"Don't Do Life Alone" ft. Arturo Gamino & Cisco Terrazas

The Impact of Life Groups: Building Community and Faith 

In this episode of the From Wrong to Strong podcast, host Omar Calvillo sits down with guests Cisco Terrazas and Arturo Gamino to discuss the significance of Life Groups at New Life Community Church. They delve into the benefits of being part of a community of men who are seeking God together, the structure of typical Life Group meetings, and the transformational impact these groups can have on individuals and their families. Tune in to learn about the power of community, vulnerability, discipleship, and the importance of taking breaks for personal growth and reenergization. Get encouraged to step out of isolation and connect with a supportive group that fosters faith and personal development.

https://newlifecommunity.church/

Transcript

Speaker: 0:15

From the city of Chicago, a city most recently known for its crime and violence from 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 guest 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. Hello everyone and welcome to another episode of From Wrong to Strong podcast. I'm your host. My name's Omar Calvio, and tonight we're doing something we haven't done in a while. I got a couple guests with me. Uh, these guys were my original victims when I started my podcast. And what I mean by that is, man, we, I, I didn't know what I was doing, but these two brothers here got Cisco, got Arturo. They were the first guys that stepped up to the plate and joined me here for interviews. Man, that was o over two and a half years ago. Uh, so in a couple months? Yeah, two months. It's actually gonna be three years that we've been doing this on October 2nd. Uh, it'll be three years. But yeah. Anyways, uh, Cisco and Arturo were, uh, uh, two of the first guys. That man basically, uh, supported. Uh, when I told'em we we're gonna do this, man, they stepped up to the plate and they shared their testimony. They shared their stories, and, uh, here we are. Uh, and not, not, not, not only that, but I've known these brothers for years. Um, we do, uh, we go to the same church, uh, new Life Community Church, started off in, uh, Garfield Ridge, and now we're at, uh, new Life, Cicero. I think I've been there since, if I'm not mistaken, 2018, somewhere around there. Uh, but yeah. WW uh, welcome to the podcast Brothers.

Speaker 2: 2:09

Thank you, bro. Man, man. Yeah. Thanks for having us again.

Speaker: 2:11

So, yeah, it, it's been, it is been a while. And then, uh, they, they did the original interviews, like I mentioned, way back in the beginning it was just audio. We didn't have no video. Mm-hmm. Uh, but even throughout the last two and a half years, you, you guys have joined me to do. Yeah, I believe it's been group. I don't think we've done nothing individual. No. Yeah. It was like similar to this, right? Yeah, exactly. Yeah. So, man. But, but anyways, I know, you know, if we, people that haven't, uh, uh, heard from you guys, maybe, uh, people never heard your testimony. You want to give maybe a little short intro to who you are? Maybe tell'em a little bit about yourself.

Speaker 2: 2:42

Yeah, sure. Uh, I'll start with, uh, me, uh, Cisco Terrazas, um, family of, uh, three children, uh, married. Um. An engineer, uh, manager and management now actually just moved into management, uh, about a little over a year ago now. So praise God for that one. Um, been, uh, now leading, uh, classes, which we're gonna be talking about, uh, in a bit, uh, for a group, for life groups, uh, for men. Uh, it's, it's been great. I mean, honestly, it's just even participating and just kinda helping out wherever I can with, uh, from Rock to Strong ministry as well. Uh, just helping out Omar wherever, wherever we can. So. Yeah. Yeah. It's just been, it's been fun so far, man.

Speaker: 3:24

Amen. Amen. Amen.

Speaker 3: 3:25

What about your, I'm Arturo Gamino, um, married, um, gonna be 20 years this fall. Congrats. Yeah. Next month. So, um, got two boys or two young men. Uh, got a old grandson. Two dogs and a cat, and a partridge and a p ridge and aar tree. And no mice. No mice.

Speaker: 3:47

Not no more,

Speaker 3: 3:48

not no more after the cat. Yeah. No. But, uh, but yeah, I've been, um, uh, like I mentioned, I got a family, um, part of New Life Cicero, um, for, for quite a while. Um, and, um, and been involved, um, in different, um, aspects, um, serving in, in, in the church, uh, part of the, um. The men's ministry and part of the, uh, our security team, um, and just always trying to serve in different ways. Amen. Amen.

Speaker: 4:15

Amen. So, no, today the reason we we got together is at, at, at our church and New Life. They have what's called the small groups. Uh, but now they call'em life groups. So it's basically, um, groups, obviously the one we're in for men. But our church has groups for women. They have a marriage group. Uh, they got a group for, uh, youth. Uh, so I wanted to get these brothers, uh, together'cause. Usually in the fall, which is like in the beginning of September, mid-September, they launch the groups, meaning that for the summer, uh, we, we, we take like, uh, two months off, you know, I think it's from like June all the way to, yeah, to September, actually, like maybe like three months off, right? Mm-hmm. Uh, but, but I believe that that's very important.'cause man, uh, the, the volunteers that lead these groups, uh, the group leaders, man, they, they spend a lot of time, uh, preparing themselves, you know, studying, uh, getting in the word man. It involves, um. Buying snacks for the group. It's, it's, it's a lot of work. So, uh, I, I believe it's, it's great that we take a a, um, a break in the summer, right? Like, to, to It's refreshing.

Speaker 3: 5:16

Yeah. Yeah. It's, um, you know, gives you, um, it's just, yeah, like a time to refresh to, to reenergize. Mm-hmm. You

Speaker: 5:23

know what, I know we're gonna get into it, that, uh, we're gonna get into some questions, but I, I let, let, let, uh, let's start there. Uh,'cause obviously these two brothers, like I said, they lead, uh, men's groups. But, uh, let's start off with why, why is it important to take a break in the summer? You know?

Speaker 2: 5:36

Mm-hmm. Yeah. I mean, um, for one, uh, we're, we're kind us as leaders, we're constantly pouring out, right? Um, we're leading, uh, a group of men or just a group of people, uh, with the word. So it's like. We're trying to like, prepare ourselves with the material and stuff like that. And that's taking up your personal time, right? Um, that could be personal time. You could be either with your family or doing other stuff. You know, me, I work from home in a sense, and there's times where I can take like little snippets of breaks where I can kind of use that time to come up with material and stuff like that for, uh, for leading groups, you know? So it's like, it's like you've, you've told me in the past, or told us actually in the past, it's like, you gotta count the cost. Because it's constantly pouring out. Um, yeah. I mean, granted the men will pour in, but the time, um, it, it, it doesn't happen as often as we would want. So even taking that break helps us to actually get poured back in, in other ways, you know? Whether it be in prayer, right? We had the time to do more in prayer. Or even just like family, just in general, like family gatherings and stuff like that. It's the time we take off to go on vacations. Yeah. Family vacations, stuff like that, you know, so Well, what about

Speaker: 6:46

you,

Speaker 2: 6:46

Arturo?

Speaker 3: 6:47

Yeah. Well, why is it important, right, to take a break in the summer? It's, uh, first, like I mentioned, it's, it reenergizes you, refreshes you. Um, and, and at the same time you're preparing yourself. To be healthy, to be better, um, for when the season comes around. That way you're, you are, like you mentioned, we're pouring out, right. But you're giving, uh, uh, the best you can to, to the men's group or whatever group you are involved in. Um, uh, at the same time, like you, family is very important, you know, like it does take some time away. You mentioned, uh, you know, during the week we're preparing, uh, we're trying to find resources and then come the day of, of the group, we also, um. There. Uh, you know, and then on top of that, you know, we have work, family, different, you know, we come across issues as well, worries, problems. Um, and we got, we, you know, we have our relationship with God as well that, that we need to continue, uh, growing in. Uh, so it just, it's just a, a good time to refresh, right? I know the Bible talks about the Sabbath, right? About resting. Um, and, but we rest in him right where he gives us, uh, strength. So summertime is, is a good time for a break. Um, but also use it wisely, right? Yeah. Mm-hmm. Oh

Speaker: 7:57

yeah, definitely. Yeah. Yeah. There's gotta be some wisdom in that. And, uh, definitely, uh, investing into the marriage, investing into the children, grandchildren. Grand. Yeah, man, it's, uh, and even then, like fellowship and we, whatever has got places, but, uh, I know we're, we're, we're, we're, we're gonna, we're gonna get into like leading a group, but let's, let's go to the beginning, obviously before you guys became leaders, like, uh, leading a men's group. You had to be part of a group, right? Mm-hmm. Like get poured into,

Speaker 3: 8:21

yeah.

Speaker: 8:21

So how, how have li uh, life groups, small groups helped you personally? What, what, what did that do for you? Like, if you could go back, like, to the beginning, let's say maybe when you first started coming to church. Okay. And when you could, you know, when you, maybe you step foot into a group, what was the mentality? And then eventually as, as, as you plugged into a group. What, what did that do in your life? Okay.

