Welcome And Meet Patrick Davis

Announcer 0:06

Welcome to the Leading Conversations Podcast, sponsored by the Excel Leadership Network. On each episode, JD Pering will have conversations with church planting pastors and leaders from around the country. You can learn more about how to connect with Excel at the end of this podcast. Let's join JD now and listen in on this leading conversation.

JD Pearring 0:29

Welcome to another edition of the Leading Conversations Podcast with Excel Leadership Network. And today we are privileged to have with us Patrick Davis from Ohio. He's got a great story. Thanks for being here, Patrick. Glad to be here. Glad to be here. You said it's sunny in Ohio today. That's uh that's rare, isn't it? It is.

Patrick Davis 0:53

You know, when I used to live in Denver, it was every day. But Ohio, this time of year, man, if you get a day, it's amazing. It could be 30 degrees. That sun comes out, people are outside in shorts and riding their motorcycles. And so are you in Cincinnati? So I'm in Hamilton, which is a small town that's located in between Cincinnati and Dayton. Population is about 63,000. Uh, but we're only 20 minutes away from Cincinnati or Dayton. So it's still, you know, it's New York City, but it's still, you know, it's a city, it's not a you know, a country town. Uh, but yeah, it's Hamilton, Ohio, Southwestern Ohio. All right, great, great, great.

Growing Up Without Roots

JD Pearring 1:31

Well, hey, let's get right into it. Uh, tell us your story, how you came to Jesus.

Crime Escalates And Boot Camp Escape

Patrick Davis 1:37

Sure. Yeah, so you know, I wasn't raised in church, uh, net did not grow up understanding anything about or being exposed to Jesus, the Bible, scripture, any of it, had no reference point whatsoever. Uh, I was raised in a single mother home. I really didn't have a sense of identity growing up. And, you know, the environment that I grew up in uh was the inner city of Cleveland. And, you know, eventually you gravitate towards people that are older than you, you're looking for that role model, that father figure. And, you know, the neighborhood I grew up in, it was it was criminals, thugs, gangsters, drug dealers, uh, you know, gangbangers. And so, you know, they were the ones showing me attention. So I kind of gravitated towards them. Uh, my father lived in in Colorado at one point. I went and lived with him. Uh, you know, I had this idea in my mind what my dad's gonna be like, he's gonna be this great guy. And uh, you know, I went and lived in Colorado with him for a while, and it was a very abusive situation, uh, even between him and my stepmom. Uh just a horrific situation. And, you know, I started lashing out because of that. I I remember feeling unseen and just feeling like the only time that I got attention was when I was in trouble. And so, you know, in my in my my in my underdeveloped mind and and heart without Jesus, man, I I I I said to myself, if you don't see me, I'm gonna make you see me. And so, you know, I started getting suspended, getting arrested, getting in trouble, stealing, uh, you know, writing, I remember stealing my dad's checkbook, writing bad checks. And uh, you know, this is I'm 14, 15 years old doing this stuff. And eventually, you know, the cops are looking for me. And so I flee Colorado, I come back to Cleveland. Uh, you know, we're we're living in, you know, the inner city projects, and uh, you know, I come back even more angry, even more confused, uh, because you know, I thought I was gonna have this great relationship with my dad, and you know, that thing kind of blew up into a ball of fire. And so, you know, I I gravitate towards the streets, I start looking up to some of those guys, and you know, before I knew it at a very young age, I started using drugs, selling drugs, uh stealing cars, uh, you know, breaking into houses, you know, I mean, everything under the sun. At one point, uh I started selling narcotics, and uh, I got arrested when I was probably, I mean, multiple times between 13 and 15. Uh, but I around 15 years old, I got arrested. I got sent to an alternative, it was essentially a juvenile prison, but it was like a boot camp. And uh, you know, I was so angry, like, you know, the goal of the boot camp was like, you know, it's military, is to tear you down and build you up. And uh, you know, they essentially try to break you, but man, my heart was so hard, so hard, you know, there was no breaking me. And so they got us doing this PT, and you know, I'm smiling and laughing, and you know, at one point I just got I got sick and tired of of uh listening to these these uh you know these military guys that I escaped from the prison. And uh, you know, but this is the thing, you know, this is the thing. Wherever you go, there you are. And so I thought, hey, if I can get away from these guys, then it's gonna be better. But I I couldn't get away from myself. You took yourself with you when you left. So I literally ran 30 miles. Uh I I it's funny now. Well, it wasn't funny at the moment, but you know, I I joke about it now. Like they were it was it was boot camp, so like military-style boot camp, they were training me for my escape. And so, you know, when I broke out, I mean I ran for you know 30 miles. I was in uh Hudson, Ohio. I ran all the way to Cleveland, and uh my butt, my buddy picked me up, and um, you know, within a couple days, I'm back in that same sewer. I'm getting high, I'm using drugs. And uh man, I just I was hell-bent on destruction, you know. And I remember during that season of my life, uh, my grandmother she got me to come to church. Now, she was the only one in our family that was Christian, and you know, I thought the the reason why people go to church is you're going to a funeral or a wedding, you know. I just I had no concept in my mind of any of it, you know. Maybe other times? Wow, I didn't know that. And so, you know, I I uh but I love my grandmother, you know, even though I was an idiot, she always loved me, and uh, so I'm like, okay, I'll go. Well, I didn't know they were doing a theatrical play at the at the church, and it was that I don't know if you remember this, the Heaven's Gate Hell's Fury.

