"Redeeming Lives" - Inner-City Ministry with Pastor Frank Robles

In this episode of the 'Wrong to Strong Chicago' podcast, guest Pastor Frank Robles joins from Phoenix, Arizona, to share his journey from the gang-infested streets of South Phoenix to founding a successful men's discipleship program. Pastor Robles discusses his upbringing in a tough neighborhood, his early church involvement, and his descent into drugs and gang life following a disappointing church experience and divorce. He recounts finding faith again, entering ministry, and eventually serving at 'City of Refuge,' a program aiding men recovering from addiction and incarceration. Through various success stories, Pastor Robles highlights the transformative power of faith, hope, and resilience in overcoming life's darkest moments.

https://www.facebook.com/Cityofrefuge8/

https://www.instagram.com/cityofrefugeaz

https://www.revolutionaz.com/

Transcript

0:15

From the city of Chicago, a city most recently known for its crime and violence. On this podcast, we will be sharing stories of redemption from individuals raised in the tough streets of Chicago and from around the country. Some of them were gang members, drug dealers, incarcerated victims, and perpetrators of violence. Listen to my guests as they share their experiences, struggles, trauma, but also the strength, Hope, faith and perseverance. These have developed in them to keep pushing and moving forward in life. Tune in to hear how their lives have gone from darkness to light and from wrong to strong.

Omar: 0:58

Hello everyone. And welcome to another episode of wrong to strong Chicago. I'm your host. My name is Omar Calvillo. And tonight I have my guests. He's joining us all the way from Phoenix, Arizona. I'd like to welcome pastor Frank Robles to the podcast.

Frank: 1:14

Thank you for the invitation. It's good to join you and. Here are all the good things that's going on taking place here in Chicago, with JC brother.

Omar: 1:22

Amen, Amen,, pastor tha thanks for joining us. So, so actually we'll, we'll start there. Uh, jc you know, he, he lives out there in Arizona. So he's the one that told me, man, you gotta have this guy on, on the podcast. Uh, so you, you wanna tell us a little bit or how you guys know each other and maybe what type of ministry work you guys are doing out there? Well,

Frank: 1:38

you know, well, first of all, I, uh, did, didn't know each other for some time, but mutual friends. one of his mentors. Actually, I I've known for a little bit and he basically connect this and we're both you can say the people business. So what we do is we we share Christ. We basically, you know, J. C. You know, he's God is bringing him up in a certain ministry, reaching out to those perhaps, uh, The ones that society has forgotten about, the ones that perhaps they just consider, hey, you know what, uh, that's it, there's no hope for them. And God has given me the opportunity to, to work with a men's sober living discipleship program. So I met his, his friend by the name of John, talked a little bit of what we do here. And his, uh, John, his, his mutual, uh, mutual friend said, hey, This is what J. C. Has got going on and brother, you gotta meet him. So it's just a matter of normal networking and one thing led to another. So, uh, we got got some good things going on out here.

Omar: 2:43

Hey, man, thanks for sharing that. And you bring up a good word on networking. Uh, that, that's one thing that, that's been a blessing for me, you know, as I've been able to interview guys from all over the country, not just here in the city. To me, it's, it's encouraging to see how God is moving throughout the country, you know, through different states, different cities. So it's, it's amazing to meet, people that are out there, they got their hands to the plow, you know, they rolled up their sleeves and they're getting to work for the kingdom of God. So, man, that's, that to me, that's, that's encouraging. And, uh, I, I love to highlight that, you know, that that's another reason why I want to do this. Just to get the word out there, get the testimonies out there, uh, but also the ministries and just the work that's being done, you know, like throughout the

Frank: 3:23

country. That's right. And you know, many times we, we seem to forget, or, uh, sometimes we think it's about just one person or one ministry, uh, going back to that word again, network, you know, God has called us to work together. We come from different walks of life. Um, and I'm sure we'll get into it in a little bit, a little bit down, a little bit more later, but anyways, but we come from different walks of life and like I said, but we're all. I once heard a pastor friend say this, we're all part of the same house, but we were in a different room with that same house. And the thing is, we all have something to, we all have something to offer and we have the same common ground. So it's, it's, it's beautiful. The way to see God brings people together.

Omar: 4:08

Amen. Amen. Thanks for sharing that. And you know what, let's get into your story. So can you tell us, you know, what part of the country did you grow up in? Uh, what city? And then maybe if you could describe it, maybe in your early years, how, how life was for you out there.

Frank: 4:22

Okay. Well, I'm a native of Phoenix, Arizona. If you can believe that not too many natives out here, usually people come out from California or maybe from Chicago for different parts of the country. But I am a native of Phoenix. Born and raised here in Arizona and beautiful hot A. Z. And as far as my childhood growing up, you know, I did have a, um, mom and dad that stayed at home. They, you know, they had their issues, but they, they, they weathered the storms. They stay together. Uh, the part of the city where I was born as well. Possibly one of the oldest neighborhoods here in Phoenix, and, uh, it's known and they've written many articles about the neighborhood, but where I'm from, it's the, uh, the neighborhood is called is known as"Las Cuatro Milpas" us so back in the day, and as I'm sure, you know, I kind of grew up like in a modern day Nazareth. You know, I, I grew up with a gang infested neighborhood, uh, grew up where, uh, drugs infested and it was just not a good place to be, to grow up in, but the good thing about it is I had an old school traditional mom and she basically was, had a strong hold on us. Um, thank God, although we were in the mix of the darkness. That we didn't get, get caught up. And when I say caught up, you know, kind of dabbled a little bit, kind of got, it got caught up in the drug scene and my later years got it caught up into the drug scene, but by God's mercy and grace, I kind of went back. My main, uh, fundamentals that were taught as children. So, you know, my neighborhood was not a good neighborhood, but let's say the least,

Omar: 6:16

you know, I want to go back to something you said, you said your mom was like old school mom, you know, how, how were things in the home? You know, how was, uh, mom and dad and, uh, for somebody that maybe doesn't know what, what does that mean? You know, what, what are some of the traits? Of a old school mom that, that now that you look back, that, that you appreciate, you know, of value?

