He is undeniably their leader.
Dreadlocks bobbing in time to the Latin rhythm, former gang leader Byron Garcia — better known to the crowd as rapper “Baby G” — accepts the hand slaps and requests for autographs from his outpost at the rear of the concert venue.
Garcia makes his way to the stage. The warm lights reflect off the fake diamonds studding the chained letter “B” around Garcia’s neck. It’s the same light that glints off his metal wheelchair. Once a notorious gang leader, tonight he’ll lead many to the throne of God.
International Mission Board representative Guy Muse got to know Garcia a few years after Garcia accepted Christ.
Passionate about reaching his former Guayaquil neighborhood and others like it, Garcia contacted Muse in early 2005 to request training in church planting. He’d already started seven Bible groups.
Assisted by Muse’s weekly training and mentorship, Garcia’s tenacity to reach the streets has produced about 25 church starts that are changing the face of Guayaquil, the largest city in Ecuador.
Left behind when his single mother moved to Venezuela, 3-year-old Garcia grew up in his uncle’s home in a Guayaquil neighborhood. By age 8, Garcia was involved in his first gang, primarily made up of 17 and 18 year olds.
When his mother found out, she returned to take him to Venezuela where things got worse, he said.
By age 9, Garcia was drinking. By 13, he was in detention centers. He was involved with guns, became an alcoholic and dropped out of high school his freshman year at age 17.
“I was hunted by the police as being one of the most dangerous, delinquent youths in the whole city,” he said. “One of my objectives in life was to establish a fame because I needed to feel important.”
At age 17 Garcia was put in jail where he heard the truth about Jesus for the first time from a fellow prisoner.
Although he believed Jesus could help him, Garcia wrote off the discussion and took to the streets again after his release.
Five months later, Garcia was surrounded by policemen during a holdup. He was shot in the arm and hand. When the police officer in charge recognized Garcia, he gave orders to shoot to kill. One of the policemen shot Garcia five times. The trio of police then started kicking him.
“I felt life flowing out of me,” Garcia said. “At that moment, I remembered the words of that [prisoner] in jail. He told me, ‘One day, you will need Christ. Wherever you are, only call upon His name.’ That moment had come. I didn’t feel worthy to call upon His name, but I did anyway.”
At that moment, an ambulance siren drew the policemen away. During an eight-hour surgery, Garcia’s heart stopped twice — prompting resuscitation. When he opened his eyes, he found himself handcuffed to a bed.
An elderly lady came into his room and said the voice of God told her, “Go in that room, and you’re going to find a boy … Tell him I love him and that he has another chance.”
Garcia said he was broken knowing God heard his prayer even though he didn’t deserve it.
One year after Garcia pushed himself out of prison in a wheelchair, he decided to return to Ecuador. He hadn’t changed much from the man he was before. After discouragement and more jail time, he found himself considering suicide. Yet his best-laid plans were not part of God’s plan for his life.
“A friend had made me a promise that he would bring me a gun at 8 p.m.,” Garcia recalled. “But Jesus came at 7:30, and He saved me. That day, Jesus freed me.”
The one-time delinquent finished high school and began to work as a youth leader. Then a phone call from his pastor to attend a meeting further changed his life.
The faces at the meeting reflected Garcia’s life story. Many of the leaders had belonged to gangs and were committed to forming a ministry to reach those they’d once considered brothers. All they needed was a connection into the culture. They chose music — hip-hop and reggaeton, a form of Spanish-language music popular throughout Latin America.
Christian reggaeton has made its mark in Guayaquil. At a concert in April 2007, 200 youth accepted Christ; at another, there were 60. The youth hear music sung by people who dress like they dress and talk like they talk, but with a different, transforming message.
“We’re called to be fishers of men,” Garcia said. “A good fisherman knows which bait to use. The music, the reggaeton, is the bait. Satan could use music to ruin youth, but we’re putting the gift to work for Christ. We’ve seen God work through the concerts we have.” (BP)
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