JD Pearring 6:01

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Patrick Davis 6:02

And so I I come to this church, I've got a loaded gun on me, a stolen gun with hollow points in it. I've got narcotics in my pocket, dirty money, and they're doing this play and talking about if you were to die today, do you know where you spend it? My heart's beating out of my chest, man. I know I am doomed. I'm I'm I'm I'm going straight headfirst into hell, man. And so, you know, before the guy could even finish the altar call, and this was not like me, I'm running down to that altar, you know. And uh and so I didn't I didn't know. I told the pastor, you know, they're praying for people, and I'm like, I'm like, dude, I've got a I've got a gun on me and these drugs. Can you take this? And he's like, he's looking at me like no, you know, like like and I'm not faulting him, but like he just didn't know what to do with that. Sure. And uh, you know, and and and they prayed with me, but you know, hindsight's 2020, you know, I I I there was really no follow-up, man, you know, and and I think that's critical when people get saved, man. Like, you know, let's let's follow up with them, let's, you know. And so I prayed the prayer. I don't I don't I don't think I really truly got saved that day, but I I felt something, I felt the fear of God, and and there was a seed, man, that was planted. And so, you know, and I'm not blaming the preacher, but I I go back to the same environment, I'll go back to the same streets, you know, um, and then I just jumped right back in. And so, you know, there's rival drug dealers that are driving past my house, shooting, you know, shooting at us. Uh, we're getting ejected from vehicles. We're uh I mean it just on and on and on. Overdose.

JD Pearring 7:38

How old are you? How old are you at this time?