Frank: 6:37

Well, you know, going back to, like I said, typical, traditional Hispanic mom. In other words, she, she ran the home. She was a boss. Okay? When it came to, uh, discipline in the home, she was the one that forced us to go to church. Uh, and dad, you know, he was a dad was. You know, like I said, they were married. They remained married for almost 55 years, but that was more off doing his own thing. Um, and like I said, that was a good dad, but he was caught up, you know, unfortunately, he was into the drinking typical. I like, I say the typical, but that he was a provider at a good job work for the same company for over 30 years. But every Friday, Saturday and Sunday night, it was it was his night out. And unfortunately, unfortunately, what came with that involved was a lot of drinking for us growing up as children. I remember many times that we would Uh, go and look for dad and the bars and go to some of his favorite hangouts spots. And mom was right there. So, like I said, you know, dad was a good provider. Uh, mom was, uh, like I said, she wasn't to the church. College and you Christ she served Christ, but then our home was not. It wasn't as good as it looked from the outside looking in, uh, so many times remember mom and dad getting into an argument many times, uh, dad would just leave home for many days, uh, but then he would always come back home. And like I said, we had our issues to a certain degree degree. Our families was not completely 100 percent broken, but we weren't, uh, beaver cleaver family. We had our issues, but

Omar: 8:31

that's actually a good way to put it. You know, you know, not, not all the way broken, but you were somewhere in the middle. Right. But, okay. Yeah. You know what? Okay. So like, like growing up, I know you mentioned, like a mom, uh, seeking God, and teaching you guys. Um, as you were getting older, I know you mentioned the area wasn't the best of neighborhoods. So like, like at what age, maybe you start getting drawn into that, out there. You know,

Frank: 8:56

well, what happened with me is again, I was raised knowing about the Bible, knowing about church. And, uh, at the age, I would say about 13, 14 years old back in the day. That's when you're still a youngster. You maybe don't don't remember these days. But back in the day, we had the house parties going on doing my hair. The, the, the, the low riding scene was big time out here in Phoenix. So, about the age of 13, 14 years old. It kind of became a little bit rebellious. I graduated from elementary school. I got into high school. Uh, thank God. And by the grace of God, I did get into the house parties, got into the drinking the hard liquor and, uh, also experimented with some drugs. And still, at that young age, I didn't get in too deep. Okay. Also, as I mentioned about our neighborhood, Gangs are an everyday thing, you know, so it was, it was a common thing for me. So that really wasn't something that faced me, but you know, I'm a little guy. Okay. So I kind of got up, got caught up with the, with the, uh, sumo, with the, with the, with the gangs, with the drugs, but I was more of a thinker. Okay. I was like the go to guy if, you know, if there were some issues or some things that they needed to be handled, they would come to me and back then, like I said, I'm not, I'm a little guy. So my name on the streets was shorty. It was short and I guess as I got a little bit older, they changed my name to little man. Okay. So I was more, more, more of the thinker when I was a problem solver, I'll say I was a problem solver and got into the gangs. I would say probably get the age of. 15, 16, and 17 years old. So that's, you know, by the grace of God, I didn't get stuck.

Omar: 10:52

Yeah. Okay. No, that's, that's good. Now, and I was, you're out there, you know, like in the, in the streets, you know, you go, go into the gang. Uh, I know you mentioned being raised, you know, with the word, with the Bible. How is that for you as you're out there? And like, maybe do scriptures come to your mind as you're out there doing what you're doing? You know, how, how, what was it easy for you to be out there? Or what was like, maybe like some conviction in the back of your mind?

Frank: 11:13

Well, what came to my mind was that if I die, I'm going to hell. Okay. But what, but what happened basically is when a person really has an encounter with God, you know, they have an experience with God, you can go out and do your thing. You can try to fit in, but down deep inside. Once you've had a relationship with Jesus, you can run, but you can't hide. And, and, and the thing is I was out there doing my thing, but. There was something down deep in my heart that just let me know, hey, you know, this you weren't created for this. This isn't you. And like I said, I would run and I would try to hide, but it was very difficult because, like you said, and it goes to the Bible. The Bible says, you know, train up a child in the ways of the Lord and we shall go. We should not depart from it. So, even though I was running, like it says the scripture. And the word was in my heart, I'll take it back. I had it in my main, my mind, I had the knowledge of it, but I yet did not have that experience with Christ. So I was running. I was running, brother.

Omar: 12:21

Gotcha. Okay. So you say you're running. Um, is there any like, like, um, story incident from those years that were you out there in the streets that that stick in your mind? Or maybe when you look back and you see God's hand in that incident,

