I remember as if it were today, the day I entered the house of the youth leader and participated in a small discipleship group. My life was never the same after that moment. Until then, I was a teenager full of problems and doubts, marked by my father’s abandonment, the wounds of violence, and vices. I knew bitterness, sadness, feelings of rejection, and deep confusion about my identity.

At that time, I was convinced that my life would not last long and that there was no hope for me. The only way out, or so the lie beckoned, was to drown myself in alcohol and start experimenting with other drugs. However, what I didn’t know was that the Holy Spirit was searching for me, wanted to free me, and offer a new life.

I am a living witness of what we call prevenient grace. God was reaching out to me in the midst of darkness before I even had a clear understanding of Him. In the late 1980s, while I was completely drunk in a nightclub, I heard the voice of God saying: “Leave this place; this is not where you belong.“

At that moment, I thought it was just my imagination or the effect of intoxication. However, over the years, I understood that it was God searching for me, just as He did with Adam in Genesis 3:9: “Where are you?”

God, in His grace, was calling the fallen man to return to Him. That voice impacted me so deeply that I left the nightclub and never returned to that kind of life. It has not been easy, but it has been so good. Praise be to God.

I continued attending the small group and started going to church. Then, one day at a youth retreat, the Holy Spirit took hold of me so powerfully during a prayer vigil that I fell to the ground. When I got up, I had the certainty that heaven was open for me. I began to pray for others, and God started using me—those I prayed for also received the Holy Spirit.

From that day on, I understood that God had called me into ministry and wanted to use me. I was set free from sin and the demons that had bound me. I started preaching, and with the support of my church, I was sent to seminary, where I studied theology. I became a pastor, fully convinced that my calling was the path I needed to follow, obeying God without needing anything else.

Throughout my ministry, I have faced difficulties, but always with the certainty that God was guiding me. I have witnessed the move of God and have preached in many places around the world, seeing the work of the Holy Spirit and the fruits of His power.

If someone were to ask me: “What is the secret to ministry?” I would answer without hesitation: surrender.

People often see ministry as a matter of achievements, results, numbers, and success. However, this mindset has led many to discouragement and frustration because they have begun to act as “gods of their own ministry,” believing that their performance and efforts are the key to success.

The apostle Paul asks a crucial question in 2 Corinthians 2:16: “And who is sufficient for these things?“

With this, he highlights human incapacity for ministry without total dependence on God. Paul himself lived with an attitude of surrender, considering everything as loss for the sake of gaining Christ (Philippians 3:8). He also taught that God’s power is made perfect in our weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9).

We should not be afraid to be honest and recognize our limitations. God did not call us because we were capable, but He loved us when we were still sinners and brought us out of darkness for His glory.