Vincent J. Guerra, D.Min
Vince Guerra was born and raised
in New York City. Coming from a broken home, he took to the streets
at a young age, dropping out of school and becoming a member of a street
gang called The Dukes. For four years he was involved
in gang wars, which resulted in Vince being knifed in a rumble. It
was at this time that he thought, "If I am going to have to fight and be
killed, or kill someone, I might as well do it for a worthwhile cause,"
so he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps.
When he was discharged from the
Marines, he took his position with the gang again, but gang activities
were subsiding and drugs were the new craze. Vince started smoking
pot. Within a year was addicted to heroin, and for four years he
had to steal, accept proceeds from prostitutes, and so forth to support
his addiction. The outcome of this lifestyle was the death of many
of his friends (one was his own cousin), and two arrests.
After Vince was released from
jail, he met some peculiar people - "Christians" - who expressed
a love he had never experienced before. Because of their love and
personal interest in him, after hearing the good news of Jesus Christ,
he accepted Jesus as his personal Lord and Savior.
From that time on his life radically
changed, and good things began to happen. While working at Teen Challenge
in Brooklyn, NY, Vince received the baptism of the Holy Spirit. In
1969 the Guerra's went to South Florida where Vince, along with other Christians,
founded The Turning Point ministries, working in jails, on the street,
and in coffee houses. They also established a drug rehabilitation
center. Vince also completed a year's internship at the Christian Mental
Health Society as a therapist. He has an earned Doctor of Ministries
degree from Luther Rice Seminary, Jacksonville, Florida. He is also
the author of two books, THE TURNING POINT and HOOKED-ON
God! and has appeared twice on
The
700 Club.
Dr. Guerra has ministered in
Blacksburg since 1975 and been the pastor of Tried-Stone Christian Center
since its inception in 1985. He and his wife, Ruth, have called Blacksburg
their home for the past 25 years. Together they have raised three
children and have been married for 35 years.
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