Frank: 12:35

yeah, I got you. One incident comes in particular comes to mind. Um, but I grew up in South Phoenix within South Phoenix. Like I said, it's like the neighborhood I was from was, uh, Las Cuatro Milpas and again, within, I would say within a three, four mile, uh, radius or blocks. What happened is we had, I would say, at least maybe 10 different gangs, anyone from 10 to 15 different gangs. So later on in life, I moved a little bit further south. And again, back in the day, you always had your boys, had your partners that you would hang out with. And I remember one time in particular, we were in a, in a rival gang park, so to speak, and it was late at night. And at that time, I believe there were two of my friends that were with me and we had the rival band. They just creeped up on us at that particular particular time. By no means was it like nowadays. I, I think back in the day, it was more like a one on one type of thing. On that particular night after a night of partying. A night of doing our thing, drinking and messing around with some girls. We worked this particular part, we had maybe eight guys just creeped up on us. And like I says, back then it was more hand to hand and, you know, toe to toe. And you took care of business that way. Well, that particular night, um, these guys showed up, rolled up on us and they, they had their, their guns. They had their weapons. And at that time I thought, that's it, you know, uh, and to this day, I don't remember how we got out of that. Incident, but they ruled up against us and they pulled their guns on us and they took what we had. And they, at the point of possibly of even, uh, uh, of us getting shot, and by the grace of God don't know what happened, whether they were, uh, spooked, someone came up. Whatever it was, but just, just as fast as they creeped up on us and one is that they had gone. So that really, really made me think and reflect that, Hey, no, you can't play with the things of God in real life. No,

Omar: 14:46

yeah, definitely. Those, those are certain instances where, where, where you look back, maybe at the moment doesn't hit you, but when you look back, like, man, sometimes I think God gives us like glimpses of what, what situations he had his hands on us, you know, like Because there was certain work that he desired to do in us and through us, so, okay. So, so you're out there. Take us through maybe like your twenties, uh, you end up, you know, maybe getting married kids, how does life look for you as, as you're getting older,

Frank: 15:11

Yeah. I, uh, like I said, there was a time I had accepted Christ at a young age. Certain. And then what happened is I placed my eyes on other people other than them, God, something had taken place in the local, local church. So at that age, I said, I'm gonna do my own thing. I don't want anything to do with uh uh, with God. Although it was a man that disappointed me, I blamed it on God. So they don't want anything to do with God anymore. So, uh, knowing about the Bible, knowing about the things of God, being raised in a somewhat Christian church, I, uh, like I said, I just turned my back on it. During that time, uh, you know, there's always, uh, I was blessed and fortunate that during that time I was attending a church. Met a young, uh, lady, young girl who later on became my, my wife, i, I, to get married at a, at a young age. Uh, I was about, appro about maybe 18, 19 years old when I got married. Wow. So, unfortunately that marriage did not, did not last. I, I was married for a number of years, approximately about maybe 17, 18 years. I have two children. My, my daughter and Victoria, and my son Frankie. So, after I had gone through that separation and divorce, uh, what, what happened, I really went over the edge at that time, went over the edge. And by that, I, I, I mean, uh, then I started getting into the drugs, started getting into the clubs and started getting into the drug scene. So, it escalated from just, you know, something on a smaller scale. To again, starting to deal with, in drugs, uh, started using, started selling drugs.

Omar: 16:56

Can I ask you like, like, how old are you, like, at this point when you started getting into drugs?

Frank: 17:01

I would say I was in, in my ear early thirties. Okay. And see, I, I didn't experience that until I was already older. I had gone through, uh, you know, experiencing Christ, getting married, going through a separation, going through the divorce, having my children. So at an older age, age, I was like my early thirties.

Omar: 17:20

That, that during your first marriage, um, are, are, are you seeking and serving Christ? Is, is God, uh, does God play a part in your family during those years or no.

Frank: 17:30

Well, I mean, see, and, and this is kind of, and then I, I want to say this is that see, God is a second chance, man. See, because during that time, when I went through my divorce, I was pastoring a church.

Omar: 17:42

Oh, no way it

Frank: 17:42

was, it was thriving. I got was blessing. And so then what happened is that something unfortunate happened in the marriage. Uh, the marriage was dissolved. A divorce came out of that. So during that time, I was already serving God.

Omar: 18:00

No way. No, I gotta go back. Cause we skipped the part where you became a pastor. So let's go there. So they take us to how does life look or what happens in your life? Obviously you're serving Christ in order to become a pastor. So could you take us through that? Like, uh, maybe those, uh, years right before you, you stepped into this role.

Frank: 18:24

Yes, again, it's, it's a process started from the ground up to long process, but I just want to get to the main point. So, again, I started ministry, um, started getting involved with the community. I eventually, I became the associate pastor of the church where I accepted Christ and I became the associate pastor. Um, I got married at, I guess I was maybe about maybe 18, 19 years old when I got married, was at the part of that local church faithfully for about, geez, I would say. A number of years. So we broke away from that church started our own ministry. And like I said, it was thriving. It was a thriving church. And again, obviously, there were some issues that were taking place. I was involved in ministry. I was involved in the community. I was going into the prisons. Uh, and back in the day, they would allow you to go into the prison system, uh, into the facilities. You can take a full, uh, band, a full group, musicians and all, and you were allowed to preach. And it wasn't behind a glass window. It wasn't behind a video. We would actually go into the facilities. What JC is doing now, hand in hand, and so that's what happens. So it was doing that type of thing. But it's unfortunate that there were some issues that we could not resolve. And then that marriage ended up in divorce. Um, and and the thing was that again to God is a God of a 2nd chance. Uh, because when I went through that, it escalated, things that I didn't do before, after my divorce, and it was, it was crazy, brother. It was crazy.

Omar: 20:12

Man, so, okay, so you got divorced, and this led you down a path where, like you say, you started getting into drugs, and it sounded like you started getting, like, heavy into drugs. You want to take us through that season of your life?