Home Invasion Charges And Despair

Brother’s Murder And Solitary Confinement

Crying Out To Jesus In The Cell

Courtroom Mercy And Owning The Wrong

Patrick Davis 7:40

15, 16 years old. Yeah. And so, you know, by the time I was 17, I had lived the life of a career criminal, you know. And I'm not proud of this, I'm not glorifying any of it, but man, I was I was really in heavy into all that stuff for at a very young age. And so, you know, but it it as I look back, it's like I was really self-destructive, if I really think about it. Like I didn't love myself, and so you know, it's it's and when you don't when you don't love yourself and you don't care about yourself, you don't care about anybody around you. And so I didn't care who I hurt, you know, who I stole from. And so, you know, make a long story short, I'm selling selling drugs, I don't realize it, but I'm encroaching on another drug dealer's territory. And me and my buddy, we're these young punks, you know, 15 years old. These are older drug dealers that have had this territory for a while, and so you know, we're taking their customers and they don't like that. And, you know, at one point they drive past the house that I'm at, like the Taliban with assault rifles hanging out of the window, and uh, you know, it just kept getting worse and worse and worse. And, you know, the so you taste some of that money, you grow up in abject poverty, you know, and I always I always tell this story. I remember, I remember the the actual moment when I decided I was gonna start breaking the law. And I was it was my it was like my first grade of ninth grade, my first day of ninth grade. And my family struggled. My mom, she's she was an amazing woman, she did everything she could to provide for us, but she struggled financially. And I remember going to school and my soul was separating from my from my shoe, and so when I walked, it was like my own feet were giving me a round of applause, you know. And you know, I don't know, maybe in a soul. I thought I was thinking S O U L. No, not my soul and my body, but the soul of my shoe. It was it was detached because they were so old from the top of the shoe, and so this thing's like flapping while I'm walking. Now, you know, in the suburbs, you might be able to get away with that, but man, in this inner city, that's all we do is roast each other, make fun of each other, and so all day long I'm walking trying to shimmy so my shoes are, you know. And man, I get to this condensed area of the of the hallway where all these kids are, and somebody walked in front of me, and I had to like take a real step. And sure enough, man, that soul started clapping and they're pointing and laughing at me, and you know, from that moment, it's like I don't care what it takes, I don't care what it takes, I'm never gonna experience that kind of public embarrassment and shame again. I don't care who I have to rob, who I have to take from. And um, you know, for people that have grown up in poverty, there's so much shame attached to being poor. And it's like you're fed this lie from the devil, like, yo, if you have this necklace, you have this jewelry, you have vehicles, you have the those Jordans that somehow you have value and you have worth, you know. And so you buy into all that crap because you don't have a father around telling you that's not true, you don't have anybody teaching you the word. And so, you know, that's kind of where it started. And so, you know, we're taking over this territory, these drug dealers are wanting to kill us. And at one point, the supplier uh that I was getting the drugs from, he would he would front me, you know, thousands of dollars worth of drugs. I'd sell them and then pay him his cut. And uh, I lost the drugs, man. Uh, this this one time he gave them to me, and it was thousands and thousands of dollars of drugs. I think that's not a good thing, right? No, not at all. Don't don't lose the drugs. No, no. It's a uh I I joke about it now, but it's like that's one question. It's probably one of the last questions I have for God when I see him, but it's like, Lord, I know you took them drugs. Like, what happened there? You know, I don't want them back, I don't want that life. You know, I've experienced your your your your your life and salvation, but so I I had moved out to the suburbs because I was paranoid, these guys were trying to kill me, and I couldn't find these drugs. And so this dealer, he's coming to houses I'm at, he's pulling guns on us, he's running us off the road, and so in my dumb little burned-out brain at 16 years old, I'm smoking weed every day, I'm popping pills, taking acid. You know, I had three options in my mind. Either one, he's gonna kill me or I kill him, two, I gotta get out of town, or three, I gotta, I I gotta, I have no money, I have no drugs, I've gotta rob somebody. And so I started essentially robbing people at gunpoint. Uh, I was fearing for my life. I felt like if I can just get enough money to get on a greyhound, I'll go back to Colorado. And you know, I ended up getting involved at 16 years old uh in a home invasion where I uh broke into somebody's house, held them at gunpoint, and held five people against their will and uh committed a home invasion. I had I was charged at 16 years old with five felony one charges. I had five counts of kidnapping, aggravated robbery with a gun, a gun spec, home invasion, fleeing and eluding. And so they arrest me and take me down to the Cleveland uh juvenile detention center. And at 16 years old, I'm facing 45 years in prison. And so, you know, I I didn't have a good track record. I had escaped from a previous, you know, juvenile prison. Uh, I had violated probation parole. There was no reason they should show me any grace. I had the strictest judge for those kind of crimes, and uh the procedure would normally would be in 99% of the cases, they bound you over, they charge