Reach Films Vol. 1

Come to find out, as soon as I got out, I went right back to the same thing. To be honest with you, I was going to find money over family, over faith, over me. And I really thought I knew what I was doing. I really thought that was being a man. [MUSIC PLAYING] And my name is Ryan Redmond. I was born in Shreveport, Louisiana, but mama moved us to Kansas City shortly after that. I grew up on a block of 34th and Prospect, very close to my grandma's house. Growing up in the city was a little bit different from me coming from the south, because it was faster. Going through what I went through, it was just me, my brother, and my mama, because my daddy passed away when I was really young, before I could have a connection with you. He passed away. And so all we had to depend on was my mama. Watching my mama work two or three jobs at a time to take care of me and my brother was hard. We really didn't spend a lot of time with my mom growing up, so it was just really me and my brother. I was a typical young kid, teenager running around the city in search of a father figure. I would try to chase my brother, and my brother would want to go off doing his own thing, so it kind of left me alone, walking these streets, and really just looking for a friend, a father,

anything at this point, because I was lonely. It got to the point to where I got lost. I got lost. I fell into the wrong hands. I started hanging out with the older guys around the block. Just learning all the wrong moves and all the wrong ways of the street, not really paying attention to what was the right thing to do. I went from just hanging out to actually becoming a part of. I hung around guys that hustled and smoke all day, shoot dice in the alleyways, hanging out on the block. I really thought that was the way of life, because it's what I've seen. A bunch of the older guys, flashing money, flashing cars, hanging out with women. And I just thought that was life. I thought that's where I should go. I didn't know no better, and I really didn't have a father figure speaking life into me. And I'm not using that as an excuse by no means, but it really took a lot of motivational drive out of me, because a lot of the stuff that I've seen in the streets didn't really match up where my grandma and my mama was trying to speak into me. So a lot of resentment built up in me. And I caused a lot of my family grief. I spent a lot of time running from my mama, running from my brother, running from my family, just because deep down inside, I felt like a disgrace, because, honestly, they were in church faithfully.

And they had a biblical background to where I felt like I wasn't living up to that standard. I looked at Christianity as a standard, instead of as a way. It took all the way until one day, of course, I got caught. I got locked up, and you would think that would humble me and change my ways. Now, while I was in there, I always told myself, when I get out, I'm going to change, I'm going to do this, I'm going to do that, I'm going to get better. Come to find out, as soon as I got out, I went right back to the same thing. To be honest with you, I was going to find money over family, over faith, over me. I really thought I knew what I was doing. I really thought that was being a man. I really thought that was being a father. I really thought that was being a normal young man. And it took years for me to even try to change my ways. I had a life-changing moment. I was working a job to where I was driving a truck, and I was doing delivery routes and stuff, and dumping trash. I was a trash man. I talked to all my customers, and I spent a lot of time deflecting on who I really was. And I have to say, until I stumbled into one customer, that eventually will become my wife. And I knew something was different about her, because she-- One day, we got to talking and her brother was going to some church that was making radical moves

in his life, and I had overheard that. And they were doing baptisms. And he invited me to his baptism. Everything in me wanted to say no, especially when I asked him where was it at. And he told me to the location of Reach KC, which is right off Van Brunt. [MUSIC PLAYING] Because to be honest with you, in my mind, in this area is where I actually got into a lot of trouble. This area is where I actually went to jail. This area, I really seen stuff that I should have never seen at that age, heard stuff, listened to stuff that I should have never listened to at that age. And so I was really, really fearful coming back to this area, but something in me was like, just go. And I did. I come to realize with that invitation that wasn't an invitation from Rachel's brother, that was an invitation from our real father. And I can't really explain what had done in my life because I thought that was going to be a turning point in my life by coming to that baptism. And if I'm going to be honest, I came to the baptism, not thinking church, not thinking community, not thinking relationships, just strictly to see him get baptized and go back to my life that I was living. Not knowing that with that invitation, that seed that was planted saved my life. The very first person that even came over and said anything