Frank: 20:23

Well, see, I'm the type of person that, you know, God has given me grace. So back in the day when I was not following Christ's way, the way I should, is there one or two things. You either love me or you hated me. In church language, I, God had given me grace. Okay. And so what, what happened was that during that time, again, I was naive. I knew a little bit about the drug um, but I was naive. I I've always been fortunate where I've been self employed. I've always, like I said, had the blessing of God where I made good money. Uh, so once I was separated, I was making good money. Uh, being around the crowd that I was, they said, Hey, Frank, try this. You know how that all starts, how it begins. Uh, give, you know, give, give this a try. Uh, and like I said, so people either loved me or they hated me. So the, when people would see me, they say, oh, this guy's just a real good guy. He's naive in innocence, doesn't know anything. Or they thought, man, this guy's a, he's a. And it's a metal metal. Okay. So, and I, I kind of played that to my advantage. So, I got into the club, uh, club scene. There are about three or four clubs here in the valley in the Scottsdale area and the Phoenix area where I got to know the owners. Well, again, I met someone who was into the drug scene and they said, hey, Uh, you want to hang out and let's do this? Let's say yeah. So they, they, they turned it on to, uh, uh, drugs and they're just left one thing to another. I, uh, in the, in the drug scene, I was naive. But the way it started was that someone meetings a mutual friend and that mutual friend said, Hey, can you give me some of this? And back in the day, the primary drug was a cocaine, which is, I imagine it still is today. So, the person that had asked me if I can get my hands on something, they were looking for crystal meth. I don't know anything about it. So I was just like, yeah, I'll get it. So, again, the word network. So I ended up meeting a few guys. And I just, uh, just approached them and said, hey, this is what I'm looking for. You have it. So that's where it began. So it just escalated. Uh, the club scene, women. Uh, and and still was able to function. So that's that's how it began. It

Omar: 23:01

began. So, so, so did you get like hooked on on meth? Were you on meth?

Frank: 23:06

My what happened with me? I thank God that I was a functioning addict. So what happened is I, I, uh, I really, and I think every person's when they're, when they're addicted, they, the common answer is like, no, I can handle it. I'm okay. So I would say, yes, I was addicted for some time. Uh, I was addicted. My, at that time, but my drug of choice was, was a cocaine. Okay. And then gradually into the crystal meth. And you know how it goes. People, people love you when you're on top of the world. People love you when you've got what they want and what they're looking for. So by the grace of God, I had some moments that really, um, they were wake up calls. Until I really got, got with the program.

Omar: 23:58

Gotcha. Okay. So, so, so what was that defining moment or that, that big, uh, wake up call that maybe started to, to turn your life around?

Frank: 24:07

Well, the wake up call for me. Was when again, I had gone to my gone to my divorce. I was going through that process of everything that comes along with it. And what happened is, I was at the verge of the possibility of losing my kids completely, you know, having my rights severed and. And, um, things, you know, that type of thing. So I just said, man, I gotta get myself together. And then not only that, but again, my upbringing being raised in a family home, knowing the word, knowing the scripture, but not just having the knowledge of the word of God, but then beginning to live it. So, you know, little by little, it was a process. You know, don't ask me why, but there's some people that God just doesn't never on their mind. I mean, overnight, the addictions are broken. There are something that takes a process where they had to separate themselves. So I was one of those type of persons were it was a process. It was a process. And I thank God that I I made it through. Once I made the decision, Made the choice that, you know what, I'm going to, I'm going to get back to where I started. I'm going to get back on the path that I knew many years ago. And the thing that led me off of that path, I went back to the old path when I knew Christ. And it just gradually came back. I mean, it's, it's a process. Yes. It's a process.

Omar: 25:40

You know, you, you mentioned like, like something really good there. Like God, like sometimes like miraculously, Yeah. Just takes it away like overnight and they're done with it. But some, like you mentioned for yourself as a process, what, what word of encouragement would you have to somebody that maybe is listening to your story and they're there, you know, they know the word they're seeking God and man, they just seemed like, I just can't shake this. You know, what, what would have encouraged me, we'll have somebody that's maybe like struggling with an addiction and they're trying.

Frank: 26:11

Yeah. Well, this is what happens. The Bible tells us as long as we have breath, we're breathing. There is hope. You know, one of the first thing I'll say is we can't lose hope. You know, don't lose hope. Uh, even right now, if you're going through a difficult time, whatever it may be, as long as you're breathing, as long as you're alive, that means God has a plan and a purpose for you and your life isn't over. Uh, second of all, looking back in hindsight, if we look throughout the Bible, God uses broken people, you know, people that you would least expect, it comes to mind right now, Rahab, in the Bible, the Old Testament talks about Rahab, she hid the spies, and when it talks about Rahab, calls her a harlot, modern day, she was a prostitute, she was a street walker, she was considered a social outcast, and then later on when we read about In the book of Matthew, when it speaks about Jesus genealogy, it talks about his forefathers, his grandparents, his great grandparents, it mentions the name of Rahab, and it doesn't say Rahab the prostitute, Rahab the harlot. But they're very interesting. We find out that Rahab was we can say Jesus is a great great great grandma. So, and here was someone who's considered a failure. We look at the life of David King David. The Bible says that in his later years that he was a man after God's own heart. But before that, David committed adultery. He committed murder. Uh, he had problems throughout his lifetime with his family. Uh, his kids try to take his kingdom away, but towards the end, God restored him. So what I would say is that God is a God of a second chance, not only one second chance, but he's a God that gives us the opportunities no matter how low you may be. No matter how desperate your situation may be, no matter what your friends, no matter what society says, no one, no matter what your ex says, no matter what the system says, but God is a God of opportunities. And many times we tend to give up on ourselves before God gives up on us. Many times we don't have faith in ourselves that we don't have faith that we can do things. And I just want to say, have faith in God because God has faith in you. Don't give up because God has not given up on you. No matter where you're at, God is there for you.

Omar: 28:52

Amen. Amen. God is there for you. Thanks for sharing that word. Uh, and yeah, so, okay, so it's a process for you and you said God's, God's moving, in your life. uh, once you got out of that season, uh, what begins to change in your life? going forward.