Speaker 2: 8:42

Actually, what I forgot to add into my little introduction is that I've met both you guys through New Life, Cicero. So that's something, and, and I think I've been coming, uh, to New Life, Cicero since 2017, somewhere around that time. Um, and the first group that I got plugged in was with, um, it was furnace. I wanna say it was furnace first. And that was when, um, brother Rudy was actually, uh, Soto was a running furnace, you know? And then eventually I, uh, then found out that Arturo. Let his Bible classes. Uh, I don't know if it's always been on Thursdays. I don't know if it's, it might have changed, but Feels like it. Yeah. I wanna say back, back then, it might have been. It might've been. Yeah, it might've been. But um, yeah, so it's like the, that was my, my first official Bible studies.'cause furnace was more like for prayers, which was very powerful in a, in a sense.'cause it was just a men in a group of circle and just heavily praying man. And that, and that was beautiful. Uh, and then bible studies with Arturo was like, it's like the 1 0 1. It's like learning. To, to learn about the Old Testament, the New Testament, and all these books and stuff like that, you know? So, yeah. So it was definitely, uh, Arturo. Arturo was my, my first go-to, you know. Sorry, man. I tried. Hey, he still here,

Speaker 3: 9:53

right? Um, yeah, for me, uh, uh, uh, groups at the beginning were, were really good because first it's, it was, um, uh, you know, uh, you, you, you kinda mentioned as a new believer, right? Right. Um, uh, so when you're starting off, you, you just kind, you don't know where to go. Uh, so it's, it's first, it's like kind of, um. A form of direction, right? You have people there that can maybe, okay, well what do I do as a new, uh, Christian man? Or, or, you know, mm-hmm. Well, what, what do I need to learn? And so you got people there to help you, uh, just guide you and just, you know, answer some simple questions or some deeper questions. So, mm-hmm. Uh, so for me it was very helpful. It, it, it, um, it, you know, you, like you said, you learn things, uh, um, biblically, um, how to walk, you know, part of the Christian life. Um, and, um, and so. Starts, it starts making you think, you know, okay, maybe, you know, when you first come to Christ, you don't know. You hardly know anything. Right? Um, but you, you know that you're in need of a savior. That's why you came to Christ. But then you start learning certain things. We grow up a certain way and we might have, uh, the old way of thinking about religion or whatnot, and it helps clear things up. So,

Speaker: 11:03

yeah. You know what me, like when I, when I started, uh, well here at, uh. New life, uh, uh, uh, Garfield Ridge. When we were meeting at Kennedy High School, I had been outta church for like two, two years plus maybe like two and a half years. So when I started going to church again, I had a, a hesitation about connecting, like with a small group, you know, with a, with a live group. And back then they were meeting at a pastor, uh, Roger Cortez house. So shout out to Pastor Roger and that's. We're with, with, with Heit. I, I, I gotta say it with, uh, hesitancy. And then the reason I wanna share it,'cause maybe there's some men out there that man, maybe you hesitate like, man, I don't, you know, I'm not one. I, I've had people tell me, man, I don't wanna go to a men's group. They're gonna make me talk. You know, I don't want to talk, I don't want talk to strangers, you know? Mm-hmm. I gotta share personal stuff, you know? I don't even share personal stuff with people that I know. So I, I, I feel you. If that's you. Yeah, man, I feel you. And I get you and I, and I went to a group just like that. Like, man, I'm just gonna sit in here. I'm gonna listen to these guys talk and I'm not gonna say nothing. And to be honest, I think maybe for the first couple of weeks I was like that. But then, man, I got to meet, uh, pastor Juan, uh, Rudy and, uh, pastor Roger and all the men that were, that were meeting back then. And little by little, you know, I guess the, the wall started coming down and I was able to connect. And here we are, like, I think I started in 2014 with New Life, if I'm not mistaken. So it's been 10, 11 years later. Uh, for me personally, like, like I said, it was like a slow process. Like, and, and, and, and the, the reason I share that is man, man, if you're not plugged in, if you're not connected. Man, start off slow, you know, like go, go to the group and just, uh, and, uh, listen to the, to the teaching, to the lesson. Mm-hmm. And, and what really like, uh, made me connect is hearing the, the vulnerability and transparency of other men.

Speaker 2: 12:46

Yeah.

Speaker: 12:47

Like to, to hear man talk about man, like their struggles, things that they're going through. And here I am just sitting there listening like, man, I'm, I'm going through some of that. Yeah. Like, man, and, and, and then it made me like be late. Relate to, to connect. Yeah, it's connect, you know, so, but yeah, I just wanna share that, man. It's definitely blessed me personally. And obviously you grow in all the lessons, Bible studies and, and I, and I love the fact that they're, the lessons are geared for men. So it's not just Bible study, but they're like. Practical life lessons, right? Mm-hmm.

Speaker 3: 13:16

No, absolutely. They're, they're, they're more specific, right? Um, uh, and, and um, a lot of times, you know, people may think, like you, you mentioned, oh man, I don't want to go, or, you know, what are they gonna talk about? Feel uncomfortable. Mm-hmm. Um, and, but, but they are geared towards men. That's the whole idea. Right? And, and, and because, and so, um, and, and. There's, there's, they're specific, you know, because men, everyone goes through things differently. We have a variety of groups of life groups, men, women, youth, married couples. Um, and so obviously the, the reason for different groups is because there's different needs. Uh, and so we try to, um, uh, be able to connect with those needs. Um, as us as men, we know some of the things that we go through, we struggle. Uh, so it's like you mentioned, vulnerability is important to, to be. For us to be vulnerable. But he, like, uh, Omar mentioned if you feel hesitant about going go, um, part of our, our, our, we share some guidelines, not, you know, not so much rules, but just to make the environment more comfortable. And one of'em is, um, that if you don't feel like talking or sharing, that's fine. That absolutely fine kickback. Listen. Um, you know, we have uh, some men that have been around for months and still. Don't share, you know, I mean, they talk, don't get me wrong. Right. But, but I get that point. I, because I'm, I'm also that way and that made me think too, like, so that was, even though I wanted to learn more my be, I'm introverted, so being introverted made me hesitant because, man, I don't want to talk, don't ask me questions, but we create an environment like, Hey, you're welcome to share. Um. If you want to. If you don't, I get, we get it, you know? Yeah.

Speaker 2: 14:56

Amen. I think the key thing that you both bring up is the environment. Um, it's about making the environment comfortable for men to wanna come through. And I think that's where, um, where I know a lot of men probably are hesitant and wanna say, well, I don't wanna become vulnerable and stuff like that.'cause that's not how we all each grew up. More than likely, you know? Um, it's been more like a. Manly man's world where, um, you know, we're not here to show our feelings and stuff like that. And to be honest with you, that's all lies. That's all lies from the enemy man. Um, you, you, you, you know, the, the whole purpose to know and to get to know, uh, Christ and God is for you actually to make yourself, uh, vulnerable. Uh,'cause that's the only way your true emotions and feelings of what's really in, um, inside of you is what was trying to come out. But there's a force, there's a negative force that. It's trying to tell you like, no, don't, don't let that out. That's not supposed to seep out. And that's, that's, that's the lie. Um, because I remember even coming to church, I was hesitant. I'm like, I, I don't even know if I belong here. Um, even at times where, um, where I was first starting to lead is actually with your, uh, uh, Wednesday workouts on, uh, Wednesdays. And even then I was even hesitant. I'm like, I don't think I'm ready because. I feel like I'm not well prepped and stuff like that. And, and again, these are all things that, you know, just comes in the back of our minds. And these are things that we, we can't allow, uh, to take a hold of it. It's like we, we kind of have to get ourselves in this uncomfortable spot. You know, we can't always be in a comfortable place, you know, in order for us to see growth and, um, success. It's actually getting yourself out of those comfort zones and actually throwing yourself, uh, to, to move to something greater that actually God wants you to do, you know, in a sense.

Speaker: 16:43

You know? Yeah, I, I think that word you mentioned growth. That, that's the word that was coming to my mind. If you wanna see growth, sometimes you gotta put yourself out there. Mm-hmm. And put yourself in uncomfortable situations that ultimately will bring growth in our lives in many ways. You know, now you, you know, if somebody's gonna be watching this, how, how does a typical group structure look like? How does it start, you know, what are the, how, how does the group look like, I guess if they go