you as an adult, and you go to the adult prison system, even as a juvenile. And so, in my mind, my life is over, and so I'm just I'm freaking out. You know, I'm 16 years old, I'm doing the math while I'm sitting in my cell. You know, you're gonna be 60 something years when you get out, you know, 60 years old when you get out, and just man, filled with despair, and for you know, uh just lost. And as I'm waiting to go to that sentencing, that hearing, uh correction officer comes down to my unit, and it was my buddy's uh stepdad from the neighborhood, which he he never worked on our floor, he worked with the girls, and so he came down there and pulled me into the hallway and says, I have I've got some bad news for you. Now I knew the moment I saw this guy, like something is not right because he doesn't work down here. Yes, he knows me. We see him in child, he says hello, but that's about it, you know. So he pulls me out into the hallway and he says, Patrick, I've got some bad news for you. And uh he tells me that my brother Larry, who was 20 years old at the time, he was murdered that night. And uh he was he he went to a club in downtown Cleveland in an area called the Flats, was hanging out with some friends, uh, got into an argument with this guy, and the guy stabbed him eight times and he bled to death. Uh, my best friend was with him. Uh his name's Joe. His name's Joe. He was 16. That same guy stabbed my best friend in the heart after he killed my brother, and uh that friend is blind and paralyzed to this day. And so, you know, my brother had never done any of that street stuff that I did. He had never sold drugs, he had never been arrested, he was a star athlete. He's being scouted for Major League Baseball teams right out of high school. Uh, four or five teams were were looking at him. He was the one that tried to talk me out of, you know, getting out of the streets. He was the one that was, hey man, like you're gonna die out here. You know, I remember the last time I saw him uh in person, he came to visit me in that juvenile detention center on Christmas, and he wasn't a guy that showed a lot of emotion, but he was crying because I was locked up on Christmas and he wanted me home. And um, so they tell me that I freak out, I start fighting all the correction officers, I start fighting the other inmates, I'm smashing chairs through the glass, and then they strip me down, they put me into a cell called the box, which is essentially solitary confinement. Uh, and I and I was in that I was in solitary confinement for about eight months, eight months, eight months, uh, which is completely illegal. Uh, but I will say this sometimes God lets you go to such lowest place, the lowest place to get your attention. He doesn't cause it. I caused that, I made that bed, you know, I had to lay in it. But it that situation, and I'll get to my salvation here in a second, but like God allowed it, and God knew He knew how hard my heart was, He knew how wounded I was, He knew how hurt I was, He knew that that that younger little Patrick, all that childhood trauma, you know, that I had never dealt with. He knew what it what it would have to take to get my attention. And so they put me in that cell, and I'm thinking, man, I'm gonna do, you know, four decades in prison. My hero, my best friend, is now dead. Uh, I have nothing to live for. And so I'm sitting in this cell and I'm looking at my bed sheet and I'm contemplating hanging myself from from the in the cell. And so as I'm doing this, you know, I hear this voice, and not audibly, but in my spirit. And it was like, if you do that, what's that gonna do to your mom? She's already burying one son. Like, what is it? What is that gonna do to your mom? And simultaneously, uh, and I gotta paint a picture to for this to make sense. The juvenile uh prison or the can the juvenile detention center I was in, it was a big square room. There's a big square room that you all sit in on this plastic furniture, and then along the walls are the cells that you go in at night or when you're on lockdown. And then in the very back of that big square room, there's a yellow line that none of the kids can cross, and there's another cell way back there. That's where the solitary cell was. Well, I had made this friend before I got that news, and he was another drug dealer, uh, African-American guy from the west side of Cleveland named Deshaun. We play cards, we talk about life. He had a brother, twin brother. And so when all that stuff happened, he he he felt it because he he was very close to his brother. And so, this kid, this drug dealer that really didn't know Jesus, God used him to start speaking into my life. And he would he would watch that guard check when those COs weren't looking, and he would sneak back to that, he would cross that line. You get put in the solitary for crossing that line. He crossed that line, he lay down, put his face down to that filthy, nasty floor, and he would talk to me under that door. And he would tell me, Patrick, I want you to know I'm so sorry. Your brother died. I want you to know I'm praying for you. And like, this is a drug dealer, you know. And he starts, you know, and I've you you you heard me tell the story a while back, but he's he has this candy and he starts flicking Tootsie Rolls and Tootie Fruties under the door. Now I'm not even responding to this guy because I'm broken, I don't want to talk to anybody. You know, I've cried to the point that there's no tears left, but like every day, man, day after day after day, week after week, this dude comes to the door and is like flicking this candy under the door, and like it was so bizarre, and like that radical act of kindness and grace and compassion, like it started doing something to me. And so, as that's happening, you know, as I'm contemplating my own suicide, thinking about the bed sheet, it's just it's all this perfect