Jonathan Cronin delivers a first-person testimony describing his transformation from teenage drug addiction, homelessness, and repeated arrests to becoming a missionary and kingdom-minded investor. He recounts a turning point in jail (a Thanksgiving-week moment of surrender), subsequent sentence reduction and rehab, completion of ministry training/college, and the founding of ministries and kingdom businesses (notably real estate investing) to fund ministry. He reports that in the past 18 months God has allowed them to create over a million dollars in assets, which enabled replacement of income and expanded ministry impact. The talk emphasizes prayer, surrender to God, community support, and a mandate to pursue the Great Commission; it closes with a spoken blessing/prayer.
Questions this video answers
November 1, 2010.
Over a million dollars in assets.
Told minimum would be 10 years (with 5 to serve in prison).
Sentence reduced to 7 to 2 and he ultimately did four months and then went to a 12-month rehab (he describes doing four months of a supposed 10).
Hey, everybody. So today I am excited to share with you some things that's happened in my life, my story and how God literally took me from meth, addicted, in jail, homeless, to missionary in the ministry, and even into kingdom businesses like real estate investing, apartment buying, and other things like that. This is a story that has absolutely zero to do with me and everything to do with Jesus, his plans for his church, his plans for the hurting and the dying and the lost. And also it has everything. My success and my. My testimony has everything to do with the people that God placed around me, the people that were praying for me, the people that still support me, still support the ministries. We do, still support everything. And I just got to start off with that because literally it has zero to do with me. And so I just want to share this story because God has radically blessed us in ways that I couldn't even understand why. But I believe that he wants to inspire people today, to build faith today. Because you know my story today, you know, just in the past 18 months, God's allowed us to create over a million dollars in assets. And literally every single thing has been a gift from God, has been something that God has literally placed and made it well known that it was his hand, not mine, that put it, but has given me the ability and the giftings to steward it well. And so I believe he wants to do that in the church. I believe he wants to do that for you. I believe he wants to do it for so many other people. And we still have people who support us faithfully in the ministries that he's called us to as well. So. So let's dive into it. Let's unpack it. You know, 15 years ago, I was a teenager and I was in a low place. I was hopeless. And I felt I was still trying to figure out who I even was, much less what I'm supposed to do and be. And in that pursuit of trying to find out who I was, I ventured into drugs and eventually got into, you know, drinking and cocaine and pills and methamphetamines and crime and became homeless, living in abandoned homes and in my car, and then got arrested on November 1, 2010, got arrested and for three serious felonies. And this was probably my sixth or seventh time being arrested at this point. But this time it was. They told me the best they could do. The minimum I would be able to get is 10 years, do five in prison. And while I'm in jail, about a month into it, on Thanksgiving week, I get in trouble for getting high, taking Pills and I go to lockdown, I go to the hole. And while in there, I almost get in a fight with the guy in there. The guards happen to come in at the right time or right before and take him out. And I'm in there by myself. And I half heartedly said, God, if you're real, I want to change. And before I could even finish my sentence, I felt the peace of God come over my heart. And I want you to understand, you do not mistake the peace of God when you're in jail. You don't feel that. And so I felt that. And it was supernatural. And I began feeling emotional. And I'm telling you, only moments later, another inmate comes in and he happens to have a Bible on his person. And so I started reading this Bible. And as soon as I opened that book, I felt the pursuit of God on my life. And it wasn't just a sovereign act of God, it was people praying for me. I know I could name them off all right now, but there's too many to count. And family and friends, people in the church been praying for me. And it's the power of prayer, but it's also that me saying that one sentence, just like the prodigal son, you know, the father ran off. That was me taking my small step towards home and the father running off the porch, meeting me where I was with a ring and a robe and calling me home and blessing me. I gave my life to Jesus in that moment. And everything started shifting. Okay, I'm talking about everything, my sentence. All of a sudden I get out of the hole. They had been telling me the best they could do is 10 to 5 and I get out of the hole and they say they're going to try to reduce my sentence down to seven to two and then I'll be able to go to a 