Speaker 3: 17:05

Yeah. Typical. So we meet on Thursday nights, um, seven o'clock. Right. Um, I get there a little early, uh,'cause we have some men that, that come earlier. Um, and, uh, so typical, um, you know, some little conversations and as time goes on we get more guys coming in. So then either we get a big conversation going or some conversations kind of break out. Uh, we have, um, food available, um, snacks. Um, and so people are eating, you know, breaking bread, right? Some fellowship going on at the beginning. And then, um. And then we'll, uh, get into, um, into, uh, worship, um, praise and worship. We try to do a song or two. Um, and then we, um, and then so some of the lessons, uh, most of the lessons are brought through, uh, like a video format. A short video, uh, maybe about 10 to 15 minutes at most. Um, and it's usually a pastor, uh, that, um, that that'll have these studies, uh, these series set up. So we do series. Um, they're anywhere from like four to eight weeks. Um, and, um, and so after that we'll break down, we'll break into, um. Into some questions and just kind of go over it, what we listened to, what we heard, and the scripture that was shared. Um, so last season we were doing, we actually went through the whole book of Romans and we started it in January all the way through June. So six months we were studying the book of Romans. Um, and um, and that's actually been the longest, um, session we've had. Um, we, we usually have the same amount of time of, of study, right? Like January through, that's the winter session, right? January through June. Um. We will have like these sessions that are four to eight weeks. This one ran all the way straight through. Um, and I think prior to that in the fall we had maybe two or three sessions. Um, but basically like we mentioned earlier, there, there, there are, uh, sessions, biblical sessions that are, that, um, apply to our lives, men's lives, how. You know, how do we grow? How do we fight these battles? What do we do with this? How do we react to that? Um, and so, uh, and, and as we're doing that, um, everyone, you know, will, not everyone will answer, right? Um, whoever's comfortable, some are very comfortable, some are not. But we hear everyone, uh, everyone will share if they wanna share. And then PE people, the men pick off off of that. Um, and like you mentioned, oh man. I was going through that, or I'm going through that, you know, or it could be someone who hasn't spoken, but, and they can say, Hey man, I know I've never really spoken, but that really grabbed me, you know? Yeah. And I'm going through the same thing and I thank you, or whatever. Or they'll give some input, you know? So, but that's kind of how it, uh, a night will go, um, you know, some fellowship, some food, uh, praise and worship. Um. You know, the message, uh, the study and, uh, and then prayer. We try to make some time for prayer as well. Any prayer requests. Um, if, you know, sometimes people are not comfortable praying, um, you know, put a prayer request and we'll pray for you. Um, we pray together. So that's, that's a typical night.

Speaker: 20:11

Amen.

Speaker 3: 20:11

That's, that's kind of similar for

Speaker 2: 20:12

the Yeah, to be honest with you. I'll just piggyback off of that. So. Yeah, same thing, same, same thing here. I mean, obviously he'll, he leads the, um, Thursday, uh, evening groups. Uh, I'll be leading the Wednesday evening groups for men. Um, mine's just a little different. Um, and, and I know we'll get to, in regards to what that topic is, but it's Oh, right. Uh, just because there's a need of, I guess, us as leaders to start pulling men up, man, like really start pulling men up and, and start, uh, encouraging them. Encouraging them to, to, to be more, to wanna do more, uh, uh, to be more present in general, not just in church, not just coming on Sundays. Uh, but to wanna connect, be part of community, and hopefully, eventually also lead like us just in general, you know? Uh, because we need more leaders, you know? Yeah. Uh, we don't, we don't have enough, you know, and, and I know it's been, um, I know it first started off with both you guys for quite some time, and then I kind of jumped on, uh, afterwards, you know, and. And it's been great, but it's like, but you know, from what I've seen in his class, just in general, it's a growth and it's been a big growth, thank God to that. Um, and it's not, you know, like I don't want men to just just come and, you know, just be a part of something where it's just like, like the, the Bible says it's like just filling yourself with milk and honey. Let's, let's get above that. There's, there's men that, that need more. You know what I mean? The meat, the Bible. Yeah. Like yeah, they need the beef, you know, the beef stuff, you know, the meat and potatoes as say, right. The beef. Yeah, exactly. You know, and I think that's a little more on my end of what I'd be teaching and stuff like that. Uh, just bringing'em more into like that discipleship, you know, taking that step further. What is my next goal? What is my next step? You know? And a lot of men, they don't know just the same way as we started, uh, you know, when we started coming into, uh, life Group. As we call it now. Um, we weren't sure. It was like an unsure, it was like a question mark. What, what are we supposed to do? What are, you know, but this is all a, a, a part of the process. That it's not just a physical thing, but more like this is your time to. To, uh, spend time with God, uh, get in prayer and actually ask him yourself, what, what should I be doing? What do you need me to do? Yeah. And that's what each and every one of us, that, that was a part of our process, you know? Yeah. Now, thank God, it's like he's given us and equipped us with the right tools that we're able to now lead and, and, and, and move forward, you know? Amen. In a sense. You,

Speaker: 22:33

you, you, you know what, um, the next question is, it ties into group and, uh, can, can you share like a story without naming names of someone who's been impacted? By connecting with a group. Maybe somebody like throughout the years, I know you, you, you know, you guys been doing it for a while, uh, without naming names, uh, like a story of, uh, a testimony. Maybe somebody gave you some feedback how the, how being part of a life group helped them, whether personally in their family or in a situation that they were going through. Mm-hmm.

Speaker 3: 23:03

Um, praise God, man, that, that I, I think of so many names, so many, you know, um, and as it's really a blessing, right? To, to be able to see lives being changed. Um. And so I, you know, you said without naming names, without names, yeah. Yeah. Example. Yeah. So, but there's, there's, there's so many examples. Um, I think of one brother. Um, so he started coming, man, I think even before COVID, I wouldn't, he was hesitant to come. He would come once in a great while, he would come with his girlfriend and, um, girlfriend. His girlfriend was involved, um, in the church, right? Um, but he was like, ah, he come here and there and cool, really cool guy. Um, and he, even one time he came to a, a. Um, a men's retreat. And um, and I remember he told me the next day, he's like, man, I went to the men's retreat. I looked in there and I walked right out, you know, and I would hardly see him. So I would see him here and there. Um, and I would always tell him about the group. Men's group. Men's group. We would never come. Right? Uh, I think the year, the next year, he finally, at this time he did go and stay at the men's retreat. Um, and man, he just loved it, you know? And then shortly after that started coming to the, the, uh, the men's group and, you know, and years later he's been coming. He's been coming now for a few years. Um, and now, you know, he, he got baptized recently. He, he, um, got married, you know, so like really, he really just involved now, like, you know, they're, they're doing the, the, the, he's even serving, you know, and he's, uh, and they do, you know, the marriage, uh, groups. Um, and so. Just to hear him like really mad, like, I'm glad from where he used to be at to like, man, mm, you know, now, like just part of the, uh, the church of God really working in his life, you know? Um, you know, like all of us we're not perfect, but, but really seeking Gods just to, for, uh, just to change things in our lives, be surrendered. Uh, I think of man of another, another gentleman, um, who, who, um, who was. Incarcerated for a long time and recently joined us, you know, and he has some, I guess some, his part of his release, he has some stipulations, but, and, and I think it was like a year, year and a half of that. Um, and man, we would pray about things and he was able to go to certain places only, you know, and men's group was one of'em. And he's like, man, he loved it. He, you know, it, it served them, it filled them. Um, and, you know, but he, you know, we would talk about things about patience, you know,'cause he's waiting to get off this stipulation. Um, and, and just the growth, you know, I would see him sometimes, um,'cause he would get there before everyone, and he'd be at, at church. He Right. He'd be at the altar just praying by himself, you know, like, really seeking God, you know? Uh, so, and he's like, man, and, and same thing. He, you know, he would say, man, this, this group has helped me a lot, you know? Um. And man, like I said, I, I, God man, I just see, you know? Amen. Yeah. So it's, and um, and even another brother I think of, you know, um, um, and I think he started coming. I, I actually had known him and his family for a long time. Um, and, but he had heard your podcast and I think that's how he got connected back to New Life, Cicero. But he, he, he did, he brought, started bringing his family, uh, and, and just started bringing others that, that, that, that, that, um, that I've known as well. Right. That, uh, um, but, and, and to the group, you know, um, and, and so. He's, you know, he's been around now, maybe a year or two now, uh, over a year for sure. Um, and just, you know, he's, he's also starting to step up. Um, he grew up in, in a Christian home, but there's always that struggle, you know, and I'm sure there's probably people out there too, that man grow, maybe grew up in a, in a, in a Christian home. Parents were. You know, uh, took you to church or something and, but, um, man, God's God has got a plan no matter, you know, how old we think we are, what we've done. Um, there's always a time, you know. But again, man, like, like I said, there's stories after stories, after stories. Uh, so man, you know, uh, and like you mentioned, it does get tiring, right? Putting in, but man, that reward that, seeing that, it's like, man, praise God, you know? Mm-hmm.

Speaker: 27:00

You, you, I would say those, those testimonies are, are where will make you want to keep going, right? Yes. Yeah. Yeah. Let's

Speaker 3: 27:06

it,'cause there,

Speaker: 27:06

there

Speaker 3: 27:07

are times you get worry. Yeah. You get very, you know, you get tired and worry, but, but praise God. You know, if, like, if we lean on our own emotions or whatnot, you know, it's like, man, we're, we're quick to, to, you know, not allow God. So.