storm that God is using to just show me who he is. And so, you know, the Lord starts to say, you know, if you to do that, you know, that what's that gonna do your mom? She's bearing one son, and then it was like my life and all of the destruction and all the sin and all the evil and all the darkness that I had done. Finally, I'm sober, I can finally look at it and realize, wait, not only would you hurt your mom, but bro, you've been destroying people for the last eight years, you know. And I felt this wave of conviction, and I knew, I knew, probably because I went to that church service, I knew that if I were to die, like I am doomed. And and I realized that in that moment with no preacher, no Bible track, nobody coming to the cell to, you know, give me a Bible study, I knew that I needed Jesus, man. And so I cried out, I'm on my knees, I'll never forget it. It's in it's the winter, it's clean when it's kind of drafting that cell, and I'm on my knees, cried to the point that there's no tears left. And uh I cried out to Jesus and I said, Jesus, I need you. I believe that you died on the cross for my sins. I believe I'm separated from you, I'm lost without you. I believe that you rose from the grave. And God, I just I can't do this anymore. I need you in my life. Please come into my life. And and you know, there was some expletives in there, and you know, it was raw. It was book of Psalms, you know, and and I was crying out, you know, and God, why is my brother dead and I'm alive and I did all this evil stuff and he's gone, and you know, and then just just raging and crying and then just raw visceral prayer, man. And um, but it was honest and it was real. And as I'm praying this prayer, it's like somebody comes into my cell and they put a heating blanket on me. Now, I don't know if anybody listening to this has ever been to prison, but if you're in a prison cell and somebody puts a blanket on you, it's not a good thing, you know. But it was so real that I jumped up and I looked behind and there's nobody there. And and it was like all this burden, all this heaviness, all this just absolute and utter despair, all this darkness, this weight that I've been carrying. I didn't know I was carrying my whole life. It was just poof, it was gone, you know. And and you know, and so I experienced in that moment that scripture where it says, God gives us a peace that surpasses all understanding. It doesn't make any sense. I'm facing this sentence. I'm in my mind, I'm never getting out of prison. My hero is dead, and the peace of God floods that solitary cell, and I have joy and I have peace that I've never experienced in my entire life. And so then I just start thanking God, Lord, I thank you that I'm not dead. I thank you that I'm not this, and you know, I thank you that you've you've forgiven me, and like I felt it like he was in that room, and and uh, and you know, regardless of your denominational affiliation as you listen to this, you know, I have this experience as I'm thanking God, I experienced what scripture in the book of Acts describes as the baptism of the Holy Spirit right there in that cell, man. Spirit of God touches me. I start speaking in tongues, and uh, I I experience this power and this freedom I've never felt in my entire life. And I'll be honest, there's part of me I thought I was having a psychological breakdown. You know, I've been in this solitary cell for eight months, you know. Have I finally cracked? You know, but there was something inwardly that, like, yo, no, bro, I I feel peace and I feel Feel joy that I've never in that that hole that vacuum that I've been looking for my whole life to be filled, it's immediately been filled in Christ, man. And so I still had to pay the piper, though. I still had to go to court. And but I had the peace of God. And so the court date comes up. And uh, you know, I I see my mom as I'm walking in the courtroom, they let me talk to her for a couple minutes, and she she looks at me and she's like, and I didn't tell her any of this happened. She looks at me and she's like, Are you high? Are you on something? And I said, No, what are you talking about? She's like, You look different. She saw uh she saw a physical difference in my countenance, and I wasn't like singing and skipping down the hallway, but she it's she saw the the weight and the darkness just gone, you know. And so I tell her, I'm like, mom, I don't know why, I don't know how, but I want you to know we're gonna be it's gonna be okay because she's terrified, she lost one son, and now you know you know, I'm gonna go away for the rest of my life. And that morning I had read in the book of John, uh, first John, when it talks about how Jesus is our advocate, right? And which didn't make sense to me because I'm thinking, man, like I'm guilty. And the days of me playing the blame game, and like I'm that's one thing I I knew when I go in this courtroom, I'm not gonna blame anybody else. I'm gonna own what I did, and I and I'm gonna I'm gonna lay in the bed that they that I made. And so, but I understood that advocate is a is a word, you know, it's a it's a it's a word that they use as a lawyer or as a defender. Yeah, it was like God spoke to me in that scripture, it was like, yo, I'm not telling you, Patrick, you're gonna get out of here, but I'm gonna tell you that I'm just like I was with you in that cell when you prayed that prayer, I'm walking into this courtroom with you. And so I go in there, the victims are there, uh, you know, they they give me an opportunity to speak. Uh I had the strictest judge for those kind of crimes. She was she never cut you any slack. And I look at those, I look at those victims, and and I and I and I looked at them and I told them, I am so sorry for terrorizing you. And and what I did to you, it was not fair, it was wrong, it was evil, and and I am so sorry for putting you through. And I meant this.

