In this first‑person testimony, Ralph recounts his path from a material‑focused upbringing and a lucrative trucking business to a profound spiritual conversion. He describes early attendance at Catholic services motivated by the small cash offering, the emptiness that persisted despite earning over half a million dollars a month, and the persistent invitation of his neighbor Jo to All Nations Church in Georgia. After repeatedly resisting, Ralph finally attends, initially sitting in the back with dark glasses and even falling asleep. A chance opportunity to operate the church’s camera leads him to focus on the pastor, Bishop Frank Ofosu‑Appiah, and to hear the sermons as personal messages. This experience sparks his encounter with God, leading to healing, a deep love for the gospel, and a desire to serve. Over several years he becomes a full‑time church cameraman, feels called to ministry, and re‑evaluates his business values, prioritizing people and inner fulfillment over wealth. Ralph concludes with a theological reflection that true joy and prosperity come from an internal relationship with Jesus rather than external possessions.
Chapters
How did you become a Christian? Oh, that's a good question. I was not born— of course, nobody was born Christian. I thought I was Christian because I used to go to Catholic church. My mom, every Sunday, I remember back home, I used to get up early and want to go to church. Not because I would care so much about church. I didn't care about it. What I cared about was the 50 francs CFA that I was getting to throw into the basket there. I remember I used to stop at a little beignet place and spend— maybe I would get a beignet for like 49 francs CFA and keep 1 franc, 5 francs to drop in a basket there. So it was not— I mean, I saw that differently. Even drunk. Christmas and all that. I was thinking more about the gift and the clothes, the rice, the chicken, the beef, the drink, and the party, the, you know, all those things. So I can't say I was a Christian. Uh, I can't even say I was a believer because I think we become. Uh, the Bible say to those who accept him, he give them power to become children of God. We become. We are the creation of God, but we are not all child of God. God created us, but we accept him, we come to him, and we converted to him to claim that sonship for him. So I was not always a Christian. Matter of fact, when I started business, I was not a Christian. So my principle was, you know, it was just about money. I want to make money, money, money, money, money. And I remember probably around 2009, I mean, I was making money. I was making— we had probably about 36 trucks in Atlanta and we was averaging a little bit over $30,000 a day. I didn't have that big— I didn't have a big dream. So literally I was so much fulfilled. I didn't even know what to spend money on. But deep inside myself, that was that emptiness, you know. Everything about me was really to, you know, literally, it's like I was chasing the wind. I was not fulfilled because first of all, it was about me, you know. It was about me, me, me, me, me, me. And I noticed is that I was keeping chasing one thing. Maybe I'd say, okay, let me go buy this new Corvette who just came out. And I'll go and pay $60,000 for one and drive for a week and be like, oh my gosh. See somebody else with another car, okay, let me go get this one. Let me get another house. Let me get this. Let me, you know. So that emptiness was there. I didn't know how to be fulfilled. I didn't know how to be happy. Even though I was getting a little over close to, you know, a little bit close to a little bit over half a million dollars a month, I was not fulfilled. You know, I would buy clothes and, you know, buy new clothes and eat more food. But that emptiness was there. That emptiness was there. But when I met Christ, when I met Christ, that was actually there in Georgia. So that was actually in Georgia. That's where I met Christ. I was introduced. One of my neighbors, Mr. Her name was Joe Joe Tomoney. She said she used to ask me, you know, hey, Ralph, what do you do on Sunday? You know, let's. go to church. I said, normally on Saturday I'm at the nightclub and I'm not— I was not— I was getting home probably around maybe 5 o'clock and lay down and sleep for a few hours. And Jo keep encouraging me and she said, well, I know this place, uh, this pastor, uh, he's from Africa. You probably gonna love him. Matter of fact, Jo was from Philippines. Uh, so she said, you probably gonna love him. He's a very awesome, they great people. Back then I was living in Suwanee. So she took me to All Nations Church, Atlanta, with Bishop Frank Ofosu-Appiah. And I remember back then I used to go, and trust me, if you know Jo, you know, she's this wonderful person that she, she knew how to persuade a person. She'll persuade with you. So I keep telling her, hey, Joe, next week and next week. And every time I even reject her because she'll come and knock my door, hey, Ralph, let's go. I said, oh, Joe, no, I told you next week. Next week. She'll say, okay, go and get some rest and then we'll go next week. And then next week, the same thing. And I reached a point I was like, oh my gosh, what am I going to tell this guy, this lady? I said, well, okay, let's, let's go. Let's go. She took me into the van again. Remember, I used to come back from the club at 5:00 AM. I picked the black glass, put on my— I didn't even know that people were not supposed to be in church with that kind of dark glass. So I went to church. Back then, All Nations was still in Suwanee, in a little— I think it was a basketball field. And I would come in church and just sit way back there in the back. And just sit there with my glasses. Sometimes I would just go to sleep since I had dark glasses, nobody can see my eyes. And hey man, the pastor would preach and preach and preach. And at the end, I would wake up and go back home. Next Sunday, Joe was there to take me to church again. And I think I did this probably over 6 months and it become like, You know, like get up and brush your teeth. I knew, okay, I need to go to this church. Jo is here. I'll hear ding dong Sunday. Uh, and then I know, oh my gosh, Jo is here. And