Speaker: 27:19

Yeah. Man. What about you Cisco? Anything comes to mind about somebody in group? Well,

Speaker 2: 27:23

you guys are the OGs. You guys got a lot of stories. I don't got a whole lot, but, but if I can just actually bring up once specifically, um, I mean, we're, me and this brother we're, we're very, uh, close. Um, he's actually one I actually also mentored and, uh, helped into baptism as well. And, um, I, I remember, uh, just him, actually, if, if I could just quickly tell you a story. I remember him coming to church, uh, and he came in late and it was, it was a rainy day and he's like, oh, did, did church start? I remember he telling me, and, and I remember I was doing security with Arturo that day, and he's like, and I told him, yeah, yeah, it, it started already, I think we're like a half an hour in and he was ready to walk away actually. I told him, where are you going? He's like, oh, well it's, it's almost over. And I'm like, it's never too late. That's literally the only words I said to him. It's never too late. And there was something about those words that he turned around, he looked at me, he's like, okay. So he, he walked right in. And ever since then, it's been a, it's been a very, uh, deep relationship with me and this brother, you know, and, uh, I've just seen him grown. Uh, and I mean, it's been a little over, I think I wanna say over a year now. Since, since we've known each other and he's grown immensely, man. I remember him actually, um, first starting initially with your group, Arturo, and he actually moved on to another group, and now I see him actually pouring into these other men out to another church location. And I remember him, he, he asked me if I can come, uh, to one of his, uh, teachings. He was gonna actually lead. Uh, one night, and I told him, yeah, that's fine. You know, um, you know, I wanted to support him, you know, because I, I see this growth in him. And man, when I saw him lead that night, I was like, who the, who is this guy? Like, man, it is like, I'm not gonna lie. It's like this guy was like, he had, he was on fire, like I knew. That was the Holy Spirit literally just pouring out on him because he sounded like a pastor. Mm-hmm. And I never, never heard those words. And I told him like, man, what, what happened? You know, he is like, I don't know, man. He's like, something just took over. I'm like, yeah, the Holy Spirit. That's, that's what it was. Um, you know, so that's one, definitely one story I'm gonna keep like near and dear to my heart because not only have I seen it, him just kind of growing in the church and even within the church community. Uh, but you know, he tells me even how he. How he's trying to regain a relationship with his family and stuff like that, and everything that he's doing, even outside of church. And I just give him praise, man. I give him praise and I keep telling him, man, just keep doing it, man. It's like God's really, really working in his heart, you know? And, and I know a lot of people say, well man, I'm too old. I'm too old for this. And. You're never too old. Trust me. If it's one thing I, I, I, I can understand is that age doesn't count, man. Once we get to heaven, man, um, which is literally our goal, man, to, to, to be up there with the riches and the glory that God is promising us, right? If, if we're willing to take the step and, and, and walk this neural path and picking up our daily cross, right? Um, that's the end game. That's the end goal. And there is no such thing.'cause there's a lot of things that, you know, that God is promising us, you know, and that's what we're fighting for. You know, here on this, on this earthly world, you know, so. Amen.

Speaker: 30:32

Amen. Oh, that, that, that's that. That's great, man. Some good, good, uh, uh, testimonies, like I said, that, that that's what keeps you, like, well, wanting to come back and continue to grow our ourselves or yourselves, and continue to pour, man. Yeah. Now, in this upcoming season, which probably in a couple weeks, I think we're gonna launch the groups. Uh, what lessons or, uh, teachings are you guys gonna be doing, uh, in the season? Okay. What's the, yeah. Uh, so

Speaker 3: 30:56

I got, um. I got this one lesson picked out already. Um, and it's, it's the parables of Jesus. Uh, so that's a 12 session, um, study. So it should take us through the, the whole, uh, from September to December. Then we take a, a break, uh, um, over the holidays. But, um, that's, uh, that's, that's the one we'll be doing. Okay. The parables of Jesus. So it's actually a, a study. Uh, I got workbooks. Um, they're, they're in the mail right now. They're being, uh Oh, nice. They're out. Yeah. So I ordered some, a lot of books. Um, and, um, so, um, we'll be studying. It's, um, you know, and just, just there, you know, we, I was asking you guys,'cause, you know, I pray about it and I, I'm trying to figure out always what, what, um, lesson we should do, what, what, uh, studies we should do. And I really wanted to be a God thing, not, you know, not my own uh, uh, choosing. Um, and so this one really stood out. I had already, some other ones picked out. This one really stood out and so I was asking some of the brothers and, um, and, um. So I asked you guys and, and you were like, yeah, man, they both and they both, you guys both said similarly the same thing that Yeah, it's kind of the, the parables are. Simple stories, but they're very profound. Yeah, they're very deep and, and, and, and man, like it really opens your eyes whenever you're going through in life. It's, it's, uh, it's going to be relatable. So,

Speaker: 32:19

amen. And, and, and you, you can't go wrong.'cause basically the parables are lessons that Jesus taught. And you can't go wrong with studying the words of Jesus, especially. Exactly. Yeah. What in the Bible, if you guys are not familiar, they call'em the red letters. The red. Yes. Anytime Jesus is talking, basically they print'em in red just to like distinguish it from, from other, uh, writing or other scriptures. But man, like, as, as you were talking right, of the parables, they're like, man. Can't go wrong with you when you're listening to Jesus for, uh, 12 weeks straight. So definitely man, check that out, man. Amen. So what about you, uh, Cisco? What, what do you got planned for this, uh,

Speaker 2: 32:52

season? Uh, well, my class is more, uh, like I was kind of saying like a discipleship kind of a program. Uh, this one actually, the study, um, that I decided to kind of pick off of is actually from a book. Uh, from a chaplaincy, uh, training that you actually went through. And, uh, oh, so that's a, a Christian chaplains and coaching. There you go. That I, and, uh, they, they actually have some, um, the author, I can't remember the top of my name. Uh, uh, uh, chaplain Jim Kirkland. There you go. Um, I gotta give him a shout out, man. Yes. Shout out to him, man. Uh, great, great book and everything. Um, here. I'll get that. Get out of the way. All right. All right. Thank you sir. No problem. No problem. Uh, he has, uh, eight, eight core values in there that he, um, actually, uh, talks about and they're beautiful man. Uh, I thought that they were act they're actually very, very powerful in a sense. I know it's a chaplaincy book, but if we really. Uh, put if we really, uh, define chaplaincy. Also, it's, it's a part of discipleship as well. I figured. I'm like, this is gonna literally tie into what, uh, I'd like to lead for, uh, uh, these, uh, for group, for, for men this year. So that would be, there's eight total values, um, core values, but I'm gonna break'em up. A little further so we can kind of extend it. Hopefully it'll hold us out to like, maybe the end of December, but I, I'm, I'm already like trying to pick out, uh, bible verses scripture. I already got some writing kind of going on, so, um, I also wanted to actually thank you because, you know, I, I was gonna take, I was gonna take lead on this, and you're like, Hey man, maybe you should ask for an assistant or something like that, right? And I'm like, he's like, why, why am I not making my life easier here? You know what I mean? It's like, ask for an assistant. Funny thing is that I did actually find somebody, uh, thank God, um, to also help to assist as well. Amen. You know, so that's a, that's a really good thing. Um, you know, it's like, uh, it's again, it's like we don't wanna, it's not like we're, we're saying that we don't wanna take the burden, but it's like, but if you can help to alleviate yourself, I mean, that's what God is also asking us to do too. So that's something I gotta also, uh, just wanna say shout out and thanks to that person as gonna be assisting. Um, but yeah, it's gonna be the core value.

Speaker 4: 34:53

And I think it's gonna be great. It's gonna be beautiful, man. Um, I'm more on the writing. I'm the kind of person that's more like, I need to kind of think and put it on paper and I kind of need to see it on paper in order for me to kind of see how I'm gonna be leading. So. Gotcha. Oh yeah, yeah.

Speaker 5: 35:08

That, that, that's a good way to, to go about it.

Speaker 4: 35:09

Yeah.

Speaker 5: 35:10

You know what, uh, you bring up something good about the importance of having an assistant, but, but, but not only that, like, even with me, like I think about me, like when I started assisting back then, I think it was Rudy. Rudy Sotos always his assistant and just helping him, whatever he needed. You know, maybe on days he couldn't lead the group, I would step in, but it's mostly, Hey, bring snacks, whatever, praying, you know, in the beginning. Yeah, like, like small responsibilities. Yeah. Yeah. But it that, that, that's where you grow. So first it starts by joining the, the life group. Mm-hmm. Then it starts by serving in the life group, you know, helping any way you can, and then. Uh, leadership, you know, where, where, where you got and, and, and somebody did that for us. Like I know the, he, he did it for me. Uh, you know, like somebody did it for, for you guys. And it's important to bring others along right. To yeah. To, to grow them as well, man to, uh, that that's his.

Speaker 6: 35:59

Yeah. No, absolutely. And that's, that's the idea, right? And that's what Jesus had disciples, right? And so, like you said, Rudy. You were his assistant. I, I would assist you when you started do leading groups, you know, and then now, you know, like, and then that's the idea. We just grow. We grow. Mm-hmm. And we pour out, you, you're talking about discipleship, right? Mm-hmm. And, and, and so that's the whole idea is discipleship. Yeah. You know, they help with the load, but also like, we wanna see them grow and then we wanna see them. Raise up other people to, to serve as well, because that's the whole idea is like the, just to, you know, and that's, that's real discipleship. Yeah. Yeah. You

Speaker 5: 36:34

discipleship and multiplication. Amen. Amen. Amen.

Speaker 6: 36:37

Yes.

Speaker 4: 36:38

Yeah.

Speaker 6: 36:39

Amen.

