encouraging complacency. Pepe was good at one essential thing: he trusted God had a purpose for his life and said yes to sacrificing towards it. As a result, God took care of the rest. There were always tamales for the morning outreach, and there were always people who came to hear him preach—all because one night he shut off the TV and walked into a bar.