This is a guest post by Bethany Dzielski from Reach Northeast.

If you met the well-spoken and clean-cut Jon Shaffer you wouldn’t be surprised that he’s a church planter and pastor of two churches—CityReach Church Braddock and CityReach Church Swissvale. But, you may be surprised to discover that before Jon’s life was transformed by Jesus he was a drug dealer who spent much of his young adult years in and out of prison.

A rough start

Jon spent most of his childhood in North Braddock, Pennsylvania. His mother had three children, each with a different father. Her husband, Jon’s stepfather, was an abusive crack addict. At the age of 16, Jon got involved in gangs, firearms, and drugs. At 17, Jon began living on his own when his mother and siblings moved to Somerset County, PA. Eight days before his 18th birthday, Jon was shot in a drug deal gone bad.

Busted

Only 10 months after his family moved, Jon got busted and went to jail on felony drug charges. Then, in an effort to escape trouble and get his life on track, Jon moved to Somerset with his family. But, he soon discovered that in Somerset he could sell his drugs for twice as much.

“I kept getting into all kinds of trouble. I was in and out of jail,” he says. Jon spent his 21st birthday in the Somerset County Jail for his second DUI.