JD Pearring 24:08

Was this in front of the judge and everything you said then?

A New Life Built Behind Bars

Learning Discipleship After Release

Patrick Davis 24:12

It was, it was. The victims were there. This was the sentencing, and uh, and so I say that to them, and I meant it, and I didn't care if anybody believed it or not, I knew in my heart I meant it. And so, and then I turned to the judge and I say, you know, I I said, um, you know, everything that they said that I did, I did it. And I said, Whatever you decide should happen to me today, I deserve it. And and um, I'm not gonna argue, I'm not gonna make a scene. I said, Um, I've I've been destroying people my whole life, and I deserve everything that you give me. But I I'm definitely tired of this life. And so, what however long I gotta sit in here to figure this out and and to turn it around, uh, but whatever you just you deem uh right, I'm I'm gonna I'm gonna I'm gonna take it. And so, you know, the judge, again, she was very strict, was known for, you know, really driving it in for those kind of crimes. It was like her mouth was saying something her face didn't agree with. And like she says to me, she's like, Patrick, I don't know why I'm doing this, but we're gonna keep you in the juvenile system. Which I'm doing the math in my head, I know they can only max you out till you're 21. And so that meant four and a half years instead of four and a half decades, right? And so I'm like trying to maintain composure, keep a poker face, you know, but in my heart is just leaping with joy because I know, yes, that's horrible, that's a long time, but that is way different uh than what I than what I deserved, right? Because I had an advocate in the courtroom. How about that? Right, and uh that's the beauty of salvation. None of none of us deserve salvation, none of us deserve heaven, none of us deserve forgiveness, right? And uh, and so yeah, I walked out of there, man. And like I go back to the cell block and the and the other kids see me smiling and they're like, What happened? I said, They just gave me juvie life, and they're like, Why are you smiling? And I'm like, bro, I was supposed to be sent away for the rest of my life, you know? And so I made a decision right then and there. Like, if I if I have to lose four and a half years of my life, it's gonna count for something. And so I got my GED, graduated high school, I got college, I got college educated, uh, I learned all kinds of computer stuff, not internet stuff, because they don't let you get on there, but all kinds of stuff uh with computers. Uh, I went to barber college while I was in there, and that four and a half years uh was essentially an intense Bible school theology training, uh you know, on steroids. And so I spent four and a half years just devouring the word of God every day, you know, leading uh leading guys to Christ, leading staff to Christ, uh, and just yeah, man, seeing God move in that environment. And it just it was unbelievable what he's what he did in that environment in that time. And so, yeah, God gave me a gave me another chance, you know, he changed it all. And so, you know, eventually you get out, you get released. I have no idea what any of this means on the outside. I knew it was real, but you know, I didn't know how to not be a womanizer, I didn't know how to not sell drugs, I never had a real job. And so I when I was released, I went back to Colorado and uh I was able to connect with some uh childhood friends, and they were part of this church that uh some Australians had come from uh Brisbane, Australia, and planted a church. Uh, shout out to City Point in Brisbane, Pastor Mark Ramsey, and they had planted a church uh in Littleton, Colorado. And so I connected with that, and those guys, man, they were amazing. Uh, I was able to walk in there, connect with the community. I was able to be honest, you know. Shout out to the youth pastor. I still talk to him. I just did his podcast uh a couple weeks ago, uh, Kingsley. And uh, you know, I was able to tell him, like, hey man, I just got out of prison, dude. I don't have a clue how to live life out here, but I love Jesus. And like, show me how to be a man, you know, show me what this God thing looks like on the outside. And man, they were so amazing and so patient. Uh, and they discipled me, man, and walked me through it uh on this on the other side of the razor wire. And uh, God has just poured out his spirit over my life, man. Uh, I don't deserve it. Uh, you know, the first outreach event I did was an event at Columbine High School one week before that happened. Uh, we had no idea that school shooting was gonna happen, but our pastor felt led to you know, do an outreach on the on Columbine High School's grounds. And, you know, at that point, I'm writing hip-hop stuff, I'm recording albums and touring, and uh, I went there and rapped and shared my story. And some of those kids that died, uh, they were at that event and they came to Jesus. And so I saw very early on when I was released, man, like God wants to move in the world and he wants to penetrate just like he penetrated the darkness in prison, he wants to penetrate the darkness in the suburbs, in the cities, uh, wherever, wherever people are lost, like the Lord wants He'll leave the 99 for the one. And so, man, I I I just I developed a passion and a fire for evangelism and sharing the gospel. And uh, you know, I would do stuff in churches, but I would also go into music venues, bars, clubs, you know, I'd go into the, you know, I would go anywhere and and share my story and do music and just saw a tremendous uh harvest of people getting saved, man. And uh, you know, you would think a couple decades later that would burn out, it's gotten hotter. And so now just you know, it's I'm in a different season in life. I've got four kids now, you know, I'm married, and uh, but man, that fire and and and the harvest, uh, it's it's yeah, it's just as just as hot.

JD Pearring 29:48

Wow, what a story, what a story. So you you you come out and you're doing this. Uh obviously there's a call to ministry there, or was it just a natural outcome of what you were doing?

