The Way Ministries

Dr. Carlos Quijada: Hey, hello everybody, and welcome to a new episode of Walking the Way with Dr. Carlos Quijada. This is a segment where we talk about life and how we can overcome the different challenges that we experience as human beings. We've all been there, times where things seem uncertain, as we've been seeing in the last few weeks. Those moments where God appears to be silent, when things just don't make sense.

One of the great things is that we have a manual called the Bible that leads us into making the right decisions and being able to cope with those challenges. Today is a very special segment because for the first time in the history of this podcast, I am accompanied by a guest. What a blessing to have here with me Pastor Jimmy, who is not only the founding and senior pastor of Last Chance Ministries but also a very close friend of mine, maybe my closest friend after the Lord, a father figure, and a mentor. We're a lot of things, and I'm so blessed to have you here with us to share about faith in real life. How are you doing?

Pastor Jimmy: Doing great, Pastor. What a blessing to have me here as well. It's been a long time coming. I know we meet all the time, but to be here in one of these segments is a blessing. Thank you for the invitation.

Dr. Carlos Quijada: Of course. Thank you for being here. As I've been saying the last few weeks, I've been sharing some thoughts on how faith looks in real life. I remember when you and I first connected, it was almost eight years ago at a diner in New York, in Times Square to be more specific. At the time, I was in a season of making a big decision. I was struggling with my faith, waiting for plans to settle in. Then you came along and shared some of your struggles and your story on how, even when you didn't see what was coming, you still believed in God. That's the story I needed to hear.

Pastor Jimmy: I sure do. It was a tremendous blessing. Losing everything and then still standing still, encouraging people, telling people to get up when I didn't feel like getting up, saying God will provide when he wasn't providing for me. We lost our house and lost our cars. I always say that when you take your focus off yourself and focus on others, that's when God steps in.

It was a blessing to share that testimony with you. Like Job, it's a long testimony, but losing my house and losing everything, and then three and a half years later, getting a phone call that the person who purchased my house never put it under his name and wanted to know if I wanted my house back. Who in the world ever hears a story like that?

But it is faith, and what I call this is sustainable faith. Sustainable faith means that if it doesn't happen tomorrow or the year after, you know that God's promises are yes and amen. I believe that because I had that sustainable faith, God saw my faithfulness. He had to strip me naked from everything, and still standing, still praising, and still lifting up my hands when I didn't feel like showing up. That's when God just blessed me double for my trouble. I got my house back. If there's anyone here going through some trouble, you have to keep on having that faith and trusting God.

Dr. Carlos Quijada: We're both pastors, and we teach the word of God every week. Those of you who are watching might be pastors or leaders, so you can relate to this. There are so many stories in the Bible and so many things that we can know about and have all this theology, education, and knowledge.

But when you get to put it into practice, that's when it really comes to life. Like you said, we sometimes read about people like Job. Overnight, he lost not just material things; he lost all his children, he lost the respect of his wife, and he lost his health. So many losses one after the other that he spent a long time not making sense. We read about these things in Sunday school, but when you get to live it, it's so different. Just to give a little background, can you share when you got saved and what you were doing afterward?

Pastor Jimmy: It was in 2005. My father-in-law invited me to a retreat. I didn't want to go because, having a job, I thought I was okay. I was a great father and a great husband, but I was living a double life. The other life I was living was as a cocaine drug dealer.

Going to this retreat, I really didn't want to go. I went with cocaine in my luggage. I always say how God allows you to do what you have to do, but he has a plan for you. Going to the retreat, I experienced something amazing that changed my life forever. I didn't know anything about the Holy Spirit or anything. I saw a little skit that changed my life. I went back to my room, flushed the cocaine down the toilet, and here I am twenty years later. I celebrated twenty years of my salvation this December.

Coming back from the retreat on fire, I said there's no way anyone should have to wait a whole year to go to a retreat to experience what I experienced. Within weeks, I was already on a vacant lot, not knowing who it belonged to, holding a sign saying, "Need a hug? Need prayer?" when I was the one that needed a hug and prayer because I didn't know anything about preaching. I just wanted to tell someone about the love of God.

Dr. Carlos Quijada: So you were just raw out there, just sharing. No school, no nothing.