she'll wait and give me time, 30 minutes to get ready. And, um, so for about 36 months, I was going straight from the nightclub and, you know, lay down for a few hours. Jo ran the bed, jump back, throw the clothes on, put my glass on. And then go to church. The funny thing is that when the church actually moved from Suwanee, the— I think it was like a basketball field, to Norcross, I have this little seat that was right— there was a cameraman right behind me. And I had this little seat that, you know, it was always empty. Because the cameraman would put his stuff there sometimes. So that was, that was almost like mine. And every day I was there, this guy, I forget his name, he was the guy who managed the camera behind me. And one day he wanted to use the bathroom. He said, hey, hey brother, please could you still watch the camera for me? And I said, oh sure. I said, I mean, I never used a camera before. He said, just keep your eye on pastor, okay? Follow him wherever he's going. And then I stood back then, you know, and then just keep following the pastor and follow the pastor. And, and I start, you know, if you are following the pastor, you have to listen to the message. You have to truly follow him. And I believe that's the moment I start my encounter with God. Just listen to Pastor Frank Ofosso Appiah preach Sunday after Sunday, and that's where I start to gain even the desire, and I wanted more. And the funny thing is that was just that whatever he was preaching, I thought he was talking to me. He's looking at me, and I was like, "Oh my gosh!" And a lot of time he'll even mention. He say, "Some of you guys who go from the nightclub to here," oh, who taught him? And but I believe that's where the transformation start. That's where the transformation start. Just to make a long story short, and I start follow use that cam help on that camera. I help few times. Okay, the guy name was K. K. K was the guy who put money on a camera. The funny thing is that K. K. K. K never came back. So I was stuck up there for the whole preaching, during the whole preaching. And next, the following Sunday, Kay found me again and put me back on that camera for like 3 months down the road. And it become a little bit more like my camera. He say, oh, after service, don't leave because we have a brief meeting. I didn't ask for this certain thing. I was supposed to watch the camera for him, for him to use the bathroom. The point here is that's how I encountered God. That's how I started to receive the gospel. I started to receive gospel like that at that moment and the desire of more and I wanted more and gradually I started to get healed. I started to get healed. The word of God was transforming me. I was encouraged. I was so full of love. And it reached a point where, you know, even when Joe was not going to church, I would find somebody to drop me to church because I wanted it. I wanted it so bad. So this was actually a very, very, very, very great experience. And this is how I encountered God. After that, I continued with the audiovisual. I was the cameraman in church for, man, I don't know, probably about, maybe probably about 5 or— 5 years or more. No, 5 years. Because we, from there, we moved from, from Norcross to another part of Norcross. When we actually purchased the building for the church, I was the cameraman. Then I was really a full-time cameraman. And, you know, throughout this, uh, and I believe that's where my call into ministry came for too. Um, I started to think about other people. I would say, wow, look at how miserable I was. I had the money, I had the great business, but I was empty. I was so empty. I was so empty. But the word of God really, really filled me. I felt important. I knew I had a father. I surround myself with people who really, really love me. It was not just, you know, like the business type of business friend you find in the business world who love you just because of because they want something from you. And not only that, you know, I was putting myself in an environment that I will hear the sweet. word of God from a great minister. So all these things really, really, really moved me. And I started to change some of the stuff even in my business. My value changed. The way I see things changed. I value people more than anything. And then the desire of you know, to add value to other people. The desire to share what I'm experiencing with other people really, really overtook me. And the only thing I wanted was just to, you know, let people, other people feel what I feel because it was so great. I didn't need any whiskey to feel good anymore. I didn't need to go to the club and dance to feel good. I didn't need to, you know, maybe surround myself with the girls to feel good. I didn't really even need money to feel good, you know. So that, you know, from that moment I understood that if you really, really, really, really want to experience joy, if you want to experience peace, if you want to experience even prosperity, it must come from within. You must be fixed from inside out. There's nothing outside who can bring us joy because everything is going to be temporary. And, you know, when you buy a brand new car, you get excited about the car just for a few days. It doesn't go past 30 days. And then you go back to point zero. If you, you know, launch a $5 million contract now, you get excited. But you know, in a month it's just, it becomes normal to you. But when you discover that lover, which is the Lord Jesus Christ, when you discover that Father that will never leave you, that will never forsake you, that will be there with you regardless of what, that will love you when you are young, that will love you when you are old, that will love you when you mess up, that will love you when you even want to give up on yourself, they will still love you. That's right. I'm going to say this thing with you. When you meet that Jesus, your life is never going to be the same. And from that moment, if you do business based on his principle, based on his value, not just doing business, but if you live your life based on his principle, you'll be so fulfilled. You'll be so fulfilled, not by the external thing, but you'll be fulfilled from within.