Frank: 29:10

Oh, I, um, remarried. Okay. I, I al now my grandchildren. So the word. Once I went to process and, and just dea and, and just, you know, where I place my trust in Because I never imagined that I would be doing the things that I'm doing now, as far as ministry, um, you know, I, I never imagined I would have the opportunity because when I was a pastor, uh, what happened, many, a lot of people turned their back on, um, pastors, ministers, churches, they judged me. But what happened, I thank God for three, three pastors that they were there with me during my time that I was down and now I'm going through my struggles. And they just continued praying for me. They were there for me. They were my friends. Uh, they, they prayed for me. They encouraged me. So from that group of pastors, I, I became involved with a local church. I connected with a local church. I didn't go to, I didn't go to different churches, but I, I connected to one church and remained faithful in that church. Uh, and from there on, I, I've been fortunate and blessed. Or where God just began to open doors. Um, you know, one of the things that I, that I started back in ministry, I, I translate from, uh, from Spanish into English. And so there was a pastor that gave me the opportunity to just to translate. That's what I would do. Just translate just that I would just translate. Nothing else. Just translate. And from there, God gave me grace and favor with that particular pastor, with the church. And then I was given the opportunity to work with, uh, with a youth group. From the youth group, I started working in men's Bible studies. At the time, we had a, uh, we had a men's home. We were renting, uh, actually a house. Yeah, something like 15 men in a three bedroom house. So what would happen is that I remain faithful to that, to the, uh, to the Bible studies. Um, I still had my, uh, I had my business, so I would, I was doing both things, doing my business and the Bible study group, and it got to a point to where I had to choose. My pastor would always tell me, he said, hey, Pastor Frankie, it's time for you to come full time. The money was great. And I said, no, no, no. I need to hear from God. And so I got to the point where I needed to, uh, the contracts that I had. I wrote those contracts. I came full time on board, uh, just concentrating with the men and it's been, uh, it's been awesome. So, our church as a whole, we've been in men's ministries for 10 years. The facilities that we have right now in Phoenix, uh, this is our own property bought and paid for by the grace of God and lots of work. Uh, so it's our own facilities. We have approximately 43 men that we, you know, we, we, it's a discipleship program. Uh, we teach them life skills. Uh, we have mentors. We also have counseling. We're involved with the 12 step program program that's called Celebrate Recovery. So the men are part of part of that ministry, and it's been, it's been awesome. So we, like I said, we have approximately about 44 men and we're praying and we're looking for different locations now to, to expand the ministry. And we have men from all different walks of life. You name it, they're here at the home. Different nationalities. We're like the United Nations Uh, we have, we, you know, we have a little bit of, uh, different nationalities, different cultures, but the common ground that we have is, is Jesus. Amen. And we're just one big happy fa we just big one, big happy family.

Omar: 33:17

Amen. You know what I, I want to get more into like the ministry, you know what it involves, but I wanna ask you something. You mentioned you had a business. And, uh, you want to talk about that business? And, uh, the, the question is like, how, how easy or hard was it? Cause I'm sure that in the business, you're making your money, you know, you're getting, I'm going to imagine a steady income and then you step away to go full time into ministry. And I'm sure the ministry. Usually they don't pay as much as like with your own business, you know? So who told you that, brother, you, you wanna talk you wanna talk about the, transition and I, I know that's, is usually a cost. Usually if you step away. Like you, you mentioned you had to hear from the Lord. Do you want to talk about maybe that, that time right before and then some of the things that were going through your mind before you said, man, I'm gonna do away with my business and. Go full time. I

Frank: 34:07

was I was fortunate and blessed. I originally started with one of the local banks here. Chase one bank. I was just a driver, you know, for Chase Bank and what we would do it. We would we'd go to the different bank process centers. Where they receive all the money and receive all the checks back and then they would call non negotiables. So part of being a driver, I would have to go to Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport. So from there, there was a gentleman that was a subcontractor for a company. And with that company, they would fly in with their Lear jets. We had approximately five Lear jets that would fly into Phoenix Harbor. And this gentleman, he just, he just really liked the way it worked. So he basically, hired me as a subcontractor. And from that subcontracting job, uh, I was a real good, good go getter, I was a hustler. You know, I would, I would put my hands to the plow and I get it done. So he offered me a contract to, to where I would go to these bank process centers on my own to where eventually I had six drivers. So my responsibility was to pick up the, again, non negotiables or it was money, but paper money for the white collar. A person that was involved in white collar crimes back then would do, they would wash the checks. Okay. And then they would, you know, they would commit fraud. So it was a real high security job. So, when we would go, we, we had approximately six banks. We would pick up their, their checks, some monies and take it to Phoenix Harbor. load up their Learjets, and then they would reach their destinations. So, that's where I originally started off. So eventually, again, too, because of hard work, and then through the grace and favor of God, I ended up getting, uh, contracts with, uh, different companies where we actually dealt with live human organs for transplant. Uh, we dealt from anywhere from hearts, to livers, to eyes. You name it body parts. Okay. For so and then they pay very, very well. Um, also had a contract with a high security government contracts where we would deal with just high security stuff. And there were a few occasions where I would actually have to, they would fly me on on commercial flights and that would felt like. Like I was a spy, I would actually travel with these suitcases and that we had that contract. Another contract that we had was with patients who were getting chemotherapy for cancer treatments. So those medicines, they was processed and manufactured in different parts of the world because they You know, the radiation is not processed here locally or here in the states. So I had had to deal with the federal government. So, and again, dealt with these another contract. They were actual human body parts. Sometimes they were arms, hands, heads. Uh, different. Yes. And those were, at that time they, they were used for, medical students. And so I, I did that. And so what I would do is. A lot of those jobs, we would either fly them out, or we would travel on the flights, or sometimes we would, have a, private Learjet, it would fly us out, and on some of the human organs, we would actually have to drive them out. So, it was, uh, it was an experience, so it was making fairly decent money, uh, six digit figures, and, and it was hard to walk away. But there's one thing when you go down, they think you're hard and you feel it. You know what, um, if it was easy for everyone to do it, the whole world would be doing it. But there, that comes at faith you know, it comes at faith and you just have to, you know, take it, um, pastor who was our lead pastor, our senior pastor. He would always, yeah, there was a way about him. He says, Frankie, it's time to, it's time to let that go. And I said, no, no, because it's hard to walk away when you're making decent money. But I've learned if God calls you, you'll meet that need. You know, God, God will meet that need. Not only will you meet that need, but"He will you'll go above and beyond. But if, like I said, we got to take that step of faith now. We've got to, and like I said, God has given me grace. Uh, I put my hand to the plow. So the same effort that I placed with my business, I've done it in ministry. And you know what? God honors faithfulness. God honors faithfulness, you know, and it's been beautiful. I mean, uh, obviously I haven't starved. I had a roof over my head. I got, God has been, God has been gracious to me. God has been gracious.

