LANRE – UrbanPromise STREET LEADER

Born into gang life, surrounded by death and despair, 21-year old Lanre Adeshigbin was brought to life through a powerful encounter with God and the love he’s received from his family at UrbanPromise Toronto (UPT).
        Raised in North Philadelphia, where rival gangs of Bloods and Crypts collide, gang life was all Lanre (pron. “Lonray”) knew. “I wasn’t (in the gang) to fit in or because it was cool, it was just what I knew.” With his mother addicted to crack and an older brother a Crypt “boss” in their neighbourhood, trying to survive was a lifestyle. As a boy, he remembers waking up to his brother sticking a joint in his mouth, and as a teen, robbing people was a routine.
        At age 16, he not only lost his life-long friend Jazz, but was severely wounded when rival gang members stabbed them for playing basketball on their neighborhood’s court. His heart grew harder and colder towards God, being filled with revenge, hatred and disappointment.
        Just a couple years later, Lanre and his brother sat on their porch talking about God. All Lanre knew about God at this point was what Jazz’s mom had told him, as she took the role of mother by cooking and cleaning for them. When his brother got up to inspect a suspicious car in the neighborhood, Lanre watched his brother get shot multiple times and collapse to death right in front of him. Shocked, all he could do was sit and stare as his life was turned upside down.
        Angry and heartbroken, he dove into living life rebelliously and dangerously. “I stopped caring about God, because we were just trying to talk about Him, get educated and then He allowed that to happen.” A lot of people told him he was raised by the Devil and he couldn’t argue because he believed it himself.
        Then just a year later, he was sent to live with his father in Canada because his mother couldn’t afford him anymore. He soon learned that his father didn’t want him either. Treated like an unwanted guest in a hotel, Lanre got in touch with his godmother and moved in with her a few months later. It was through her that he began to hear about God again.

        While a student at Sheridan College, he met a leader from UPT. He began attending church with his new friend and eventually gave his life to Christ. Unfortunately though, he didn’t stop the street life of partying and careless living.
        It wasn’t until May 2008 that he fully turned his back to the kingdom of darkness. God supernaturally saved his life during a drive-by shooting outside a Toronto nightclub, when Lanre heard Him say, “If you don’t turn now, you’ll be next.” It was an easy choice and by that summer, he was a Streetleader at Camp Victory in Etobicoke.
        Growing up, happiness was defined by how much money he had and his street credibility. But after being received into the UPT family, he learned that it’s okay to smile, it’s okay to be happy and it’s okay to be yourself. “I knew what gang love was, but I didn’t know true God love…God’s love is the love I’ve felt from the people at UPT, it’s an everlasting, unconditional love.”
        As a leader empowered to love others in the same way, he’s learned patience, the importance of waiting on God and how to understand people without judging them. Lanre’s life, once filled with unbelievable tragedy, has now been filled with unbelievable victory. God is continuously protecting and restoring his life through grace and power. His desire now is that, “people will understand who God is; to see God in their lives…I want people to realize and appreciate their lives, even to appreciate their struggles.”