A famous conversion experience
Nicky Cruz
Conversion experiences
A conversion experience is when:
Someone either comes to believe in God in
a way which changes their life or when
someone changes their belief from one
religion to another.
Most conversion experiences are gradual and
take place over many years but sometimes they
are more dramatic! Let’s look at an example.
Nicky Cruz – leader of the Mau Maus
• Nicky Cruz had a tough childhood. By the age of
16 he was a member of the Mau Maus – a violent
street gang in Brooklyn.
• Six months later he became the leader of the
gang and one of the most feared men on the
streets of New York.
• His life was filled with drugs, alcohol and extreme
violence. He was arrested many times and a
psychiatrist said that Nicky was:
‘heading for prison, the electric chair and
hell.’
Conversion
• One day, Nicky came across a Christian preacher. The
preacher told Cruz that God loved him and would never
stop loving him. Nicky spat at and threatened to kill him.
That afternoon the preacher found Cruz again and repeated
his message. This time Nicky hit him but the preacher just
smiled.
• Nicky was deeply affected by the preacher and spent the
next couple of weeks thinking a lot about what he had said.
• Then Cruz decided to go and hear the preacher again along
with some of the other gang members. This time, when he
heard the preacher, Nicky started to pray. He asked God to
forgive him.
A life-changing experience
• The very next day Cruz and some of the gang
members who converted went to the police and
turned in all of their weapons.
• Cruz began to study the Bible and returned to
school.
• He later became a preacher himself and started
travelling the world telling his story.
• He has set up many organisations which help
young people who have fallen into crime and
poverty like he did.