Meet Richard

My name is Richard McElrath.  I am 28 years old.  I am only alive because of God’s goodness and mercy.  I am only saved by God’s saving grace.  I was a hopeless case in the eyes of humans.  My mother would tell me about nightmares she had about me lying dead, so when the phone would ring she was scared to answer because this might be the time she must come claim the body of her dead son. 

I am here though to tell the story of how Jesus Christ’s finished work on the cross can save lives.  I was addicted to meth since I was 16. I was injecting it into my veins.  This addiction landed me in jail 54 times and prison 4 times.  I also overdosed 4 different times.  See prison could not break me, addiction could not break me, but Jesus Christ’s saving power broke me and put me back together.  The greatest thing that ever happened was being broken and calling out to the great “I Am”, my true Savior, my Shepherd, Jesus Christ. 

Psalm 23 says thy rod and thy staff comfort me.  And I have found peace in that scripture.  I cried out and found forgiveness, peace, life, and light in the Lord Jesus Christ.  2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come:  The old has gone, the new is here!”  That is me, a new creation!  We have to realize that we have been crucified with Christ.  Galatians 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.”  The best advice I can give is to surrender.  The world has nothing to offer but through Christ we have something to offer the world, our testimony and His Word.