Speaker 4: 36:39

Yeah. We're just here to model it, you know what I mean? Like we want them to kind of see, and of course, obviously not model it through. Through like, what we're the one, like from us, it's more like through what's God doing for us and through us, just in general, that's what we wanna model. Hopefully they can see that and they would wanna say, man, I, I wanna do this too. You know what I mean? Like, I wanna one day hopefully lead also, uh, a group of men and stuff like that. So that's what we're trying to do. Amen. You know,

Speaker 5: 37:05

you know, and staying on, on that topic, what, what is it that you're praying for and believing for that God will do through your group in this season? What are some of the things that, you know, like, man, God, man, I, I pray I'm praying and believing that you're gonna do this in, in, in our group, in, in the lives of men or even maybe in your own life, you know?

Speaker 6: 37:23

Yeah. Um, for me, yeah. It, it, it's just like we were just mentioning right now, discipleship, we wanna, I, I'm believing and I'm even seeing already, um, just men, um, stepping up. To lead, uh, to, to, to disciple others. Um, and that's, and, and so, you know, usually we have meetings right, with people that, that we, we like, we feel God leading us towards to. And so that's, that's something coming up soon where that, that. So our group, our group is a nice group, right? And we have, we have guys that, that are on different, um, levels, I guess if you wanna call'em levels or whatnot. But, you know, it's like, you know, baby steps, you know, in the middle. Uh, but there's always a, a place for, for you to serve at. Uh, you can always encourage someone, you know, um, uh, maybe you've gone through this. Two months ago now you can encourage someone else or share with them. Right? So the idea is, so there's a, a couple guys, um, that, like a small handful that have been around part of the group for a lot of these guys have been around for a long time. Um, but, um, you know, some wanna step up more than others and, and like you said, we can't, we can't hold them back. We gotta lift them up, we gotta mm-hmm. Um, helped him grow and be part of the, uh, just to, to advance the kingdom. And, um, so. Part of that too. That's what I'm praying for. And, and, and actually just really believing because I, like, I see it, uh, where we're gonna, they're gonna go off and be mentoring these other younger uh, um, guys, you know, not younger in age, but just younger in their walk, you know? So that's what I'm, I'm believing in seeing, um, for this, this fall season. Amen.

Speaker 5: 39:01

Amen. What about you, Cisco?

Speaker 4: 39:02

I mean, honestly, bro, I'm just praying for, um. Four more men to just show up. Um, just like it says in Matthew, right, the, uh, harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Uh, just, just praying. That men take a bold step. They wanna take a bold step. You know, I'm, I'm not trying to be rude, Rudy, uh, Arturo. I'm trying to, that was rude already, man. Rude already. Sorry about that. Like, not trying to be rude. It is like, but if I can take some of your men outta your class and want to take a step up, you know what I mean? It is like, that'd be great. You know, it's like, and, and again, it's just. All around, just in general, you know, it's just, it's still rude. Sorry. Follow you Different names. Stealing. Stealing. It's gonna be following me forever. But I mean, we're, we're here to, to help each other just in general, you know, it's like, uh, just to be able to help men just take a step, take a bold step, you know, uh, get them out of their comfort zone, you know? I know there's some men. That are, uh, great speakers. Um, and, and they know, uh, in a sense they know it too, but they're, they're, they're still scared. They're scared to, to wanna get outta that, that place, whatever that place is, you know? Uh, but hopefully we're, we're here to just kind of encourage and just to be able to push in a healthy way. Yeah. You know, obviously we're not trying to force something, uh, down someone's throat, but we're, we're trying to push. And, and elevate people, you know, and put'em on a, uh, just kind of like elevate them and, and put'em in an area where they can be able to see that growth and hopefully they can see that within themselves and, you know, give God praise for that. And also just continue on, you know, hopefully, you know,'cause it's, it's not just within the, the four walls where we're trying to keep the words, right. We're trying to influence much, much more even outside the walls, you know, where we're teaching. So that's just pretty much it. You know what I'm praying for? So, so that's

Speaker 6: 40:48

why you come to the group every so often and then take Guy, I seen that, bro. I gave him my business cards, bro. I gave him my business cards. Snacks. You go guys,

Speaker 5: 40:56

we, we, we got better snacks over here on, uh, Wednesdays. I got healthier snacks. Uh, but you, you know, no, that, that's, uh, that, that's great that there's, uh, uh, different days. Yeah. You know, like for group, I know some guys maybe they can't come on Wednesdays. They come on. Thursday. So basically there's no excuse, you know, Hey, not, not only do we got church on Sundays, two services, uh, 9:00 AM and, uh, 10:30 AM mm-hmm. But we got two life groups for men, so definitely, you know, uh, plug in, uh, uh, for, for any people that are, that are gonna, uh, hear this or, or, or watch the video, uh, what are some ways that, whether, whether the people come to our church or not, what are some ways that they could specifically pray or support your life group?

Speaker 6: 41:38

Yeah, you know what, um, pray for me for myself, um, just to keep me, uh, uh, focused, um, not to be distracted. Um, you know, the enemy, uh, comes to steal, kill, and destroy. Um, and you know, I'm just the servant, right? But, but the thing is that if, if I'm distracted, if I get distracted or pulled away. It, um, it can be like a domino effect. Mm-hmm. You know, people who, who you don't even know are maybe listening to you or, or looking up to you and they see something or, or, you know, um, that can be a stumbling block to them. So, so pray for me, my family. Keep us in prayer that, um, that God's, uh, that we, we we be protected, um, by God. Um, uh, pray for the men, uh, hearts that our hearts would be, um, prepared. That we would just empty ourselves out, um, and, uh, that we would just allow the Holy Spirit to work. Uh, and, and that, that, uh, God would just do mighty things in, in the lives of these men. Uh, pray for, for, for your, your loved ones, uh, that maybe hey, um, they don't know God at all. Pray that, that somehow God will make a way.'cause he will, um, just pray. You have to pray. Um, and, um, and so, um. Yeah. You know, I think prayer is a, a huge one. Uh, so specifically like that, you know, hedge of protection around us, that we pray for anointing. We pray for, uh, the power of the Holy Spirit to move. We pray for, uh, chains broken. We pray for men that don't know you to come. Like I mentioned, if it's a, a family, hey, uh, pray for them. Maybe they don't want to hear it, but you know what? God has a way of working. You know, we're all here, we're all serving God and surrendered because people prayed for us. So, amen. Amen. Amen. About what you

Speaker 4: 43:19

Yeah, I mean, I can't, I can't top that. It's, it's really just down to prayer, man. To be honest with you. Um, it, it's as much as we believe also in Jesus Christ, our Savior and you know, God, his father, the Holy Spirit, we also have an adversary, right? Uh, so we know that when we walk into. This path, this narrow path and picking up our daily cross, we're, we're also gonna have this negative force that's gonna wanna come into tech. You know, uh, first off, for those that aren't familiar or never stepped into a life group, all I ask man, is just pray. Um, just anywhere you can find, whether it be your room, any, just be. Be alone and try to be one with, with Lord. Like, just ask him the question, where do you need me to go? Like, do I need to, uh, joining Life Group is great just in general, right? Just where do you need me to be? And you know what, not every life group is going to be for that person. I'm just hoping that maybe you can find a prime example of, uh, something that maybe you can. Find somewhere else, just in general, right? My, my group may not be the best group. Our tours group may, may not be the best group, right? But there's groups out there, there are, you know, it's just, we gotta seek always, um, pray over that, you know? Um, and also pray for the leaders. You know, when once you make that commitment, stuff like that, we have to pray for our leaders just in general, because we always need a leader. We always need someone to lead us, you know? Um. Uh, I mean, Jesus led the, the, you know, he was a shepherd, right? I mean, he always talked about leading the 99 and always went for that one, right? Um, that's kind of who we are. We need to always be, uh, just be preyed upon and stuff like that. So if people could just even pray for me, for Arturo, uh, for Omar, for each and every one of us, and there's many leaders out there, yeah. Pray for us and our families because again, we have an adversary that's always gonna wanna. Uh, you know, destroy anything just in general when we're, um, when we're praising the name Jesus, just in general, you know? So that's just something that I just ask for, for all those people out there.

Speaker 5: 45:15

Amen. Amen. I, I I love that you answer, we pray for me because as leaders, that's, yeah. Mm-hmm. We're, we're a target, you know? Yeah. And you know what, uh, uh, the shirt right here. Uh, stay humble when you said that, that that's humility.

Speaker 6: 45:29

Yeah.

