Born to Proclaim The Gospel (Illinois Family Spotlight #340)

In this edition of Spotlight, IFI’s David Smith and Public School Exit’s Ceasar Leflore converse with the one and only Juan Elias-Riesco, former owner of the famous Nini’s Deli (which you can learn about through the documentary Paint the Wall Bla ck) and a blazing torch for the kingdom of Christ.

Elias-Riesco’s testimony of how he became a Christian is anything but boring. Growing up on the streets of Chicago, he quickly became hardened to shoplifting and spiraled into a sinful lifestyle that had him in prison and rejecting God’s design for sexuality. Through the Gospel, he turned a new page in his life and is now married with three children and ministering to everyone he comes into contact with.

“The solution for every problem that our society faces is the hope found in the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the help that is offered through Christian community, or the church. It is the solution. When Christ gave His people the resurrection message in Mathew 28, He could’ve easily said ‘go out into the world and help a bunch of people. . .but He said go out into the world and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. . .though society may have a new sickness, . .the antidote remains the same.” ~Juan Elias-Riesco

Through his new partnership with Love Life, Elias-Riesco will be bringing the hope of the Gospel and the help of the local church to abortion clinics and men and women who have been affected by abortion in the city of Chicago. His main mission for 2023 is what he is calling an “adoption week,” where a business, ministry or church will pray, fast and host a prayer walk around an abortion facility. The heart of this mission is for 40 ministry leaders to adopt 40 weeks for the same abortion facility, and at the end of the 40 weeks, all 40 ministry leaders and their compatriots will gather together for a final prayer walk. If you’re interested in participating, contact Juan at juan@lovelife.org.

Grab tickets to the following pro-life events while they’re still available! The annual SpeakOut Illinois Luncheon will be held on February 5th, and the IFI Worldview Conference: Pro-Life Apologetics will take place on March 18th.