Omar: 39:29

I praise God. No, no, thanks for sharing that. Cause I'm sure it's not easy, but. You mentioned the word faith, you know, there's walk, we walk by faith. Sometimes God calls us to step out and do something like, man, what's going to happen? You know, like we, we, we don't know, but that's where the faith, you know, that's one thing that's very important. And that's one thing I believe the enemy comes to attack. He wants to rob us of that, man. Because. That's the one thing that pleases God, when we're by faith. So going back to the ministry, I know you mentioned earlier, even when you were a pastor before you were doing prison ministry. And obviously now are you guys have the home? I would imagine that's for people that come out of prison and people may be trying to get clean from like drugs and stuff.

Frank: 40:13

We, we are, we're not a detox program, but what we do is we, we do have, uh, on occasion, sometimes we make an exception, but what we do, we, we have, uh, we network, have networked with the Department of Corrections here in the state of Arizona. Uh, there are other ministries. with J. C. Wrong to strong. Uh, and then what we do, we also receive some of our residents from behavioral health hospitals. Those that perhaps their issue has not been drugs, but maybe some behavioral health issues. Uh, we received men who They're battling homelessness, um, and, and just from different walks of life. Uh, but like I said, a lot of our residents, again, they, they come from the Department of Corrections and it all gets back to, you know, making ourselves available and not only available, but again, to kind of like what you're doing with the podcast with JC is doing is that we need, we need to come together. And like I says, there are some people that I may be able to reach out to that another ministry may not be able to. There are people that, uh, that JC will reach out to that God will give them grace with that. I can yourself time. Yeah. You know, God has given you a certain grace and favor. So you're doing something that is especially tailor made for you. And it's just learning and finding that niche or find that spot. you know what? It all begins with faithfulness. Um, many, that men here that we have, uh, like I said, Men, people that have been hurt, you know, people who have been misunderstood people, men that are just been broken. I think we've all been broken and sometimes God will allow us to, to be broken so we can have empathy or so that we're able to relate with others. So again, a lot of the men come from DOC and just that network that God has given us. And

Omar: 42:26

you know what, that's a tough ministry. I'm sure there's, there's been days where, man, like maybe you deal with, I don't know, maybe a difficult situation, maybe even a difficult person. What, what keeps you going? Um, and could you give us a story where first shirt, like the difficult, maybe a difficult situation, but maybe a success story, one that comes to mind that, man, this is why I do the work that I do because of, uh, this,

Frank: 42:54

Well, it is difficult. Like I said, I'm a little guy. I'm already a senior citizen, and I thank God here at this facility we're going on five years. I've had some gentlemen when they come in here, man, they'll love you. You're the greatest thing since sliced bread. Oh, they'll love you. You're great. You're all. Thank you. I mean, you hear it. I'm sure you, you've heard some of that as far as your experiences, they're so grateful. But then when it comes time to discipline, when it comes time to enforce the rules, you're the worst. So, and so whatever there is in the face of the earth, they'll accuse you of like, oh, you're just after the money or you don't care. You don't love you just, you know, so those are the highs and lows. But I, like I said, but I've also learned, just like David and his mighty men of valor, it's beautiful to see that some of the men when they come in, oh, man, they're, they're hard. They're, they're used to the prison system. They're, they're used to dealing things the way they, the things in the street. But those same men, once Christ begins to work in their lives, they're the same ones that will, will defend me. They're the same ones that when someone wants to talk about Pastor Frankie, or they want to maybe get a little, you know, get a little attitude with Pastor Frankie, they're the same ones that step up and say, no, no, no, you're not going to deal with that with our pastor. So those are the difficult times. And again, you know, God is also faithful. You know, God knows our hearts. God knows your heart. And when your heart is in the right place, God will defend you. God will put the key people to, to defend you and to watch over you. You asked about success stories. Let me tell you, we've got success stories here. We've had one gentleman in particular. This is kind of a highlight because not only was he able to, to, uh, kick the drugs, but to remain off the drugs. But when this gentleman came into our home, not only was he a drug addicted, not only was he homeless, Not only his family and everyone had given up on him, but he also had AIDS. He was diagnosed with AIDS. So that was a different, that was pretty difficult story because back then, uh, some of the guys like, Oh, he has AIDS, this and that. And it's kind of like, they didn't want him around. But Pastor Raul and myself, we said, we're going to believe in this man. We're going to, we're going to continue that God is going to do work in his life. So what he did, his focus was not to be healed from AIDS, but his focus was discipleship. His focus that he wanted to get his life right with God. So I would say within like five to six months during the, uh, when, during his diagnosis, he would have to go to the doctor. One of the success stories that he, that he encountered in his life was number one. He was, he was healed from AIDS and he has the documentation that proves that he was sick. But now that he's in remission, or I don't know if that's the right word, but now he no longer has AIDS. So not only has he been healed from that, but now he's a businessman. You know, he works for himself. He has his own business. His family has been restored. That's one of the gentlemen. We have other gentlemen where God has, again, not only forgiven, them of their sin. Not only has God restored him, so has restored them personally and their walk back to God, but they're restored back to their wives. Now before, instead of being an absentee father, instead of being an absentee husband, God has restored their marriages. God has restored the relationship with their kids. And now they're serving in our church and ministry. Uh, just countless. There's another young gentleman that a big bruiser and I don't know why, but I always get the big guys. They come in and at first, or, you know, they're kind of rough and tough, but later on, God softens your heart was this African American brother over six foot tall. He, uh, when he first came in, I had to confront him. I don't have any face to face. I had to jump on a chair and I said, Hey, that's, that's, that's not happening. You're not doing that here. You're going to, you're going to, you're going to submit to the discipleship program and they back down. And later on, I had the privilege of marrying him to his beautiful wife. Wow. So came in with no wife. Uh, no family. And now he's again, he's married. He's been married. God has restored his life with a wife and he doesn't have Children. There are a little bit older, but we have that success story. We have also have success stories with men who their relationship with her with her Children's Have been restored, have gentlemen who their children were born when they were incarcerated, never met their children. They come to the home. Uh, we give'em the opportunity to work with the, uh, child Protective Services. They meet their, their, they've met their children for the very first time, and the relationships are, relationships are restored. So we've got a lot of awesome stories. So that God is in the restoration business,