to me and spoken to life and to me was Tucker. I went to Tucker with a bunch of questions, confused, lost, still, even though I was in the house of God, I was lost. And Tucker said some simple words to me that radically changed my life. And that you need to get connected. You need to get connected. I thought Tucker would say I need to get connected with him. Coming to find out Tucker was saying I need to get connected to the body, which is the body of Christ, which is us. Reach KC has changed my life radically. God has changed my life radically. I really honestly don't even know where to begin to tell you how much he's done in my life. I have a wife that comes to church faithfully. I have two beautiful girls, two beautiful girls that love Jesus, sisters and brothers in Christ here, that we commune together, we communicate, we build together, we grow together, we walk together. I mean, my mind, my mind, I don't even think the same, like my heart posture, I truly feel I make a joke with it to my wife, but I feel like he's turned my sensitivity up. And I'm just forever grateful what Jesus has done for my life. And I truly believe, I truly believe to anybody out there if he can do it for me, if he can do it for you. And I reverse, it really sticks close to my heart. And it's the book of James, chapter four, verse eight. Come near to God, and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts.

You double-minded. One thing I know is that Jesus didn't call me by my sin. He called me by my name. It's nearly been a decade since I stood on that bridge. And I owe it all to Jesus. Hi, my name is Diane Boots, I am 27 years old and this is my story. I grew up in a really small town in the middle of nowhere, Mississippi. I grew up in church. I went to church pretty much every Sunday. I knew I was supposed to do something with my life. I was really sick as a baby and so, you know, in my head I'm just thinking, "Well, I survived all that, so God must have a plan for me. There must be something I'm supposed to do." I didn't really know. I didn't know how to ask God, "Hey, what am I supposed to do with my life?" I was getting close to graduation, I had lined up a couple college ideas, so I just signed up for helping volunteer at Kids Camp and the kids pastor that was preaching for that week kind of talked to me and asked me what was going on in my life, what was I doing, what was my plan, and I said, "I really don't have anything. I know God wants to use me, I just don't know how." And so he told me, "You should come to this Bible college at my church." And I ended up feeling like that was kind of a consolation prize because I just told him that I had no plans for anything about my future. So we packed up the Kids Camp and I was helping the district youth director and his wife rode with me in my truck to bring some stuff back to the main campus of the churches. And we just talked along the way she asked me about my life too and asked me what my plan was and like in passing I just mentioned that I'd seen this swinging bridge on my drive up so I thought maybe on the way down I'll stop, maybe on the way back home, I should stop there. After we got done I was driving back home and I get this panicked phone call, "You missed

your turn, you missed your turn." And I had my GPS pulled up, I knew I was going the right direction. And he said, "No, you need to go see the swinging bridge." At this point I was just tired but I was like, "I might as well go back, whatever." And I'm just still talking to the Lord, just kind of, "I don't know what I'm supposed to do, I feel like he offered that I should go to this Bible college, just be nice. I don't know, what should I do with my life, what do I do now?" And I got to this bridge and it was an ordinary bridge. Just in that moment I stood there and I said, "God, I don't know what I'm supposed to do with this life. I don't know where I'm supposed to go, I don't know how I can add value to this world. I really don't know what to do other than take the step of faith and believe that you do have good plans for me." And so I did it. I took one step forward and then I drove home and I told my mom about what I did, what I accomplished at the kids camp and told her I was going to apply to this school. I really felt like it was still a consolation prize so I wasn't really applying and then the kids pastor texted me and was like, "Hey, I really want you to apply to this school. Please actually send in an application, you know, the cohort advisor hasn't heard anything about you so please actually sign up." And I did and so I moved to West Monroe, Louisiana to go to Bible college and get a degree and trying to figure out what it meant to have a relationship with the Lord. Because I didn't really know how to do that. After three years of Bible college and being mentored by some of the best men and women of God that I could have ever asked to meet, I was close to graduation with more of no idea what to do and I had an opportunity to open up. So I figured this is it, this is how the Lord wants me to do my life. I'm just going to go because it's the first door that opened and then I went and it was a failure. After only a few months I realized that it wasn't where I was supposed to be.

