From darkness to pulpit: one man’s journey from near-death and despair to transformation and ministry.
Gang Member Shot, Visits Hell, Returns to Lead 17,000 to Christ
This is the extraordinary testimony of JP (John Paul), a former gang member who was shot in the head and experienced a terrifying journey through hell’s outer darkness before returning to lead over 17,000 souls to Christ. His account, featured on the YouTube channel “Touching The Afterlife,” offers a chilling glimpse into the reality of hell and the incredible power of God’s transformative grace.
Watch his powerful testimony in this gripping video.
When Death Becomes a Divine Appointment
At 1:30 AM, with a bullet lodged in the back of his skull and blood soaking his clothes, JP (John Paul) experienced something that would forever change not only his life but the lives of over 17,000 people he would later lead to Christ.
What began as a gang shooting became a divine appointment—a terrifying journey through hell’s outer darkness that ultimately led to one of the most powerful testimonies of redemption you’ll ever hear.
“I thought to myself, ‘I’m going to die. I’m dying. What’s going on here?'”
This isn’t just another near-death experience. This is the raw account of a man who lived in the deepest darkness of gang violence, experienced the literal darkness of hell, and emerged as a beacon of God’s transformative power.
From Childhood Trauma to Gang Violence
JP’s journey into darkness began with childhood sexual abuse at age six, violent parents, and being told repeatedly he was “a mistake.” “I felt very abandoned. I felt left alone. I felt like I had nobody,” JP recalls. “I was hurting for someone to love me, somebody to care for me.”
At age 13, desperate for belonging, JP made a life-defining decision. At a memorial service for two deceased gang members, he threw up a gang sign in a Polaroid photo, knowing it would force the South Rialto gang to “jump him in.” After being beaten by 12-15 gang members, someone picked him up, hugged him, and said, “Welcome to the family.”
“That was something that I was really longing for. I wanted to belong to something, and these guys gave it to me.”
What followed was a rapid spiral into car theft, shootings, robberies, and prison time. The violence escalated until rival gangs spray-painted “187” (police code for homicide) with JP’s name on his father’s house. His 6’4″, 370-pound father was found on the floor with a shotgun, protecting his family. “I’d never seen my father like that before. My father was scared. The first thing I thought about was payback and revenge.”
The Night Everything Changed: Shot in the Head
In 1997, after being released from Soledad State Prison, JP returned to his neighbourhood feeling invincible. On what seemed like an ordinary night, he decided to attend a party on the next block. At 1:30 AM, as JP got into a car to go home, his world exploded into violence.
“An individual jumped out of the bushes. Next thing you know, I had a gun to my head and I turned briefly quickly and I heard the gun go off. One of the bullets was lodged in the back of my skull.”
Bleeding out on a girl’s lap, unable to move, JP watched in the rear-view mirror as the shooter tried to reload to finish him off. In those moments between life and death, profound thoughts flooded his mind:
“I thought to myself, you know what? I haven’t even been a father to my kids. I haven’t even held a job. I’m in and out of prison. But here I am, shot in the head.”
As JP lay dying, he experienced a supernatural “life review.” “It seemed like there were slides, like little pictures that came up and was going through my mind. And in these slides that I saw were experiences of my life from a young kid to my present day. I experienced all the emotion and all the feelings through all these brief, super fast moments.”
This supernatural experience was just the beginning. What JP would encounter next would haunt him for eight years and ultimately lead to his salvation.
Journey to Hell’s Outer Darkness
After the life review, JP’s experience took a terrifying turn into what he describes as hell’s “outer darkness”—a place of unimaginable fear and progressive torment that aligns perfectly with biblical descriptions.
“Next thing you know, I’m in this dark place. I believe the scripture talks about the outer darkness. I’m in this dark place and as soon as I get there, there’s this fear that comes over me.”
JP, who had fought “big dudes” throughout his life without backing down, encountered a fear unlike anything he had ever experienced. “This type of fear I’m talking about was a quenching fear that made me quench a lot when I was there. I fought some big dudes in my life, and I’ve had some fear, but I went at it. But this fear was different.”
What makes JP’s account particularly chilling is being forced deeper against his will: “There was something behind me and it wouldn’t let me stay there. It was pushing me in. It seemed like there were stages of darkness, and there was a deeper darkness. The farther I went in there, the more the fear came over me. I didn’t want to go there, but I had no choice.”
As JP was pushed deeper, he began to hear what he initially thought was laughter and rejoicing. “But to be honest with you, it was people screaming for help. Some of these voices sounded familiar to me, really familiar to me, but I couldn’t pinpoint who they were.” One voice haunted him: “I remember one person, one guy, I can hear him saying, ‘Help me. Help me.’ But he was way in the deep darkness.”
JP suddenly woke up in the hospital, tubes in his nose, going into convulsions. Medical staff had to strap him down. “At that moment in my life, I knew that I had experienced something, but I didn’t know what it was.” Yet even this terrifying glimpse of eternity wasn’t enough to immediately change his life.
Eight Years of Continued Rebellion
Despite experiencing hell’s outer darkness, JP’s heart remained hardened. When his father fell to his knees crying, begging him to choose family over the gang, JP almost broke. “It almost broke me to the point where I almost bowed down and hugged him and told him I was sorry.” But instead, he chose revenge.
JP went on what he calls “a very bad tear in the neighborhood,” becoming so violent and paranoid that even fellow gang members avoided him. The cycle continued: more prison time, deeper involvement with the Mexican Mafia, and increasing violence. “My mind was so full of evil.”
Throughout these eight years, JP kept a Bible in his house and would occasionally put his hand on it, but he couldn’t share his hell experience with anyone. “I couldn’t share this with my homeboys because they would have thought I was crazy.” This period demonstrates the incredible hardness of the human heart and how even supernatural encounters with divine truth may not immediately produce repentance.
