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December 1-7, 2010 The voice of the Indian Valley - 1878

By Erin DuBois
Associate Editor

Former gang leader turned pastor to speak at Franconia Heritage

Psychiatrists told Joey Perez that he was beyond hope. His father fired a gun at him four times. His mother said she would rather see him dead than alive, so she could stop worrying about him. By the age of 12, Perez had already committed three serious crimes, including attempted murder.
He grew up to be the leader of one of the biggest gangs in Philadelphia, running his own division of 250 gang members. But all that was before he heard God calling his name.

The title of his autobiography, “I Lived to Tell About crossing not only the U.S. but the Atlantic Ocean to share the story of his changed life with others in need of hope. Perez will tell about it again during an evangelistic revival meeting at Franconia Heritage Restaurant Dec. 10 through 12. Perez is not a newcomer to the Indian Valley. A former resident of Telford, he has led revival meetings at Franconia Mennonite Church and Towamencin Mennonite Church.

Landis Supermarkets was the first supporter of his ministry, and both Landis and Bergey’s Auto continue to significantly support his ministry, according to Perez. Perez said that he hopes local youth will come to the revival meeting. “I try to let them know what’s on the other side of the fence, what looks real but isn’t,” Perez said. A lot of kids in the Indian Valley area go to North Philly to buy drugs, looking for excitement and adventure, according to Perez. “It ain’t fun,” Perez said.

Perez knows firsthand just how not fun drugs can be. Two of his five brothers were murdered in Philadelphia. One of the brothers, the only one to graduate high school, was shot in front of Perez shortly after graduation. Perez seemingly came by his trade honest, since his father was a gang member as well.
His father chained Perez by the neck in the cellar when he was 12. “He tried to make me an obedient son,” Perez said. “He didn’t realize that’s what made me an animal.”

When Perez saw other, happier families, his anger grew. From the time he was 9, he was in and out of juvenile homes, mental hospitals and prisons. “All these places didn’t make me a better person,” Perez said. “They made me worse.” Perez’s transformation began with a simple cup of coffee. Perez needed to find a job in order to ward off his probation officer’s suspicions that he was making money from drug deals.

Reading High School

Pastor Joey Perez autographs copies of his book, "I Live To Tell About it" for a group of students.

The supervisor at his new job bought Perez a cup of coffee and a coffee cake every day for several months. At first, Perez responded by throwing the coffee and cake in the trash. The supervisor, a former member of the Italian mafia, told Perez the story of how Jesus saved his life. Perez said that he plotted with another worker to kill the supervisor, but the day he was driving to work to carry out his plan, his new car broke down. “Little by little, the love he was showing me started breaking me,” Perez said. “I saw something in him I never saw in my own dad.”

The transformation became complete when Perez attended a revival meeting. “I told God if he called me by my name, I would serve Him,” Perez said that when he went to the altar during the meeting, he felt a peace that he had never felt before. Perez left behind a half-million dollars in money and drugs that day, but he also left behind the nightmares that had plagued him. “I was tormented every day,” Perez said. “My sin haunted me day and night.”

When he met former gang members on the street, they noticed the difference in Perez. Seeing his Bible, the gang members said, “You’re not in church, are you?” according to Perez. They told me I looked good and to keep doing whatever I was doing, Perez said. Perez said that his biggest enemies have become his friends, including his father, who he learned to forgive and now calls his “best friend.” Now Perez is giving back to the city he once menaced.

The pastor of Kingdom Highway Church in Philadelphia, Perez said that his ministry gives food and clothing to thousands of people on Thanksgiving Day. They travel to the most drug-infested areas of Philadelphia to tell people about Jesus, giving them groceries and clothing as well, according to Perez.

The church also started drug rehabilitation centers for women with children, single women and men, Perez said. The centers are currently closed while they are being relocated to a new property, Perez said. Perez has spoken in schools in Norristown, Reading and Pottstown, among other locations, and he has ministered to gangs in England.

Perez will be joined at the revival meeting Dec. 10-12 by Laura Kaczor, a former Collegeville resident whose national debut album, Love Enough, was released Sept. 14. Kaczor will sing songs from the album and lead worship during the meeting. The revival meeting will take place Dec. 10 at 7 p.m., Dec. 11 at 6 p.m., and Dec. 12 at 6 p.m. Perez will share his life story during a breakfast Dec. 11 at 8:30 a.m.

To RSVP for the revival meeting at Franconia Heritage Restaurant, call 215-223-1022 or e-mail worldwidemin@comcast.net.

For more information about Perez’s ministry, visit www.worldevangmin.com

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Pastor Joey Perez shares his life story with teenagers. A former gang leader in Philadelphia, Perez warns young people that doing drugs is not as fun as it might appear.

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