I realized that I had never even asked God what I was supposed to do. So I started writing down what I wanted to do with my life, what I felt like God might be asking of me and I... the college town and I tried to apply everywhere to get any kind of job. I ended up moving back home to Mississippi with my mom and I prayed I asked the Lord I looked for wisdom I talked to people saw Facebook posts about a pastor who had a open position in a kids church and I've always worked with children I love kids I pursued that lifestyle of like helping teach children about the Lord he just said I can provide a small stipend I have a family that'll let you stay with them until we can help you find a place to live we'll help you find a job we'll get some connections we'll find you somewhere to work while you're here and I just texted the pastor I was like hey is this still open is it still available tell me a little bit more about your church I'll send over my resume so I sent my resume sent my vision plan for the first year of ministry and I just wanted it to be his will this time and so I drove all the way to this church and sat down for lunch with him and his family he started sharing about the vision for this church I'd seen the building and it was new to them and so it was exciting and there was so much potential and felt like I was home I didn't know why this is where I'm supposed to be and as I sat at that lunch table hearing about the vision they had for what they do in the future and where they were going it was almost as if I realized why I never knew any details for what I wanted to do I just sat there 100 percent bought in to this vision because it's what God had had me write down on those yellow papers years before the whole time I had no idea while I'm writing on these papers I have no idea how I'm supposed to accomplish anything we drove back to that house and you know that the pastor's wife is between two car seats with their little girls and she says hey so you're gonna move here and I wanted to be obedient to God and I didn't want to do the wrong thing again so without any concern or any fear I said yes I knew it was where I was supposed to be I knew it was what I was called to do so I packed everything I owned into my little Prius

and I drove to Kansas City Missouri I burned the plows I moved to Kansas City with nothing and since then God's given me everything I have a wonderful husband who loves me and serves faithfully at this church alongside me I have two beautiful babies that I love with my whole heart and I get to raise them and I get to be around the most wonderful church reaching unlikely people from overlooked places to do extraordinary things you know what's crazy is on that notepad I wrote down something that God had spoken to me in college that was really exciting because I love photography I love capturing moments and looking for those overlooked details I remember writing down that I wanted to record people's stories I know that God is big also know that God is big for you and in some way he's changed your life or maybe he's going to change your life and I know that if I look at all these testimonies and all these different stories and I put them all together somehow we'd be able to look at God in a clearer way like maybe we'd be able to look at God and say wow you really are more than we could ever imagine and I can say that because I've seen you move in this person's life and this story and this way and then this wonderful miracle I watched in someone else's life maybe if we pieced all those things together we'd be able to see God for who he really is the God who works all things together for the good of those who seek him I don't know what I'm going to do with this wife. But I know that I'm going to trust God with it. And hopefully, by telling my own story, I'll just get to be a piece of everyone else's. When raised in a neighborhood called Skunk caller, it was a drug neighborhood, a criminal neighborhood. My dad was a drug dealer all my life. He ended up going from selling weed to selling meth to cooking meth. And that's what worked my childhood. My dad taught me how to be a criminal in a thug. Growing up, my dad was an alcoholic.

And he was really abusive to me and my brother and my mom. More than anything, he was really controlling of us. He controlled everything in my life who I talked to. I mean, we were taught to stay in our rooms that all times we were allowed to make friends. It followed me into being an adult. I was always really secluded and strange. [MUSIC PLAYING] My childhood was dark and warped and demonic. It was all the street life, the criminal life. That's all I was raised around was killers and gangsters and thugs. And I don't know why it's that life. I wanted to be. It looked fun. It looked incredible. And it landed me in prison. I went to the feds once I was an adult for aggravated robbery, car-jacking, possession ox count to distribute, and possession firearm, an act of violent crime. My brother was my code offended. And we end up-- both of us turn into adults in prison. We turn into men. And it's not-- it's not a world to live in. I ganged up or tipped up what he would call it. I was a dirty white boy, and it was violent. There was no God. Me and my brother both got into the Odinism, which is the Viking religion, which is demonic. As I got older, I had a boyfriend in high school

who basically did the same thing to me. He controlled my whole life. Secluded me from everyone I wasn't allowed to have friends. He introduced me to drinking, and I just-- I never stopped. He was awake to escape, I guess. And the older I got, once I was able to buy it myself, especially, it was-- it controlled everything. It warped both of our lives. We were lucky that we ever made it home. I was in the halfway house. And in the halfway house, it was not a good place. It's a trap house. It wasn't long, I was strong now. Scared to leave the halfway house, because every time I walked out, I was shaking. And it had anxiety attacks and panic attacks. Coming out of prison is the worst in coming off any drug addiction. It was withdrawals from it. It was hard to adapt back into society. But I've had my aunt, which was my mom, pretty much my whole life. She was the one that helped me quite a bit. When I first got out, she would try to give me to go do stuff and go places. And she wound up getting me a job at a place called Jams, a bar and grill in Barnersbury, Kansas. One of her best friends owned it. And that was actually my wife's grandma.