12 month rehab instead of the two. So I ended up doing four months out of what was supposed to be a 10 and went to rehab and then went to ministry college. And it was a roller coaster up and down. I promise you I'm not perfect and I never will be. But in that moment, I was far from perfect. In those transition months and years, I had moments and I even got violated probation and went back. But I want you to understand one principle, my whole story. And that's simply God preserved me and people prayed for me. And the more I surrendered, the more he thrusted me forward, the more I became broken. You know, it was first off, him even calling me into a place of brokenness. I literally look back And I say nothing is about me. Everything is despite my efforts, not because of my efforts. Everything is despite like it's all about him. That even called me into a place of brokenness and then from that place of surrender, he created crazy acceleration for my life. And so I went into a four year college and completed that and then went into ministry, started creating ministries, you know, bringing people, you know, supporting ministries. And God gifted me with the ability to, to start and steward ministries. And, and then all of a sudden he's, and, and then all of a sudden he's, he's allowing me to start businesses and for the sake of funding the ministry, for the sake of like, you know, we started redeem a part of Tate, the city that helps ladies out of trafficking and create beautifully made that helps employ the ladies come out of trafficking and harvest coffee that helps fund the prayer room and take the city and bring community around and better our community. And all of a sudden I felt the Lord tell me to fund his church, to literally create funds. And I'm thinking, who am I to do any of that? And God, I'm telling you, and I've created a video on this, but he literally landed real estate properties in our laps. The first one we ever got, you have to check out the video. But it was literally a total supernatural miracle. I'll put the description in the, in the, or I'll put the link in the description. And then the next one was literally same situation, next one, next one, next one. And all of a sudden we've, we were able to replace our income through real estate. And that freed me up to do more ministry, accelerate the ministries that we're doing and then accelerate even being able to be a part of other businesses that created more income. And now, you know, we've literally seen 10x our income and same with our impact in terms of helping people. And so I think it all boils down to the one principle I mentioned and that is simply the more we surrender, the more he can move and the more we look to him, the more he can break us and make us surrender and give us the ability to surrender. So today we are focused on seeing the Great Commission fulfilled in our lifetime. That's all we care about. We believe that's going to be a mass coalition, there's going to be a mass networking and partnering with other ministries in the world. Like it's got, we've got to come together other churches, we've got to come together. And I believe that the same urgency that was in the apostles, I believe we're called to take on that urgency of Jesus will come in our lifetime, that the Great Commission will be fulfilled in our lifetime. That you know, Paul didn't assume Jesus would come generations and generations out. He assumed that it was near. And I believe it is near. It's more near than it's ever been, of course. And I believe that God is calling his church and he's saying if you would believe for miracles, believe for funds, believe for strategies, he will begin blessing people. And I believe he's touching kingdom minded businesses, I believe he's touching ministries, he's touching all these things to accelerate the gospel and accelerate the Great Commission on the earth. So, you know, today we're focused on helping, we've got several ministries but also helping real estate, Kingdom minded real estate investors, you know, scale so that they can increase their impact 10x their impact and be able to have more time, freedom, more income and more ability to do the ministry and help more people. So yeah, I hope that adds value to you. Today we are super excited about what's to come. I know this was a long video, but I believe that God is going to touch your life. And I just even pray right now, Father, for those people watching this video right now, I just speak a total, just radical supernatural touch from heaven over everything you're calling them to do, over business, over investing, over ministry, over their prayer life, their spiritual life, God that they would be ignited with fresh fire to accelerate the kingdom of God on the earth in Jesus name. And I thank you Lord for a synergy. For those people that are watching to the end that are watching this right now, I just thank you that you're creating a new hunger inside of them. And in Jesus name I just bless them with all that you have for them. In Jesus name. Amen. All right guys, well, thanks for watching. I hope this helps you, hope this was a value add for you and hope you have a wonderful day. All right?
