by Bro. Jimmy Hooker

My childhood was very difficult. Alcoholic parents who were constantly fighting and involved in sin raised me. The environment in our house did not love. When I was a small child, I was pouting and decided to lie under my grandfather's car. Unknowingly, he backed the car up and ran over me. I had to wear a brace for five years because of this incident. Even worse, my grandfather was so distraught over what had happened that he had a heart attack and died. This destroyed me on the inside. I felt as though I had killed my grandfather.

One month after I got out of the hospital I came down with rheumatic fever. The doctors also detected a heart murmur and told me it would never go away. I burned up with the fever for many months. These events, plus others, turned me into a very rebellious young man. I decided that I was my own authority, my own director, my own "chairman of the board." I did whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted. I knew nothing about the Spirit of God and wasn't interested in learning anything about it. Rebellion soon led me into a life of alcohol and drugs.

My rebellion continued without interruption. I became a hippie, a drug addict, and eventually a drug dealer. I was arrested and jailed several times. I wouldn't listen to my parents, the police, my lawyers, the judges, or the parole board. I ended up spending time in jails, mental hospitals, and psychiatric wards. I was strapped down, put in straitjackets, and given all kinds of drugs to calm me down. Yet I continued to rebel--against authority, against society, and against God. My mind was so burned out that I couldn't read or write or even talk to anyone. I was completely devastated by drugs and the world around me. In spite of all this, God desired to save my life. He also wanted to do something great in me.

In 1985, I was picked up by the police in Harford County, Maryland. The authorities told me that if something didn't happen with me, I would soon go crazy and kill someone, or myself. They told me they would have to put me away. It was no big deal to me, just more time in another institution. I was sent to the heroin detoxification ward at North Charles Hospital in Baltimore City. At that time, I was a heroin addict. Because of my past drug addiction I have no visible veins in my arms. When I go to the doctors to have blood drawn, they can't find any veins. Most doctors can't believe that I don't presently have AIDS. God sent His word to save my soul, heal me and to deliver me from all my afflictions.

I was on a ward with people who had no arms and legs. I began to realize that I was a blessed person. A nurse told me that the official policy of the State of Maryland is to declare a person to be incurable once they have been diagnosed as a drug addict or an alcoholic. She also told me that the Bible says the Lord can heal us of all our diseases. She said, "Young man, God knows every hair on your head and He has them numbered. He made the heavens and the earth, and He will set you free.. He will deliver you. He is gonna set you free because you have been bound by affliction. " She asked me if she could lay hands on me and pray for me, just as the Bible says. I figured I had nothing to lose. As she began to pray, I heard her binding demon forces and all the power of the enemy. Then, as she pleaded the blood of Christ upon me, I felt the power of God saturate me! I realized then that God had started a work in me and was not going to leave me alone. I could have continued to rebel and my life would have soon been over. But I could not run away from this. I could not hide from God. I remember the Lord telling me, "All these years I have had my hand on your life trying to steer you to where there is hope, peace, and life-where there is deliverance and goodness. You have continually rebelled against me and refused my council. If you will surrender your heart to me, I am going to set you free from this life and raise you up for my glory. You are going to preach my word."

I was sent to Crownsville Mental Hospital for further treatment and ended up in a halfway house. God sent another person, an older man just out of prison. He said, "I have heard about you Hooker. Everyone here is watching you. They think you're gonna go crazy and freak out because you don't have any drugs in your body." I said, "No way, God has delivered me! He has set me free!" All I knew was that I had to believe God is my Savior to be saved. I did that many times while on drugs and alcohol, but it never did me any good. I knew there was a POWER from God that was missing in my life. This old man finally told me, "I've been watching you boy. I know a con man when I see one, and I know who's a fake and a phony and who's not. I can tell that you really love this God of yours. There’s a church over in Arnold, Maryland called Antioch, the Apostolic Church. You need to go there. Those people have something real and the way you're acting, you belong there."

I couldn't really understand what he was talking about since my mind was still so warped from the drugs. When I finally went to the church and said, "God, I want to know all about you," He opened up my understanding and restored my mind. God set me free! I reached out and asked, and He delivered me! Then He spoke this verse of Scripture to me: "Fear thou not; for I am with thee: Be not dismayed; for I am thy God. I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness" (Isaiah 41: 10). I can tell you that God is a deliverer and a healer. He can deliver you, also. You can have what I have. God has restored my mind through His healing power, enabling me to read, write, and preach His Word. The Word (Acts 2:38) tells us to Repent of our sins, to be Baptized in the Name of Jesus, and to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, with the evidence of speaking in other tongues. This wonderful experience of salvation, healing and restoration can work in your life just as it has in mine. You can experience the POWER of the Holy Spirit working in your life, just like I do.

Today, God has opened many doors for Bro Hooker and he stays very busy evangelizing across the country. He is an amazing soul winner who believes in good old fashion street ministry in the inner cities where the heart of the need may be. He is not afraid to talk to people or to go anywhere to bring a word about Jesus. He has an genuine passion for lost souls that is felt in his ministry and seen in the miracles that follow. Bro. Hooker is and evangelist that bases his ministry out of Christian Revival Center. If you are interested in contacting him, he may be reached at:

or you may contact the church at 410-239-4660.