We would have like really awkward, casual conversations after work. I found out where he was living was the halfway house, right down the street from where I was living with my dad. And so I offered to give him rides to and from work. And that's how that started. Oh, me and Cody, at this point, moving forward, I mean, we were always living together. We were both really bad in our addictions. Him with the drugs and drinking. And I was drinking a ridiculous amount. We were both lying to each other. And it just got out of control. That's what everything revolved around was our addictions. Cody was going to jail a lot, coming in and out because of our fighting and the drugs. And we ended up going to the doctor. Found out I was pregnant with my son. And I quit drinking, of course, when I was pregnant. This time of my life, man, when I first had kids, I thought it was going to face my addiction. And it didn't. When my daughter was born, both my kids were born in C-section. And I couldn't wait to get out of the operation room so I could go do the shot of dope. So I couldn't go get high. But I think we just had a lot of resentment towards each other because... I mean, it was just always fighting, and lying, and cheating, and all kinds of stuff we were doing to each other. I got better for a little bit. And pages of drinking didn't stop. I was hoping that both of us was far from God at this time. We never even...

I even talked about God because I was all into the Odinism thing, and I was against Christ in Jesus. And I really looked at Christianity as a coward's way out, man. That was what I thought. So I'm in the county jail. And this first time I actually got to go to the county and stay there before I can't get out. They made my bond way too high. I'm just possessed by my demons. I'm just listening to the voices and just thinking about all the bad things I'm going to do to these people when I get out. And one day I woke up and I looked at my door and I see this little old man, Ricky Beach. And right off the rip, I just judged him up. And I was like, "Oh, that's going to be the one I'm making this ample out of." I end up making a phone call at the page and right off the rip, me her start fighting. And I tried to rip the phone off the wall, and the cops were trying to get me to go to myself, and I'm trying to get him to fight me. And for some reason, just leave me alone and let me walk around and pace. And at this point, I'm just doing circles around the pod and I'm talking to myself. And I'm talking about how I'm going to kill my girlfriend at the time. I'm a kid's mom. And then Ricky, at this point, is already sitting down at the table. And he ends up getting my attention and calls me, "Hey, don't I know you?" And I was like, "Well, you kind of look familiar." And I don't know how, but somehow I wound up sitting at this table and somehow I wound up in my cell reading the Bible. I don't know how it just happened. And somehow the Bible just made sense. The first time I actually picked it up, but it was the first time I picked the Bible up and didn't read it like a book. I started at page one. And Ricky told me, "Don't do it like that. He told me to pick it up and read, start the Gospels." And he said, "Start on John." And it gave me a different aspect. Jesus, man. I used to look at him like he was a coward.

He was a punk. These people put him on a cross and kill him and didn't even have the aspect of the love behind it and the sacrifice. And it gave me a different outlook of just life, of how warped I was from prison, from the streets, and from what I was taught as a kid, and what I learned in the joint, and just how lost I was, man, how brainwashed I was. I invited Cody over to decorate the tree with me and the kids one night. And really the point I wanted him to come over was because I wanted to talk to him or explain to him how bad it was for me, with my drinking, and had no ambition to get better or change anything for my life. I was just extremely depressed and I was just ready to give up. Basically, I just drank myself to death. Before I left the house, I gave her ultimative and I told her I didn't care. She didn't call the cops and we can get them involved in all that, but my kids wasn't standing where I was leaving with them. And she asked me before I left, though. How he did it. And he did. He told me. I don't know how to explain it. I just gave it to God, man. I just submitted it to God. But I've conquered so many hills and mountains with God back in me, man. We're talking about things that control my entire life. He told me to just pray on it. So I did. I prayed. And I never stopped praying. I went to church. We've been here every week since. He joined 101 and I was really upset with him about that because he tricked me. I'm not. I don't like talking in front of people. I had to do that in that class, so that caused an argument. But I did it. And then we got to 201 and then I was even more upset because I had to do my testimony in front of the class. So I didn't think I was going to be able to do that. Trust and award with all your heart and do not lean on your own understandings in all your ways, acknowledge him, and he will make sure your path. Obviously this isn't how our relationship started or our lives in general. I mean, we're where we're at because of God and we've overcome a lot, and we get to start all over with this new baby, bring her completely up. More percent God. Yeah, it's all she'll know, and we've changed everything with our kids. How we're bringing them up now, our kids talk about Jesus all the time.

They're obsessed with it. They pray all the time. I mean, it's a miracle that we were able to change everything when we did. [Music]