Planting A Church For Returning Citizens

Patrick Davis 30:02

I it was just a natural outcome. I never had really an aspiration to pastor or to you know be on a platform. I was just like, yo, God did something in my life, it's burning in my sit in my soul. I gotta tell somebody, you know. And if that's telling somebody on the on the corner of a street or or from a platform, sure. Uh so it was just natural, you know, and eventually I plugged in with the youth ministry. I was uh helping the youth pastor, you know, disciple some of these kids. Uh, and then eventually that kind of spread into you know Sunday morning stuff and different church ministries, and you know, eventually was a young adult pastor at one point, and uh yeah, just hey, anywhere God's moving, anywhere the kingdom's advancing, uh, I want to be a part of it. And so eventually got into pastoring and uh yeah, just it it's it's uh I love I love the word, man. I love it. And even if I never stood on a platform, I love the word. I love I love uh praying, I love connecting with Jesus. I love I love that relationship. Uh it's it's hotter than it's ever been. And I've gone through my ups and downs. I'm not saying I've I've riddled the top of the roller coaster the whole time, but man, over these last 10 years, he's lit my fire, man. And uh, you know, any any anywhere I can share the gospel, any, if it's somebody in the store, uh, it's yeah, it's it's just burning in me. And so, yeah, I just jumped in and served wherever, man. Church I was a part of, uh, regardless of what church I was at. If that's taking the trash out, if that's you know, uh feeding somebody, if it's you know, feeding the homeless, it didn't, it didn't matter what it is. Uh, you know, I was just passionate about wherever God's at, man. I want to be there. And yeah, you met your wife, and then you guys planted a church. We did, we did. So about actually, it's been about eight years ago now. Uh we we planted a church. Uh, we were doing a lot of ministry inside the prisons naturally, because we had both gone through that. My wife as well has gone through that. And uh, so we were doing a lot of ministry in the in the prisons, and God was moving, people were getting saved, but then they were coming home, and there weren't many churches, and I'm not saying there's none, I'm not one of those guys, you know, but there weren't many churches that you you felt safe to send these people, uh, that they're not going to be judged before they get through the threshold, you know, because their faces are tatted, or you know, whatever. The girl was, you know, a prostitute or whatever. She dresses a certain way, uh, they still smoke, you know. And so we thought, man, we could be one of them people that complained about the problem or we could do something about it. So, you know, we started praying on that, and like, okay, well, maybe that looks like uh, you know, you got NAA support groups, you know. Maybe we start a support group for people that come home, and uh, you know, that just wasn't enough. And so then we just started really meeting with people and talking with people and praying with people, and you know, even the church plan, it wasn't it wasn't like, hey, this is fun, let's do this, or we're it it and just as fair warning, anybody that feels called to plan a church, you better buckle up, man. You better buckle up, and it is not for the faint of heart. There is beautiful stuff, there's there's amazing stuff that happens, but there is there is suffering and struggle and hardship uh to do that. But it's God's heart, man, it's God's heart. And so we planted this church. We thought, you know what, let's just let's just start a church where people don't have to jump through all these religious hoops before they get in the building. So, hey, if you just came home from prison, if you just if you're still actively using heroin in the alley next to the church, we want you there. If you're homeless and you smell like alcohol from the night before, we want you there, and we don't want you in the basement, we don't want you in the back row, but you are part and you are you are welcome and you are part of the of the family of God, and Jesus loves you and he loves you as much as he loves his preacher, you know. And uh, I don't think we did anything original. Uh, we just we just thought they deserved an equal seat, man. But around here, you know, it seemed that that was novelty, and people were shocked. Oh my gosh, this is amazing! Like, bro, this is nothing new. This is book of acts. Like, yeah, it talks about if somebody comes in and they have lesser, like, give them the seat of honor. Like, are we not reading that part of the scripture? You know, Matthew 24. When I'm sick, you visited me, right? When I'm in prison, you came to me, you clothed me when I was naked, you you visited me in prison. Uh and and and and what we experienced, you know, those people taught me as much about God as I've ever taught them, you know, because Jesus says that He makes his He makes his home. Uh, when you've done it to them, you've done it to the when you've done it to the least to them, you've done it to Him. And so we saw people getting saved, man, one after another, just breaking free from heroin, from meth, uh, never going back, you know, never turning back to that lifestyle, people never going back to prison, people getting their kids back, uh, that it didn't have their kids because of the prison or the addiction stuff. And uh it was it was it was incredible, it was mind-blowing, you know. And then we of okay, there's another problem. Nobody wants to give them a job. Well, let's start a business that only employs people coming out of prison or people coming out of addiction. So we kicked off a coffee shop. Sounds kind of bizarre, but it it worked for a while, and uh, you know, instead of Starbucks, you know, the hipster with with with uh blue hair, no judgment if you got blue hair, but you know, we're gonna have baristas that have face tats and you know prison beds and and drug addictions. Uh, but but it was a perfect model for reintegrating them to society for society and the general public to realize hey, these are not horrible bad people, uh, they deserve a second shot in the in the labor market, uh, as well as a church. And uh yeah, we helped we helped uh I'd say 50, 60, maybe 70 people uh get their lives back, uh that come out of that stuff, and and they've they've thrived, they've never gone back. Well, that's that's fantastic. What are you doing now? So we had to shut all that down. Uh financially, it was just it was it was unit was unsustainable. Uh there's no regrets. It was a season uh that we were called to, and yeah, no regrets. And so, you know, we we closed all that down, and and so okay, God, what do you got next? And uh still felt a passion to to do ministry and had prayed. And you know, I told you earlier we had offers to go to New York, to go out of state, other places, go back up to Cleveland, and just didn't feel released to to go anywhere. And I was able to connect with another local church that has an amazing heart, amazing vision. You know, that their brothers from another mother and sisters from another mister. And uh we were we started attending that church uh in August, and uh they they brought us on staff uh January 1st of this year, and and that the church is exploding, it's growing, man. People are coming to the Lord. Uh yeah, it's it's incredible, it's incredible. And uh yeah, they they've got the same heart, so it's it's like no, we're still doing what we're doing, it's just a different location, and we're not doing it alone.