Omar: 48:33

man. Praise God for all that, man. That, that's a lot that you mentioned there, man. That's, that's amazing. And like you mentioned, putting your hands to the plow and doing that, hard ministry, what, what would you say there, there, there's a lot of churches out there that, that don't want to touch these kinds of ministries, you know, to be honest, let's be frank. I'm sure you probably encounter some out there, uh, cause they sent, they sent

Frank: 48:53

them to us.

Omar: 48:54

Yeah, but what would you say to a church, to a pastor that's considering it debating it? Like, man, I want to start this, but man, it's just a little messy, man. It's going to be hard. You know, should I get into this type of ministry? What would you say to somebody that's on the fence as far as like this?

Frank: 49:14

A key thing when God laid this type of ministry on Pastor Raul's heart, because he's a founder, uh, he, he recognized that he, he recognized that it was going to be, it's just going to be a lot of work. And you obviously know what you're talking about as far as it getting messy and getting rough. And what happened is they actually him and his pastor, our witness family, they would just go out to the streets and just reach out to people, hand out water, maybe sandwiches. And so once God places a burden in your heart and pastors and churches, uh, and especially men who feel a passion to perhaps start a men's home or a woman's home, realize this one thing is that it has to be God because not everyone's willing to do it. And second of all, if God gives your vision, obviously for this type of ministry, if he gives it to you. He'll sustain it. And it's gonna, there's gonna be bumps in the road. There's going to be certain path that you might take and it's kind of like, well, this isn't it, but you've got to begin to work, be faithful to God, be faithful to the calling that God has placed in your heart. And secondly, learn to network. That's a big word, you know, churches sometimes. If we have two or three churches, they partner with us. They don't have a men's home, but they say, you know what we want to, how can we participate? How can we help out? But going back to, but if there's a pastor, if there's a layman, there's someone who's in ministry, but you feel a passion. If God has given you a vision and then he's giving you that passion, then he's giving you that vision. Then God will give you the strength and God will provide the means. For you to accomplish what God has placed in your heart, and not everyone wants to do it. And for me, the fact that they have a heart to do with, or they feel that God is leading them to do it, it has to be God. So we just got to continue and partner up, network, you know, partner up and network.

Omar: 51:38

Amen. That's for sure. I think like a lot of times people want to do it on their own, and you mentioned, they're like, man, how do I start it? Why not connect with a ministry that's already doing it? You know, maybe they're looking for volunteers. I had brothers like in the past, where they get saved. Oh, man, I want to, I want to start a homeless ministry. I want to feed the homeless. And, uh, what am I going to call the ministry? How are we going to get the, the food or where are we going to go? And, and, and it hit me like, like later on, like, man, there's already ministries that are doing that work that are looking for, for volunteers. You know, so I, I will say to somebody that has that burden, whether it be like feeding the homeless, maybe prison ministry, instead of trying to figure out from, from the ground up, why not look for a ministry that's doing it and go serve at that ministry, you know, and that's, that's actually how, got started in prison ministry, uh, last year, I connected with a ministry that's already doing it. They've been doing it for years. You know, this pastor's been at it, I think for over like 30 years. You know, a house, national Ministries, uh, pastor Manny Mill, and man, they, they got a team and they're, they do it here in the state of Illinois, they through, throughout the country. So that, that, that's one thing that I would encourage somebody if, if you're listening to this, and man, I, I, I got a heart for the homeless. I got a, a heart for, uh, prison ministry. Man find, find the ministry that's doing it. Maybe they're just looking for volunteers. Go in there. Yes,

Frank: 53:03

serve,

Omar: 53:03

be faithful. And who knows? Maybe God will tell you to start your, it's a matter

Frank: 53:08

part. Partner up. You know, partner up. And, and again, each ministry has a certain, maybe things are a bit different. Why are we, why are we going to reinvent the wheel? Yes. You know, why I do that and then again to go off of that partner up and it can be something as simple as just sticking your toe in the water, you know, putting and then little by little and and like I said, if God has made that passion in in the person's heart or someone's heart of wherever they may be having that faith, having that faith partnering up and go for it. You know, sometimes we just got to go for it.

