Written by Bethany Dzielski
Five years ago, Daniel Carrasco’s life was messed up. His life was full of drugs, alcohol and gangs with a broken marriage. Today, God has redeemed Daniel’s life.
He’s living free from drugs and alcohol, serving God, has a healthy marriage and is training to become a pastor and church planter.
“I’m basically living the CityReach motto—unlikely people in overlooked places doing extraordinary things!”Daniel
Starting young
Daniel was born in Sacramento, California where he lived until he was 15 years old when he moved to Denver, Colorado with his father. As a teenager, Daniel got into a lot of trouble with the law.
When he turned 18, Daniel was already out on his own. With no other family in Colorado, Daniel quickly lost his way. “I got real bad into alcohol, drugs, women, and gangs in Denver,” he says.
The battle
Daniel spent the majority of his early adult years in and out of jail. At 25 years old, Daniel got married to his wife, Lisa. “We got married in the church. God started moving in our lives way back then. All of her family is in Denver and she came from a strong Christian background,” Daniel says.
About 15 years ago, while still “battling the bottle,” one of Lisa’s cousins led Daniel to the Lord at a Bible study. But, Daniel’s struggles with addiction continued. He got a DUI, and was struggling in his marriage.
Turning point
In 2010, Daniel hit rock bottom. “I was a mess on the bottle, drinking day and night.”
During one incident, his wife couldn’t find him for three days. Lisa said that she was done, and the couple separated. “My life was over. I didn’t really care about anything,” Daniel says.
Daniel went to a Christian recovery home, New Hope Ministries, in Denver. “I began getting discipled on the things of God,” he says. Because of Daniel’s progress at New Hope, Lisa also came back to the church. She’s been serving God ever since.
Restoration
“Everything was stacked against us. I was messed up with gangs, drugs and alcohol, just trying to stay alive in Denver. Once I really started seeking the Lord, even our marriage was restored. We’ve been through some dark times,” Daniel says.
After graduating from the home, Daniel was feeling like God had something more in store for them. “We were involved in the Victory Outreach Home in Denver, and that was where the Lord had called us. But, something was missing,” he says.
Daniel heard that a pastor who was associated with the Victory Outreach Home, Pastor Ken Power, was about to move to Tampa, Florida to open a new CityReach Hope Home. Ken invited Daniel to join him and help get the home ready. Daniel agreed. “I came down to Tampa, not knowing anyone or how God was going to use me,” he says.
Daniel painted rooms and did construction for the new CityReach Tampa Bay church and Hope Home to prepare for launch. Daniel is now on staff with the Hope Home and gets to “love on” the guys and share his testimony with them.
“This place changes lives,” Daniel says about the Hope Home. “I’ve seen it. I’ve lived it. I’ve seen guys who’ve come in addicted and three to four months later are healthy and back on their feet,” he says. Through this time, God has continued to strengthen Daniel and Lisa’s marriage.
“I’m so thankful to Pastor Ken and Pastors Tim and Jeneva Wynn. They have believed in me, and helped me to become the man I am today,” Daniel says.
What’s next
God began to stir within Daniel the desire to plant a church and become a pastor. He met with Brian Bolt, president of CityReach network, and some church planters at Assemblies of God District Council to talk about the possibility of planting a church.
Brian told Daniel, “We believe in you!”
Daniel is now attending ministry school classes to get certified as a pastor. “God turned my life upside down for his glory,” he says.
“God took drugs, alcohol, gangs, a broken marriage, and turned it all into good.”
Daniel
To find out more information or to support CityReach Church Tampa Bay, click here.
About the Author
