A famous conversion experience

1. A famous conversion experience Nicky Cruz

2. Conversion experiences A conversion experience is when: Someone either comes to believe in God in a way which changes their life or when someone changes their belief from one religion to another. Most conversion experiences are gradual and take place over many years but sometimes they are more dramatic! Let’s look at an example.

3. Nicky Cruz – leader of the Mau Maus • Nicky Cruz had a tough childhood. By the age of 16 he was a member of the Mau Maus – a violent street gang in Brooklyn. • Six months later he became the leader of the gang and one of the most feared men on the streets of New York. • His life was filled with drugs, alcohol and extreme violence. He was arrested many times and a psychiatrist said that Nicky was: ‘heading for prison, the electric chair and hell.’

4. Conversion • One day, Nicky came across a Christian preacher. The preacher told Cruz that God loved him and would never stop loving him. Nicky spat at and threatened to kill him. That afternoon the preacher found Cruz again and repeated his message. This time Nicky hit him but the preacher just smiled. • Nicky was deeply affected by the preacher and spent the next couple of weeks thinking a lot about what he had said. • Then Cruz decided to go and hear the preacher again along with some of the other gang members. This time, when he heard the preacher, Nicky started to pray. He asked God to forgive him.

5. A life-changing experience • The very next day Cruz and some of the gang members who converted went to the police and turned in all of their weapons. • Cruz began to study the Bible and returned to school. • He later became a preacher himself and started travelling the world telling his story. • He has set up many organisations which help young people who have fallen into crime and poverty like he did.