Divine Intervention: The Voice That Changed Everything
By 2005, JP faced life in prison. But through miraculous circumstances—including the Miranda Act signed by Governor Schwarzenegger—he was unexpectedly released after 45 days, just one day before he was scheduled to commit murder for the Mexican Mafia.
“That night, my cell popped open and the correction officer comes up. She goes, ‘Martinez, you’re getting released.’ I’m like, ‘There must be a mistake.’ Just think, tomorrow I had to kill somebody. It had to be done tomorrow. And I’m getting released.”
A parole officer gave JP a phone number to a Christian men’s home. JP laughed: “Man, you got the wrong dude. There’s no way that I’m going to a Christian home.” But he took the number anyway.
Driving with his mother on the 605 freeway toward East LA, JP heard something that would shatter his hardened heart:
“And then all of a sudden I heard a voice and it said, ‘For the wages of sin is death.'”
“I’ve never heard the voice of God before, but this voice and what was said had so much power to it that it hit me. And when it hit me, I remembered the dream that I had—the place I went to when I was shot in the head.”
The memory of hell’s outer darkness flooded back, along with the same overwhelming fear. “I started weeping in the car. And I don’t cry. I don’t cry at all.” For the first time in his adult life, JP broke down completely. “I said, ‘I can’t do it no more. If I go back to the neighborhood, I’m going to die.'”
JP called the Christian men’s home: “The guy goes, ‘Well, we’re full right now, but for you, we’re going to make room. Come on down.'”
Salvation and Transformation: Seven Hours with God
At the Christian men’s home, JP encountered tattooed former gang members radiating a love and peace he had never experienced. “These guys were all tatted down on their face, bald heads. I’m thinking to myself, ‘This is a Christian men’s home? Are you serious?'”
“Some guy reaches out and hugs me. And it tripped me out because I don’t do hugging. And he said, ‘Love you, brother. We got a place for you here. You’re welcome here. You’re family.'”
In a back room, they asked JP: “You ever accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior?” JP was honest: “No, I’ve never accepted Christ before. I’m not too sure about it, but if you guys want me to do this, then I’ll say it.” They clarified it had to be his choice. JP agreed and said the sinner’s prayer.
The next morning during prayer time, JP experienced complete transformation. “I just got down on my knees and I started praying. I just felt like something come over me and I felt like this weight had lifted off of me—like a ton of bricks had came off me. I started weeping.”
In front of 40 other former gang members, JP experienced complete brokenness and healing:
“I’m just crying, weeping, snots coming out my nose, my shirt’s all dirty, and I’m thinking about all the horrible things that I’ve done to people, all the horrible things that I did to my family. And I can hear the voice of God saying that you’re forgiven. You’re forgiven. And everything has been washed away by my blood.”
JP was so lost in this encounter that he prayed for seven hours straight without realizing it. “I had an experience with God. I had an experience with God there.”
Months later, God revealed JP’s calling through Isaiah 61: “For the spirit of the Lord is upon thee, and I’ve anointed thee to preach the gospel.” JP felt inadequate but recognized God’s grace: “It didn’t matter to God where I came from. God could call a person like me, a drug addict, gang member, alcoholic—call somebody like me, clean them up, and use them for his kingdom.”
Twenty Years Later: 17,000 Souls and Counting
JP has now served the Lord for 20 years, leading over 17,000 people to Christ through preaching the gospel and sharing his testimony. Behind his transformation was Joe (“Wino”), a faithful friend who never gave up praying for him after losing his own brother to gang violence.
Throughout JP’s years of violence, Joe consistently reached out with the gospel. “This guy would never leave me alone. When I’d be walking in the neighborhood, he would always pull up and be like, ‘Get in the car. Come on, I’m going to take you home.'”
One powerful encounter occurred when JP was at home, armed and dangerous: “I have a gun in my waistband. I’m loaded. This guy comes to my house and goes, ‘Hey, I’ve been fasting and praying with my church. God spoke to me. He said you have a call of God on your life.'”
“I remember I just started weeping. I started weeping and crying, man.”
Joe’s prophetic words: “Your life is going to change one day. And when it does, make sure you come and tell me. I’ll continue to pray for you.”
When JP got saved, Joe was the first person he contacted. “I told him, ‘Hey Joe, thank you. Thank you for not giving up on me, for coming knocking on my door, having enough courage to knock on my door and tell me about Jesus Christ.'”
Joe recently went home to be with the Lord, and JP spoke at his celebration of life service, sharing how Joe’s faithful prayers contributed to the salvation of over 17,000 souls through JP’s ministry.
A Legacy Written in Eternity
JP’s story stands as irrefutable proof that no life is beyond God’s reach. From the gang-infested streets of South Rialto to the outer darkness of hell itself, God pursued one hardened heart with relentless love. Today, that same man who once spread terror now spreads hope, having led over 17,000 souls from darkness into light.
The ripple effect of one transformed life continues to expand across eternity. Every person JP has led to Christ represents a family changed, a community impacted, and a soul rescued from the very hell he experienced firsthand.
Your Divine Appointment Awaits
If you’re reading this, it’s not by accident. Perhaps you’re the gang member everyone has written off. Maybe you’re the family member who has been faithfully praying for years. Or you could be someone who needs to hear that transformation is possible, no matter how dark your past.
JP’s message is clear: “If God changed me, He can change anybody. I was really, really bad.”
Don’t wait for a bullet to the head to seek God. Don’t wait for a journey through hell to recognize your need for salvation. Your divine appointment is right now.
The same God who pulled JP from hell’s outer darkness is calling your name today. Will you answer?