Leadership Tip: Give What You Carry

JD Pearring 36:53

Well, that's that is wonderful. And thank you for just your vulnerability, telling telling your story. Uh it's crazy and it's wonderful. Hey, can you give us a leadership tip? Uh are you a touchy roll fan these days?

Patrick Davis 37:09

Um Yeah, I mean, I would say if anything, if it's specifically for church planners, I think this is true for all leaders. And and and we've heard this so many times if you've been in church for any length of time. So before you check out, I want you to really think about what I'm gonna say. Like, we can only give out what we have inside of us. Sure. And so I can do all the antics, I could preach in that accent, I can I can manipulate people with the right minor chords, I can I can cultivate the perfect, pristine church environment. But man, if the spirit of God is not moving in your personal life when nobody's watching, if you don't have a vibrant spiritual life with the Lord when nobody's watching, all that's gonna, all that's gonna come come out of you is you. And I think God is doing something in the American church. I think he's doing something in new church planners where we need to point people back to Jesus. The goal of church planning of any type of ministry is not to draw people to ourselves, but to draw people to Jesus, man. And so that and how does that happen? It it happens by pressing into the Lord, by digging into that word, man, develop a hunger for the word of God. Uh, you know, develop a hunger for the Lord's presence. Because, you know, we I think we we rely on ourselves, and I've done it, I've done it, bro. There's no judgment. I've done it, we've all done it. We rely on formulas and antics, and just you know, this works over here. So if we do nah bro, like we are living in a crucial time in the kingdom of God and in the world, and God's spirit is moving, and there's a hunger that's happening in the earth outside of the church, and so you know what worked two years ago, three years ago, hey, six months ago with everything going on in the world, it may not work today. And so, but if you're tapped into the spirit, man, you're digging into that word, you're gonna draw people to Jesus and not yourself. And so that's my prayer for you. That's what I want to encourage you, that's my uh tip is man, if you want to draw people to Jesus and not yourself, you gotta be filled with it, you know. And and that doesn't mean perfect. Uh, we're all human, we all have struggles. And and I'll and I'll say this and I'll shut up. The world and people who are coming to Jesus, they need vulnerable, real leaders who can publicly acknowledge when they're struggling. Leaders who are not exempt from stepping down after a sermon's been preached and they go and they respond to the own altar call in their own church. Worship leaders that you just led the song, but God's convicting you and moving in your heart. You don't need to do that away from everybody else. Sometimes you just you need to publicly, publicly just, yeah, show your need for God. And I think as as as the our congregations, as the lost, they see that. Yo, I I've been walking with Jesus since 1996. I need him just as much today as I did that moment in that cell. I'm not any less lost without him. You know, and I think that what happens is the longer we're in this thing, we think, oh man, no, I'm good, I'm good. I'm not saying your salvation is at risk, but man, that that hunger, that that's desperation, Lord, I need you. I need you as much today as I did that day in that cell. And uh, that's a beautiful, powerful thing. And when he's flowing out of you, and it's not just you, man, the sky's the limit what God can do in your ministry and the world.

JD Pearring 40:22

Wow. Hey, thanks so much, Patrick. Uh thanks for the encouragement. Thanks for just being vulnerable. Thanks for your story. Thanks for being on the podcast.

Announcer 40:32

Thank you. Thank you for having me. It's been a pleasure. Thanks for joining the Leading Conversations Podcast. We hope that you found it both helpful and encouraging. At Excel Leadership Network, our focus is on the church planter rather than the church. If you'd like to find out more about us, visit our webpage at excelnetwork.org. Don't forget to subscribe to this podcast so you don't miss any future episodes. See you next time with another leading conversation.