Omar: 53:51

Get out there, you know, then take that, that big, a step of faith. What's the name of the, of the church and then the group, if you want to mention it. Yeah,

Frank: 54:01

sure. The name of our, of our, our main church, uh, I'll call it some other churches. Uh, uh, okay. It is"Revolution Ministries". We're located in. In tallest Arizona, and it just, it's a small town away from the metropolitan Phoenix within 1520 minutes of downtown Phoenix. So it is Revolution Ministries. Our lead pastors, uh, the founder, and then the men's home is called, uh,"City of Refuge", house of Restoration. Right now, currently we only have one location. We have another location, uh, that we're again ready. It's in Wilcox, Arizona, which is about maybe two and a half, about three, three hours southeast of Phoenix. So, uh, we're looking at using that facility. For the guys that need, you know, they need to be away from town. So we're, we're finishing and hopefully we're looking at very soon of, uh, finishing the remodeling there and opening that home, Wilcox. And we're also looking to, uh, expand to a women's ministry, uh, and women's ministry. I think this might be a little bit tougher, but you know, if we, we have a heart for it and God will bring the blessing. Right. Precise person to work that ministry. And like I says here at this location with city of refuge, uh, this is our own property bought and paid for by the grace of God. We've, we've been for about maybe 5 years, but in being involved in men's ministry, this type of ministry for about 11 years. So that's what we're, we're, we're here, brother. We're, we're not going anywhere anywhere soon. Unless Jesus comes back.

Omar: 55:44

Praise God. No AA that that's some, some awesome work you guys are doing. And, uh, thanks for sharing all those success stories. And man, it sounds like, like you said, you're here and you guys are looking to expand because you, you guys see the need and obviously it's going to take more workers, right? You guys said, you said, uh, two, three hours away from where you're at. I'm sure you guys got to raise up a team and that's where, man, we need a faithful men that, that are going to step in and serve and have a heart for the kingdom, have a heart for God and for a heart for the, for the lost sheep, those that maybe society has given up on, maybe their own families, friends have given up on, but we know like before God is the God of second, third, fourth, fifth chances, right?

Frank: 56:27

Better believe that. And again, to God desires to use broken people, having us not for, for perfect people, not for good people, but people have been forgiven and that's where it goes home. That's what it's all about.

Omar: 56:41

Amen. Amen. Pastor. Hey, Pastor, is there, something you, you want to share? Maybe we, we didn't get a chance to touch on, or maybe a word that the Lord has placed in your heart, maybe for the people that are going to be listening to this.

Frank: 56:51

You know, Omar, I just, I just want to say this again. I mentioned it a few times that God is a God that gives us a second chance. Not only just one second chance, but he's a God of second opportunities. And like I said, God uses broken people. People have been broken, whatever the circumstance in life, whatever it may be. From drug addictions to alcoholism, broken families to pe those who have been incarcerated, God desires to, uh, use you and give God the opportunity. Open your hearts to him. And like I says, once you make yourself available, there's no challenge what God can do with you. And through you don't give up. God has faith in you. God believes in you and we just need to have the faith and the belief in God. And he is faithful. He is.

Omar: 57:48

Yes, he is. Praise God. Hey, uh, pastor, would you like to close this out in a prayer? But we get ready to, I'd love

Frank: 57:53

to pray heavenly father. We, we thank you Lord, uh, for the opportunity that you've given us a time to be able to share Lord, uh, not only to share, but also to share vision, to cast a vision Lord. No, we ask for those that perhaps are going to be listening. God, we ask that by the power of the Holy Spirit, that lives would be touched, that lives would be transformed, God, and that even that there would be many that would accept Christ as Lord and Savior, that they would be forgiven of their sin, God, and that, Lord, that they would come to understand that. And see that God has not rejected them. God has a plan and a purpose for the Lord in spite of whatever they got through. We ask in the awesome, the mighty name of Jesus. We pray. Amen.

Omar: 58:41

Amen. Amen. Thanks a lot for that pastor. I was going to ask you, do you guys, are you guys like on social media, as far as your church? As

Frank: 58:50

far as, as far as their church, we are, uh, uh, we are found on, uh,"Revolution Ministries". Uh, you can find us on there. We haven't. I think I need someone like you with your expertise to create a, uh, To create a social media for us platform for city of refuge. We don't have that yet. Okay. You never know. I'm going to recruit you to come out to Arizona, brother.

Omar: 59:12

Man. Hey, all you got to do send me the plane ticket. All expenses paid and I'm out there. We'll have

Frank: 59:20

to consider that.

Omar: 59:21

My brother, put it that way. Just give me a one way and I'll figure out how to get back.

Frank: 59:26

We'll, we'll, we'll be in touch, bro. Thank you for the opportunity, man. No, no. Hey,

Omar: 59:29

Pastor, God bless you, man. God, once again, that was a"Revolution Ministries". And then the other one was a"City of Refuge" and man, they're doing amazing work. So if, if I find out like the, the website for the church or even this, I'll put it on the, like on the description for. Okay. For podcast, you know, that way people get in touch with you guys and, uh, keep this ministry in prayer. And man, I, I pray that God, uh, raises up the team that you guys are gonna need, you know, to go, to have that other, uh, location going, you know, and amen. And he continue to provide in every way. Uh, and, and thanks for being out. Amen. All right, we're gonna get ready to, to, uh, uh, Matthew four 16 reads, the people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death. Light has dawned alongside my guest, Pastor Frank Robles. My name is Omar Calvillo and we are Wrong To strong.