Speaker 5: 45:30

Like knowing that Yeah. You know, we, we, we, we, we might have the title as like leaders, like group leaders, but, uh, humility man, pray for. Pray for me. Pray for us.'cause we need it. Yeah. You know, it is not easy. You know, a a a lot of times we not, not only do, not only do we have a, a, a, a adversary like the enemy, the devil that fights us.'cause man, we're God's using you to change lives. Mm-hmm. Like the, the various testimonies that you guys shared about the impact that life group has made on these men. And trust me, the enemy is not, not happy with, with what you guys are doing. Mm-hmm. So, man, I love that. Like, uh, and now shout out to Pastor Hyman Cas. Uh, men of God. They came out here from Arizona. That's where I got the church. Nice. Stay humble. I love that. Nice. And, and that's one thing that, uh, we always gotta remind ourselves, man, to stay humble and, uh, uh, when we ask for prayer, like when you ask for that, that's say, man, I need help. Yes. Mm-hmm. You know, and that's a big

Speaker 6: 46:21

one.'cause we don't, like, that's something we talk about too in men's group, uh, is, is pride, right? Mm-hmm. Like asking for help, it's difficult. It's not easy. Like we talked about vulnerability, man, it was hard for me, you know, to, to become vulnerable. I used to listen to everybody and I'd be like, man, I can't do it. I'm not sharing, I don't wanna share. Uh, you know, but part of it too is if I want others to, to hear me and believe me, you know, I gotta be vulnerable. I gotta be real. Um, I, you know, um, Craig Kelle says, I. People rather hear some, what does it say? People rather follow someone who's real than someone who's always right, meaning you can have all the right things to say, but if you're not sharing, you're not being real, you're not, you know, being vulnerable. Are they really gonna hear you? What, what you're trying to say? Yeah, you need to know, share the truth, right? But he also gotta be real. That, that's, that, that other part. And, and, um, I believe we talked about. Um, how groups are, are part of community. Yeah. And that's community. You know, like you gotta, uh, that connection of vulnerability, so

Speaker 4: 47:22

Yeah.

Speaker 6: 47:22

Yeah. Amen.

Speaker 4: 47:23

Yeah. There's no hiding that we're all sinners. Right. Um, we could be, uh, you know, digging deep into the Bible and just picking scripture at the scripture. Right. If you're not making yourself vulnerable to, to those that are, that you're, that you're trying to lead, um, they're gonna know like, man, this guy's being fake in a sense, or they're gonna feel something that's odd, you know? And that's not what you want. You need to also be a part of that group as well and be vulnerable. Um, you want, you, you need men to wanna pour themselves out just as much as you should be. Also pouring yourself out and saying like. What's on your mind and what's going on? You know?'cause we're not perfect each and every one of us. Trust me, man. We're, you know, even our pastors has even said themselves, like even them themselves are not perfect, right? I mean, we're all the same in a way. But, but we all each bring a gift. We all do have a gift. You know, there's those that, uh, are gift givers, you know, those that want to teach, those who just want to encourage, right? Uh, I mean, these are all gifts and there's many more. I mean, it's biblically sounded, it's, it's, it's written in there, right? So we all have. Something to offer and to bring to the table. The question is, where do you, where, where, where do you fall under that category? You know, is, and that's what we're trying to find, and that's where we need God. We need God to just kind of help us to, you know, pull the weeds all, all the way and just trying to see what we can find, you know, to see what is he calling us to do. Amen. Amen. And, and I'm sorry. No, go ahead. Yeah,

Speaker 6: 48:48

I was just thinking like, as you were sharing some things, right, like part of um, um. You know, talent and you were saying, you know, gifts and things like that you were mentioning. Um, but, but love is a big thing. You know, I, I believe we, over the, the Sunday there was a message, right? And it was some, I forgot how exactly he, the pastor said it, but along the lines that, um, that being, being very talented without love is useless. Yeah. You know? Mm-hmm. And, and so, and kind of again, the same, similar, right? The, um, the, the part about, uh, um. Being real than always being Right? Right. Like, you can be very talented, but without love, it's useless. And so part of, you know, and we were talking about vulnerability and so we're sharing, we're being vulnerable because we love, and now we love because God, you know, the Bible says that God loves us first. So now we love, you know, and because, I mean, we've talked about that too, how difficult that is, right? Mm-hmm. But those are things that God does in us, right? Um, and, but uh, so those, so those things are needed, the community, right? Love. Um, and, and so, uh, and being real vulnerable, you know? Mm-hmm. Uh, humility, you know, uh, so, amen.

Speaker 5: 49:55

You, you know, if I could share, I know we're talking about basically life groups, small groups, but, but you guys also make yourself available on one-on-one. Yes. That discipleship, I know you guys talking about leading men through, uh, to, to b to the step of baptism, but that involves discipleship. Yes. So can you share a little bit about that?'cause I know we're, I know, I know what this is about. Group. But even, even love, I think that one-on-one ties in is, is where you

Speaker 6: 50:17

really go. Yeah, go ahead. You know, so you, you, you mentioned in the beginning about the breaks in the summertime. So even though we were on breaks from the men's group, um, I still really founded, like, I still wanted to meet with some of the guys, um, um, at the, um, and I was just allowing God for them to reach out to me, you know? And so I had more time to, to give, you know,'cause it, we mentioned time, it is time involved, it's, it's, you know, but now that I had the, the Thursday freed up, um, I had more time through the week. Uh, because, you know, we schedule things, we, you know, we all have work, family. Mm-hmm. Uh, extended family. Right. And, and, uh, we need to make time for them as well. But, um. But I had, you know, this extra time, not, you know, a day, a free day, and then the time that, you know, we, we prepare. Um, so I had a little extra time. So that was part of what I was doing is just like you said, uh, the one-on-one I had was able to meet with a few guys here and there, um, uh, and just, you know, either break bread or just, you know, get together and see how things are going. Um,'cause that's important too, you know, that's part of community. Mm-hmm. Um, and I'm sorry, what was, uh. Oh, no, no, it was just, just

Speaker 5: 51:26

talking about, um, how, I know we're talking about group, but even

Speaker 6: 51:29

Oh, the, the, the, the, the mentoring, the, the, the, yeah, the discipleship. Yeah. Yeah. So absolutely like, you know, um, we, there, you know, you know, the Bible says, uh, you know, to repent and be baptized, right? Mm-hmm. Um, so, so a lot of times we repent, right? We realize, hey, we're in need of a savior. I need to change how I'm living. I need to surrender my life to God. God take control. Repenting, right. That you, you stop, you realize I'm a sinner. I I can't be living like this. Turn away now. Right. You're doing that part, but it also says be baptized. And so we do a mentoring program. Mm-hmm. Now, you know, the, I know we know, um, uh, that you don't have to be, go through the, um, the mentoring program to be, uh, baptized. Right. I mean, and the Bible was clear that. People got baptized right then and there, you know? Mm-hmm. But we, we do this just so, um, they're clear and understand what they're doing. And also as part of, uh, mentoring, like helping them, walking with them, uh, discipleship. Um, and so, yeah, it is time. I hate to say use that word, time consuming.'cause it sounds negative, right? It's an investment. But it's an investment. Yeah. You know, it does take time, but it's an investment, you know. Um, and so I guess it's good to to to, to say it like that because people can understand, hey, we want to give of our time, you know, and that's

Speaker 5: 52:45

love.

Speaker 6: 52:46

Yes. Like, like, uh,

Speaker 5: 52:48

yeah. Like that, that's one thing that, that we'll never get back. Like, like I heard, uh, like a businessman say like, man, I don't mind losing money, but wasting my time is like, yeah. Yeah. And it is, the time that we give is a sign of love. Like, man, now I'm making time for you because I care about you and, and I believe that like I'm investing into you. And then it's not only investing into the individual, but it's like. We're pouring into, let's say one man, right? Discipleship. Mm-hmm. But then you see the change in the marriage. Yeah. Yeah. You see the change in the children. Yeah. Yeah. You see like that domino effect again. Yeah. It just in, in their cir circle of influence. So, so that's why the enemy a fight to c war.'cause it's not just the group, it's not just that one. Yeah. What about you Cisco? Like, uh, the, the importance of that one-on-one? Like, I know you mentioned you gave the example of the one brother, uh, but you know, to make it so Yeah, I mean

Speaker 4: 53:33

I've, I've had a, I've had the blessings of actually walking a few. Brothers to, uh, get baptized. Um, yeah, that, that one-on-one, it's, it really is actually love in a sense, man, I'm not gonna lie. It's, there's nothing really else to it. I mean, if you're doing it without love, then it, there's really no meaning to it, right? Yeah. Um, to me it's like. I gotta, I, I know in the back of my mind, I'm like, I, I gotta find time to meet with this person, um, to get into, you know, the word and the scripture and stuff like that. Um, I know through us, through New Life, we go through a series of, you know, of books, you know, um, the first book is, I know they're color coordinated. I don't even want to get to it, but they're, they're each, they're each obviously, uh, targeted for steps, right? Yeah. So one, the first one would be the baptism, and we go through that baptism, uh, kinda like Arturo said, we want. People to know what, what, what commitment they're actually making. Because it's a commitment. It's a commitment. Like,'cause you're calling out the name of Jesus, right? Uh, to say that he is your one and only savior, you know? And that takes a lot, man, whether we like it or not, like it's a lot because again, carrying your cross means a lot of things just in general, right? That means leaving everything behind of your thoughts and your feelings, because. We have to allow God to work in us, you know? So again, it's just trying to help them understand what, you know, what the next step is, um, and what baptism is all about. But again, it's not even just about that because it also gives us time to actually get to know one another as well. Um, helps me to get to understand the person's background and even share a little bit of me and stuff like that, you know? So, and then not only that, that connection, uh, you form not only a friendship. Uh, but just more than that. I, I really do think of it as a brothership, you know, kind of in the senses, you know, because I know I can always, maybe, like, maybe that person can always rely on me or I can rely on them for something, right? So there's a connection. You know, so taking them into the steps of baptism is just, just in general is beautiful. And just to kind of hear the testimony and how things change and stuff like that, because that's what the purpose is of baptism is to have that good change, that positive change. You know, just in general, not for them themselves, but like for everyone that's connected to them, like you said, like wives or, or spouses, children and all that stuff, and so on and so forth. And I've seen that. I've seen the growth in all these men. Some way, in some way or form, you know? Uh,'cause God works, God works in mysterious way and he's gonna do what he does best, you know? Amen.