Pastor Jimmy: I didn't know anything about Jesus and had never been to the church. I didn't know anything about the Holy Spirit. I don't know what happened, but I just know that something happened. When I came back, I came back singing "How Great is Our God." We lived that.

Anyway, from the streets for three and a half years, preaching the gospel and learning, I had to take myself there and just keep on during that time. While being on fire for the Lord, I wasn't doing drugs anymore, but I still had my job. That's when I went really behind on my mortgage and my cars. My cars got taken away, my house got taken away, and I ended up living with my wife's grandmother in a room of eight by ten.

I heard people saying, "He's over there preaching to the prostitutes, the heroin addicts, and the gang members, and yet he's losing it all. Where is his God?" Hearing all these things was difficult for someone who is brand new. I didn't have a spiritual father or anyone guiding me. It was just the Holy Spirit from Saul to Paul. Just standing strong through all that.

There were points where my wife was just like, "Go sell one more time and let's just get back on track." I had to tell her no, just like Job. Should we praise him only when things are going well, or do we praise him when things are not going well, when we have it and when we don't? Because I held on tight for three and a half years, it was one of the most difficult times of my life. Seeing everything get stripped away from me, houses, cars, when I had it all, and to be still standing there. Before they crossed over the Jordan, can you still stand there in pain and bleeding and still lift up your hands and praise the name of Jesus? Because of my faithfulness, it was a long time coming. I got that phone call from this guy that wants to give me my house back, which was unheard of. I remember my wife telling me, "Can this really be true?" and I said, "Well, that's what the Bible says. You just have to have faith."

Anyway, we're back at our house and we eventually got an old bail bonds building that is now called the Impact Center. That became our church for two years, and then we moved into where we're at now at the old food stamp office. How God makes a big circle. I remember reporting to the food stamp office when we had lost it all. I ended up in line, and I was embarrassed to go in there, but I went in there. I still have my card, it's called the Lone Star card. I told my wife, "Don't get rid of that card," because eventually we ended up owning the very food stamp office that we used to go and report to for food. Then we ended up owning the attorney general's office.

Here we are. Not only did we give out physical food at one time, but now we're giving out physical food as well as spiritual food. We've been there almost fourteen years, since 2014.

Dr. Carlos Quijada: You know something about what you shared because you went to that retreat and a lot of people experience this high. I've been there myself where you go to a retreat and you come out all encouraged and on fire. It reminds me of that parable of the seeds that fell on different grounds. There was one that received the word with excitement, and then the problems come. It's like that seed that falls into thorns and they let those problems overcome them.

Pastor Jimmy: The cares of the world entangle them. Even when you leave excited for a moment, I've heard people many times shouting "Jesus!" loud and excited. Praise God for that, but then all of a sudden you hear the "Jesus" go out of there. They're in the front row, middle row, last row, and they're out. I see it happen many times because your surroundings keep on doing what you want to do, not aligning with the will of God and not really having faith to really believe. Even though sometimes you think about your life and say, "I never had it as difficult as I have it now. Maybe I should have never given my life to Jesus because when I didn't have Christ in my life, I was living a better life." But people don't know that the devil already had you, so you weren't going through things. But now that you have given your life to Jesus, the devil has changed his mind, and now he's coming back for you trying to bring you back. He succeeds so well with so many people because of their lack of faith or they just don't put it into action. That's it.

Dr. Carlos Quijada: Did that thought cross your mind when you came to the Lord? Now you're serving, you're saving these people from the darkness, and yet now...

Pastor Jimmy: It came to a lot of other people's minds to the point where I would hear it. How could you just stand there and allow your family to go through what they're going through? It would trigger my mind, but like Paul, if I let that snake stay there and let that poison kill me, or I can shake it off into the fire. Every time I would hear something negative or people just talking, I would just shake it off. It will cross your mind, and if you allow it to, it will mess you up.

Speaking about feeling that high when you give your life to Christ, to maintain that fire, you have to have a daily examination of your life and check yourself. Because you surround yourself with some people that are negative and pulling you away from the things of the Lord, then your fire starts to go down and you become nothing but smoke. You become a man of nothing but hot air.

