Richard Ferguson

A Testimony of

A graduate of PLMCNW men’s ministry

Today enjoys a life that God controls.

My name is Richard Ferguson. I was born in Santa Monica, CA, just over 40 years ago.

This may sound silly to most people, and maybe a little prideful, but I believe my life has been different from that of most people.

When I was very young, my father sold an invention, a mug froster, to A&W Root Beer. The invention made our family wealthy. The important thing for me as a child was that the wealth allowed my parents to travel a lot. I didn’t really get to see that much of them.

The fact is I was spoiled. And I felt rejected. I didn’t believe my parents had the time for me. I was constantly being dropped off at this place or that place. My grandfather, who was Italian and also a well-to-do businessman, raised me a great deal of the time.

I was sent to military school in San Diego. By the time I was a 16-year-old, my parents had divorced. The way my parents and my grandparents showed their love was in a competition to see who could buy the most expensive toys for me and my little brother. At 16, I was riding motorcycles, surfing, studying martial arts, and smoking pot.

After graduating high school, I went to the University of Connecticut on a baseball scholarship. During my sophomore year, my younger brother was killed in a car crash involving a drunk driver. I was devastated; I couldn’t believe it. So I got drunk, and I smashed my car. At the funeral, I almost killed the drunk driver who killed my brother.

My life was a shambles during this time. My grandparents kept telling me, “Jesus loves you; Jesus loves you.”

Well, if Jesus loved me, why did he take the person I loved the most?

I dropped out of school, and my life continued to tailspin. My family continued to try to control me through expensive gifts, while I rebelled and tried to do everything on my own.

Several years later, while on a skiing trip in Colorado, I got a phone call telling me my mother had died. Again, I fell off the deep end. I didn’t want to face the fact my mother was dead; I couldn’t accept it.

I really hated Jesus then. He had taken the two people I loved the most. my mother and my brother.

Seven years ago I moved to Georgia. Although I met a woman here and had a child, I really cared about no one but myself. I tried to cover up my anger and my problems by showing off and covering up. I had a number of accidents in cars and on motorcycles. I got D.U.I.s, violated probation, and finally wound up in jail.

It was in jail that I heard about Promise Land Ministries Church of the Narrow Way. I was accepted into the program straight from jail. I came with nothing, either materially or spiritually.

It was at Promise Land that I started to really learn about Jesus. I learned that there was more than me. I learned that there were still people who cared about me, even if I didn’t know how to care for other people.

I know that I came here because Jesus wanted me to come here. The people here work with you; they show you love. These are people I’m proud to know. You find peace here with yourself and with your family. My grandfather, my father, and I are now on speaking terms.

Today, I’m meeting so many people that follow the Lord. And I’m actually telling people, “I believe in Jesus,” and I’m proud to say that. It’s unbelievable the response you get from people.

When you get off dope and learn to see outside yourself, it’s such a wonderful thing.