Speaker 5: 55:58

End of the day, you know? Amen. And, and it's a blessing that, that he would use us in the midst of that, right? Amen. Yes. With, with, with our own imperfections and shortcomings. But you know, God could do it all by himself, right? Absolutely. He doesn't need us, but the fact that he choose us to, to be, yeah.

Speaker 6: 56:13

Thank you, God. Like you sure. It's very humbling, like, you know. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Um, that, you know, to, because we know, we know that we're sinners, we know that we fall short, but for God to say no, you, you, you are, you know, um, that no, you're good. You're, you know, uh, you're, you have a clean slate. Mm-hmm. And I, this is what I think of you, you know? Amen. And, and God will use us, you know? So

Speaker 5: 56:36

yeah, definitely. All right. What final encouragement would you give to any, any man that is watching? What final encouragement or challenge would you give them as far as the importance of them connecting to a life group?

Speaker 6: 56:52

I would say, um, you know, at church we had this thing right? Where, where, um, where, uh, during announcements we encourage people to do a, a three try, uh, challenge, right? Mm-hmm. So I, I challenge you guys come out, you know, uh, and the same thing, a three try challenge. It's not perfect, right? Um, but give us three, uh, three chances. Give yourself three chances. Really give God three chances, you know? Um. And, and let God work in your life, you know? Yeah. It's gonna be difficult. You're not gonna want to come, you're gonna be, um, ah, man, that's not for me, really. I'll be all right by myself or I'll do a prayer on my own. Uh, but, but, but, uh, we didn't touch on this, but part of Group Life Group too is, uh, is, is so beneficial because the community part. Isolation will keep us away from God and keep us away from what God wants to do in our life. Mm-hmm. Um, Bible talks about that too. Uh, it's clear. Um, um, and, but, um, so step out of that isolation and, and get involved. Um, or just come out. Just come out, like I said, um, you know, kick back, listen and listen to the men's stories too as well, and just take it in. Try a challenge. Um. We don't always have it, but most of the time we got pizza wings or something. So can't go wrong,

Speaker 5: 58:06

man. They are

Speaker 6: 58:07

too up. What, what, what date? I know you, I know it's gonna be in a couple weeks. So what date, uh, uh, and times are you, are you gonna be meeting? Yes. September 11th. Thursday, September 11th. Um, we'll be starting again. We'll be kicking off the fall season at 7:00 AM at New Life. Uh, 7:00 PM 7:00 PM Oh, pm Sorry. Oh, you're morning guy. And I say eight. Yeah, he's an early morning. No, no, no. 7:00 PM 7:00 PM Yeah. All right. Hey, hey. Oh, I, I think we shared it, but where, where do we meet? Where, what do you meet? Uh, new Life, Cicero New Life Community Church, Cicero. Mm-hmm. Uh, that's 36 0 1. 61st Avenue.

Speaker 5: 58:38

Amen. Amen. What, what about you, Cisco? Any, uh, final encouragement, challenge, uh, to the men that are gonna be, um,

Speaker 4: 58:45

watching this? I mean, to, to just get out of that comfort zone? Man, to be honest with you, um, if you want growth, and I mean, I, I think each and every one of us, we've been in a place where, um, it's like, you wanna do something better? You don't know how, it's like, do the opposite of that. And that's what we all had to do is do the opposite of that. It's, it's get on, get out of that comfort, uh, comfortable place and, uh, ask God to put you in the place where you're meant to be. Um, and like Arturo said, uh, community is a very, very key point, man, because if you're alone, um, it's kind of like. You know, that's kind of where the enemy actually wants you. It's kind of like the, the best place for him, uh, to be able to kind of put you in a sense, right? Because it's like. We're, we're always gonna be told that we don't need anybody, or we can do it all on ourselves. And, and again, that's, that's totally not the truth. It's, we need community, we need fellowship. Um, that's bonding with everybody. Um, and trust me, we're each, we each have our own mess in general, that we constantly always have to like, just be able to connect and to be able to vent these things out, you know, and, and those, that's what actually becomes beautiful because, you know, um. We all get to participate in a sense. And again, it's like if, it's one thing I can actually tell everybody, um, you know, when, when you participate in these groups, this is something that gets, that stays in within the group, right? It's not, it's not meant for us to go share outside or anything like that. Uh, you don't have to worry about that. This is something that is more of a personal, uh, space for us to be able to share and to become vulnerable in a sense, right? Where we're, uh, where we're trying to grow, uh, uh, at a different, at a different level, you know, just in general. So if I can just tell people, man, it's like, get out of that couch. You know, don't, don't stay there. We're not meant to stay there. We're meant to, to do more. And trust me, uh, that's each and every one of you out there, we're all meant to do something. God has a purpose for you. You know?

Speaker 5: 1:00:43

Amen. Amen. And I agree. Amen. You know, uh, in September, usually kids go back to school. Everybody gets in a routine. So definitely come join us New Life Community Church, Cicero, whether that's on Thursday, 7:00 PM. Or, uh, Wednesday, 7:00 PM mm-hmm. Come through, uh, a plugin. And, um, I, I thank God for the, for the men that he's connected me with, and men that have challenged me and pushed me, not. I, I believe God used these men to challenge me and push me and, and, and help me to grow. And man, that, that's what we want, we want to do for you guys as well. But man, I want to thank these guys for joining me tonight. Is, is there anything we didn't get a chance to talk about? Anything on your heart? Any last words you guys wanna share before we get ready to, to, to wrap up?

Speaker 6: 1:01:30

Um, no. Just give God a chance. I know. Um, just wanted to mention, you know, a lot of times, you know, we have hardships in, in life. Um, man, we're frustrated, you know, whatever it may be, work, home, life, uh, single life, whatever it is, um, give God a chance, you know? Um, and that's what we wanna share with you is Christ, you know? Mm-hmm. Amen. Amen. Amen.

Speaker 4: 1:01:51

I mean, honestly, we can come up with a million excuses not to be with God, right? Um, but if you see that, you know, you're not in a good place, um, that's just, maybe that's what's missing in, in, you know, your life. You know? Um, it's given, like Arturo said, that opportunity, uh, to under, to want to get to know. Christ our savior, you know, uh, because trust me, um, he's here for us. He's always been here. For us, it's just us wanting and needing to open and connect. And again, this is, this is an opportunity for each and every one of us to do that, and hopefully one day to do that. You know? So hopefully this message does reach those out, especially those that trust me. We, we've all come from a broken place. Uh, you're not alone. Um, we, we all are here to want to love to express that, you know, and that we all just want to be, uh, just to be able to connect in some way. So just hopefully, if it's not with us, by all means, trust me, there's, there's someone out there who wants to, and, and you need to connect to trust me, you know, so,

Speaker 5: 1:02:56

amen. And, uh, you know, um, there's, uh, 20, I believe, 26 new life locations throughout the city and suburbs. So definitely if you're in the Chicago land area. There's a church where you could go plug, plug in, probably close to your home, but it would definitely, uh, uh, make a difference. Uh, I'm, I'm trying to think about the quote. I think it says that it insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting to get different results. Mm-hmm. If that's you, you've just been doing the same thing over and over and wondering why, man, well, why, why, why hasn't my life changed? Man, it's you. You gotta change, you gotta change your circle. And I, as, as, as I was over here, like, uh, as I'm, I'm looking at these two brothers on the side of me, uh, uh, somebody said that, uh, tell me who are the five, uh, closest people to you, and I'll tell you who you are. So like, if you guys think about that, who are the five closest people to you and do you wanna be like them in a sense? You know? And a lot of times we. We blame others, but it's not really them. It's you, probably us. Probably me. You know, you we could say, oh man, I got like, go bad friends, but I know I was a bad friend back then. You know, my mindset and the things that I wanted to do were in the right things, you know? But, uh, man, if you wanna see change in your life, change your circle, you know, come to church, come to a life group and connect with men. That are trying to change, uh, their lives. Mm-hmm. You know, they're, they're seeking God, you know, we're, we're asking God to help us. Going back to what he said, man, uh, pray for us. Uh, I, I, I go to church. I cry out to God. I need God to help me personally. I need God to help me to be a better husband, uh, to love my wife with his love. I need God to help me be a father, to, to be compassionate, uh, to keep my emotions under control, you know, that I. Rage or whatever it is that, that we're going through, whatever it is that mm-hmm. That tries to, to, to attack us. But you wanna see change in your life. Dr. Dr. IWiN Lewis Cole says, change is not change until it's change. You know? That's true. Makes Trust me, I, I know a God is still working in me. And, and then the Bible talks about this process of, uh, sanctification. I heard a pastor say that it's, it's not about. Perfection. But it is about growing, uh, uh, going back to a word we talked about earlier, growth. Mm-hmm. That, that the, the more you see God, you, you'll see growth in your life in certain areas. I've been serving God 20 years now and trust me, he's still working in my life. Amen. And, and I know he works in my life through, through the men that I connect with. I know that in, in the midst of groups, the, the lessons, sometimes they speak to me like, man, something I needed to hear. Or maybe somebody shared something during group. That encouraged me. That challenged me. But it's definitely been a blessing. So that, that, that, that, that's what I want to end with, man. Plug in, uh, man, if you wanna see change, man, connect with men that are seeking God. Connect with men that'll pray for you. Uh, that'll, that'll have faith for you. That's one thing. I was, uh, my last guest, uh, pastor Marco David, he said, man, we need at times and seasons of our life where maybe we're struggling. We're battling, maybe our faith is being tested or tried. We need men that'll have faith for us. Mm-hmm. And he, he shared about the, uh, instance and what he, that he was fighting through and he gave the example of the, of the four men.