Dr. Carlos Quijada: For sure. I've seen it a lot, too. People that for a season are on fire and then, sometimes it's sudden, sometimes it's just gradual. There are people that are like, "Man, I remember a time when I was on fire for God and my life was moving along, but then something hit me and now I feel like my faith is just dying out." When you were going through those moments, what has helped you stay with your faith?

Pastor Jimmy: Getting my house back was something that really elevated my faith. To see everything get stripped away from me, houses, cars, when I had it all, and then three and a half years later having someone call you to say you're going to get your house back. That's when I really started to change my whole life. God is real because that's something that is unheard of. He had to strip me naked from everything to see if I would still stand. That's the problem with a lot of people; when things get taken away, instead of running to Jesus, they run to drugs, run to addictions, they run to alcohol, run to doubt and worries.

What kept me going is that, and then one thing after another where my faith increased so much that I started having these visions of doing events. You were there when we did the Alamodome. That's unheard of. Look at what God did. Just miracles after miracles that allowed me to continue to stand. It was all part of God's plan because he knew what was eventually going to happen to my life.

Back to Job, God said, "Let me go in there," and God says, "Just don't do nothing to him. You can take away what you want to take away because I know that you have a hedge of protection." Even though nothing happens without passing through the hand of God, even if it doesn't make sense, some people will just blame God. I learned how not to blame God and how to just encourage people to keep on having that faith and believing that God has a plan for you not to harm you but to prosper you.

Dr. Carlos Quijada: One thing that helps me, and I was sharing that with a group of people this week, is that when we go through those difficult times, we should remind ourselves that God chose me for this and he knows me well enough to be aware of what I can resist or what I'm able to handle. But as you've mentioned, there was something that happened. If you're ready to share, because I remember when you first shared it with me, it was like, "This man has really been through things." That has inspired not just me, but a lot of people in their faith.

Pastor Jimmy: We talked earlier about ups and downs. Every time when people give their life to Jesus, it's like a high. But then all of a sudden life hits to the point where you feel like an eagle for a moment, then life reality hits and now you're going down. It feels so good, but then I'm losing everything now and you're coming down, and then all of a sudden God shows up and then you're back up.

I remember one time when I was actually in the process of writing a book called "One More Round." I was talking about round one, round two, round three, and so forth. Each round had a bell. Round twelve was like my hands lifted up, God got the victory.

Then reality hit. On Sunday, September 4, 2016, I preached a message about the danger of staying behind. Even when you're praising God and stuff and then life hits you, you can stay behind and then life goes on with or without you. I said, "The danger of staying behind when you get hit with cancer or you get hit with a divorce or you lose your house." I remember that one day when I came off the altar and I said, "I'll take it a step further. I'll let everyone know here that even if I were to lose a child, I would still praise God."

Well, that was on Sunday, September 4. September 6, my daughter Victoria came to my room asking if she could go to the coast. I said yes, which I never really say yes. She was all excited, she was going with her boyfriend, her boyfriend's sister, and her boyfriend's sister's two kids. I let her use my Suburban because her car was in the shop. To make a long story short, I told her, "Make sure you come back the same day."

She took off, she was really excited. About midnight, I gave her a call and asked where she was. She said, "I'm about thirty minutes away, Dad. I'm on 37 and 410." I said, "Okay, I'll wait for you here." Well, 12:30, 1:30, 2:30 came around. I was texting her, there was no more response. 3:00, 5:00. It wasn't until 6:00 in the morning when my son said, "Dad, I think something happened with Victoria."

I was still awake because I was really worried about her. Then I saw on the news that there was a tragic accident about this young lady and two little boys. A young lady and two little boys got ejected and killed in a tragic car accident. It was my daughter's Suburban. There was one lady that was alive and a young man, and I was praying that it was my daughter. It wasn't until noon when the chief of police came knocking on my door and gave me that knock that it was my daughter Victoria that had passed away, and the two little boys got killed as well instantly.

That's where your faith kicks in. Losing a father and a mother is tough. You lost a dad, I lost my father, but when you lose your own child, that's something else. I called it a pain you can't explain. As I preached that message the following week, it was like the enemy tapping me on my shoulder asking me, "Where is your God now? You just preached about that two days ago." It was real difficult for me because that Saturday and that Sunday over a thousand people just showed up to the church for support, the whole city.

A lot of pastors were telling me, "Just take time, I know it's hard." But I know that if the enemy can take me out, then he'll take my family out, and then he'll take the congregation out, the community, the city. There are so many things that, if I didn't continue to stand, would have affected a lot of people. I remember crying and crying in that bathroom before I went to go preach on Sunday because I did my daughter's funeral at our church. Her casket was right in front of me. What pastor can preach a sermon with your daughter right there? It was crazy.

I remember crying and crying and I remember God specifically telling me, "Wipe your tears, you got a job to do." I grabbed a baseball bat, went up to the altar, and I felt at that moment where the devil was on his behind, screeching with his heels, not expecting me to show up, saying, "What in the world are you doing here?" I remember saying, "You messed with the wrong guy."

As hard as that guy hit, it felt like I got hit with a baseball bat. That's why I carried the baseball bat because in life you will get hit, but you've got to hit back. Ever since then, I know my daughter's been gone for ten years since 2016, but as I always say, a seed in your hand is only a seed, but when the seed falls to the ground and dies, it produces fruit. Hundreds and hundreds and thousands of people have given their life to Jesus because of my daughter's death, because I'm able to speak the way I'm speaking and continue to stand the way I'm standing.

At the end of it all, people know that has to be God because what person can stand after a major hit like that? I understand the house and stuff, and some people would have quit there, but losing a child, I had a lot of pastors tell me, "I don't know if I can continue. I don't know if I would continue." So I've been able to encourage a lot of people and let them know about Jesus. If it hadn't been for the Lord, I wouldn't be where I'm at.

Praise God that because of her death, we started that Victoria scholarship for young girls to get their high school diploma, the Victoria's Tiny Homes that we moved to the retreat, and started the Victoria's Women's Fellowship. I've done so many funerals, hundreds of funerals on tragic accidents and with parents losing children. I give them a customized bat that says "Victoria's" because they've got to remember that we are victorious. Even though something tragic like that happened, I always said either I could die with my daughter or I can live for her. I decided to live. I pray that anyone that is watching there, if you feel spiritually dead or you're losing things, have faith to continue to trust God. Do not grow weary because in due season, here I am.

Dr. Carlos Quijada: Amen. I appreciate you sharing that because one of the things that we see is that you're a human being and we do experience pain. We experience moments of happiness and moments of sadness, and it's okay. I know some people say, "I can't be sad," but it's okay to cry, it's okay to feel sad.

The difference maker is: are you going to quit? One thing that stands out in what you're sharing is that you didn't quit, even though you were feeling a certain way and you got to see the fruit of that. Because like you said, in those three-something years, you had lost your house. Three years is a long time when you're in the middle of it. You might feel like, "When is this going to change?" Then God does a miracle sometime later with the situation with your daughter, which I agree with you, a lot of people would just give up. But you just didn't quit because of faith and here we are seeing the fruit of that. It's a blessing to be able to still be standing and continue to encourage others and keep on moving. It's not easy, but still, great things have happened through the tragedy.

If you hang on tight, right around the corner there's a blessing. I was able to write that book called "Indescribable Pain" that has helped a lot of people, and that's what it's all about. If you really trust God and do not lean on your own understanding because you won't make it, if you lean on Jesus, especially in those tough times, that's where God will get you through. It's like that picture of Jesus with the feet on the sand and you sometimes wonder, "Where are you at?" It's not that he's not there, it's that he's the one that's carrying you. He's carried me through a lot of stuff.

By the way, that book that he's mentioning, it's a book that is available in English and Spanish, and it tells in more detail your story. Can you tell us how can people obtain this book?

Pastor Jimmy: They can contact me as well or go to the LCM community page or call the office or just let us know how I can send you the book. You can go to 404 Brady Boulevard, we have all our books there at our cafe. You can read it. It is English and Spanish, it's a small book but it tells you the story about when I first started and to where I lost my daughter and everything has scripture. It's a blessing.

At the same time, the last chapter is about because I was writing that book during COVID. So the last chapter is about COVID, so it's not about just people losing children in tragic accidents. A lot of people lost people in COVID, and a lot of people, pastors, some of them just got stuck and they really can't really come back. If they read this book, it'll really encourage other not just families but pastors on how you can continue to stand and how you can still show up even when you don't want to show up.