Speaker 6: 1:06:15

Yeah. Through

Speaker 5: 1:06:16

the

Speaker 6: 1:06:16

roof. Yeah, exactly. We gotta bring, uh, we gotta bring our brothers to, to before God, you know? Mm-hmm. A lot of times we may be struggling. We may not be able to go, we may not want to go. Mm-hmm. But a real friend Will, will, will take us over there to Jesus, you know? Yeah. Or, or guide us to, you know, if we don't know him, if you don't know him, uh, a real friend will guide you towards that. But I did hear that podcast. That was good. Yeah.

Speaker 5: 1:06:38

Okay. Yeah. Yeah. Definitely encouraging man, that, uh, that, that, and, and, and that's what you need, you know, uh, connect with, with people that'll push you and, and push you. Towards Christ. Mm-hmm. Amen. Towards Jesus like, man, right? Yeah,

Speaker 4: 1:06:49

yeah, yeah. Exactly.

Speaker 5: 1:06:50

Amen. Brothers, you guys wanna close us out? Maybe, I don't know if you guys want to each say a short prayer and then we'll get ready to wrap up. Yeah,

Speaker 4: 1:06:57

sure.

Speaker 6: 1:06:58

Um, heavenly Father, we just, uh, we just come before you, father God, and we want to give you all glory, honor and praise. We thank you, father God for this opportunity, father God, to uh, just to share, Lord God, uh, what you've done in our lives, father God, just to share, uh, the joy that we have in you, father God. Um, thank you, father God for, um. Uh, uh, for, for just being in our lives, Lord God, for working in our lives, Lord God, for, uh, that, um, that we were also once, uh, blind Lord God, and could not see Lord God, uh, where we were headed. But, uh, you made a way, father God. And, and I thank you for that, father God. I just wanna lift up, uh, uh, this, this podcast, Lord God, and these brothers, father God. Uh, I wanna lift up those that are gonna, uh, be listening. Father God, that you would, uh. Grab their hearts, father God, that, um, uh, like my brother had mentioned, or God, it doesn't have to be one of these groups, but, uh, there are, uh, groups out there, life groups, biblical groups. Father God, that you're the center of Father God, that, uh, like my brother was just mentioning also where the four friends bring, uh, you to Jesus, father God. So, uh, come to Jesus. Uh, I pray for these men to come to Jesus, father God. Um, and, um. I just thank you for tonight and, and bless. Uh, I wanna thank you for Omar, for his hospi hospitality. Uh, bless him and his home and his family. Father, God, Jesus name.

Speaker 4: 1:08:16

Amen. Amen. Father God, we just wanna say thank you, God, for uh, again, just. Uh, giving us this opportunity, God, to just speak your words, right, because these are not our words, but your words, father God, that, uh, is just kind of bleeding out through our mouths. God, uh, that I pray that, that someone out there, uh, does hear this message, God, someone that, you know, probably just going through something, some hardships, you know? Um, I know each and every one of us have been there, you know, so I pray that you know, you, uh, you use us and many. People out there who are, you know, uh, leading Bible groups or, or are, or a pastor, whatever, that you continue to lead us and continue to, uh, use us in a way, uh, where we're just kind of continuously sharing the word in, in one way or another. God leading, uh, them to you, father God, obviously, um, pushing them towards you. Um, I just wanna say, uh, thank you for Omar and this, this podcast, you know, it's, it's been a blessing. God, we're almost coming up, uh, three years, God in. So many doors have opened God. And I'm just thankful God in, in a sense that you continue to lead us in the place where, you know, this is, this is meant to go God. And I just pray that it just continue to just keep pouring blessings and blessings upon this, uh, podcast. And Omar, God and his family, God I know. They go through a lot. Just in general, even just, you know, being able to just be here and be present, father God, to get these testimonies going and, and I just pray more. I pray more people come through, uh, to just continue to give out their testimonies. God, they're, they're beautiful. There, there's something to to grab onto to know that, you know, you're out there, you're out there. God just constantly, always looking upon us and over us, father God. So I just pray for a hedge of protection over each and every one of us. God, the leaders that are leading God, our pastors, our. Our youth group's got a men's group, uh, women's group, child's group. There's so many groups. God, as Arturo said, I pray for each and every one of us, God and our families God.'cause I know the enemies out there ready to kill, seek and destroy at any given moment. God. So we always have to be ready, father God. So I pray that you continue to shield us, God and protect us, God, uh, and help us to, to continue to, um. Build these programs, God, the things that we need to do in order for us to grow, uh, within these, uh, programs and ministries and stuff like that. God. So continue to lead us. Father God, may you continue to. To, to push us, uh, to help us to, to continue to mold us actually God, in the way you need us to, to be molded God. So may we continue to be the vessel's Father God, and I pray that you continue to, uh, call on these people. God, these people that have maybe never been in a life group, God, that they go participate God, whether it be with us or, and there's many others out there. God, I pray that you lead them one way or another. God light that path for them. God light that path for them. In the name of Jesus, God, we thank you and we love you.

Speaker 5: 1:10:59

Amen. Amen. You know, I'm, I'm gonna

Speaker 4: 1:11:01

pray

Speaker 5: 1:11:01

for you brothers. Um, heavenly Father, I just come to you this evening, come to you in the name of your son, Jesus. And I wanna pray for Arturo. I wanna pray for Cisco. I wanna pray for their, uh, uh, assistance and this season. Father, those men that are gonna come on, on the side of'em, father to, to help'em. To lead. Father and I, I thank you for, for these men. I've known these men for years and, and I know these men are not seeking a, a title. They're not seeking just a, a, a, a, like a, a, a position father. But they're seeking you. Father, these men, I know they're after your heart, and I thank you for, uh, I know, I know they, they call'em leaders, but I know they're serving leaders. Father, their, their desire is first and foremost to serve you. And to serve these men, father, that, that you are bringing into their lives. So I just pray for them. Father, I thank you for the, for the, uh, humility. I thank you for the fact that they're always, uh, seeking, you know, knowing that they need you in their lives. So, uh, uh, uh, heavenly Father, I pray that you will help'em. I pray that you will strengthen them. I pray that you will give them wisdom, uh, from above. Uh, I pray for their marriages. Father, uh, uh, I pray that you strengthen their marriages. Uh, I pray that you protect their children, uh, their grandchildren, father, their pets, and, and their home. Uh, I pray that you continue to provide for these men. Father, uh, blessed the work of their hands. Uh, I know the, these men, they, they have a full-time job and sometimes. Father, that, that, that work could take a toll on him, especially on days when they're about to lead group father, I know that personally that any day that I'm getting ready to lead men, to lead a study seems like that's when the, when the enemy attacks, he tries to discourage. Uh, but I pray for these men that they will continue to, to build on that cornerstone, which is Jesus Christ. I pray that these men will remain on that solid grandfather, so strengthen them. I pray that their faith will continue to grow. I pray that you answer their prayers. Father, I pray that you meet every need, uh, and I just thank you for them, father and I pray for this season of Men's Group. Do what only you could do in this group. Father, I know they mentioned many testimonies of which you've done in in, in the lives of men. Do even greater things in this season. Father, uh, uh, I pray for salvation. I know Pastor Marco Davis said that's one of the greatest, yes. Uh, the greatest things is the gift of salvation, father. So I pray that men that don't know you, that they will step foot into these groups and they will come and bend their knee to Jesus Christ. Transform these men, change, uh, restore marriages, restore relationship with, uh, with their children, father, and just do what only you could do, father. So I thank you for these men. I thank you for their heart to serve, and then, and I know, I know they're not asking for it, father, but I pray that you will bless them as they serve. Bless them as they work. Father, that's not the reason why they do it, father, but just bless'em and strengthen them to continue, uh, uh, to pour out. Father, as they pour out, I pray that through your Holy Spirit, you continue to pour in Father and grow them. Father, yes. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Thank you. Amen Brothers. Amen. This has been a blessing and a man. I think that's it. We're gonna get ready to wrap up, so I just wanna, uh, thank you brother. So with that, let's get ready to, uh, to sign off. 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 dawn alongside my guest, Arturo and Cisco. I'm your host to Omar Calvio, and we've gone. From wrong to strong.