Because the thing is, if the battle is God's, then why show up? Because you don't have to fight because the battle is God's. But the thing is he needs your participation because you still got to show up even if you don't want to show up. Showing up speaks volumes because the enemy is like, "What is this guy doing?" like when I showed up and I did my daughter's funeral and preaching with my daughter's casket right in front of me. Who in the world is going to show up to something like that? But I showed up, and when I showed up, I gave the devil a black eye.

Through all your trials and tribulations, you get stronger and stronger and stronger. From day one, how do you keep on having that faith? It's because God keeps on showing up. As long as God keeps on showing up, and even when he doesn't show up, as long as you keep on praising God, that's when he gets all the glory. If it would have happened in the very beginning, losing my daughter, I don't think I would be here. But how God prepared me. He knows the end from the beginning. If I would have known what would have happened, maybe I would have never stepped into my calling. But God doesn't show you what you're about to step into. This is where you walk by faith and not by sight. When you walk in, just trust in God, holding on to the hand of God. You can walk around with fear but knowing that you're holding on to the hand of God, you can walk around with confidence. That's how I walk. I walk with confidence, knowing that I've been through a lot. I don't want to lose another child, I still got my other kids. I continue to pray for my wife too. For three years, she was like paralyzed spiritually because losing a child can really knock you out. Thank God that she had someone like myself to be able to encourage her because I know families that have lost children where the husband is lost, the wife's lost, ain't nobody encouraging. So God put in my heart to start this program, "Remember Your Angels," and we've done events for that and bringing in lots and lots of families that have lost children. It's helped a lot of people in our city to the point where they're not alone.

When you lose a child, nobody was there for me to help me like, "Hey, you're going to go to the cemetery, you're going to pick out the slot, you're going to go to this place, you're going to pick out the casket." Picking out a car was a tough thing, but now I can help other families and guide them. No, it's never going to be alright. People are telling me, "What do I tell them?" and I say, "Just don't say nothing because their life is totally different, everything changes." They don't want to be around all these parties and gatherings, it takes time. We didn't really want to be around anybody because we didn't want to bring our sadness to other families. What can you tell someone that lost a child? Some people say, "Just stop crying, just let them go." It's a child of yours, it's not the same. Some people just don't know what to say, just don't say nothing at all. Let them grieve. But at the same time, I do encourage families to continue to keep on moving. Even if you have to crawl, just don't stop.

Dr. Carlos Quijada: Don't quit. Something that you said, and we're going to be closing for today, but I just want to point out about showing up. Our tendency as human beings is that when things get hard, we want to run away. We want to get on a plane, take a boat, whatever, just run away. But God invites us to show up even when it's uncomfortable.

I'm reminded of when Jesus promised the Holy Spirit; he called him the Comforter. For us to experience the power of God like you have experienced, we need to get uncomfortable so that we can really experience the Comforter in our lives and live his power and see God work miracles. When things are easy, when things are going in our favor, it's very easy to be like, "I believe in God and all." But when we are challenged with things that just seem impossible, like losing a child or losing things that you feel that you can't live without, that's when you experience God's power. All we need, or the one we need, is God in our lives. We can lose it all, but let us never lose him because he is the one that sustains us no matter what we go through.

I appreciate you sharing that with us, and I pray this has impacted your life. We've got to do a part two. I pray that not only you meditate on these things, but you share with some people that may be going through stuff that are really testing their faith. I know it's going to be a blessing to many. If you have any comments, any questions, please comment below. We'd love to hear your story. And if you're interested in getting Pastor Jimmy's book, you can contact me. We can mail it to you. Just reach out. You won't want to miss this story. I read it myself and it blessed my life. It doesn't matter, maybe you haven't lost a child, but we can all relate to the fact that in life we go through losses. This man's testimony is very inspiring. And of course, if you're in the city, visit Last Chance and you can get it there and also receive a word from the Lord. So thank you, Pastor Jimmy, for joining me today.

Pastor Jimmy: Thank you, Dr. Carlos. I'm proud of you.

Dr. Carlos Quijada: God bless everybody, and until next time here on Walking the Way with Dr. Carlos Quijada. God bless.