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Salvation, Healing, and a Call to Ministry

Rescued by the Cross, Jose Maldonado shares his miraculous story of salvation, healing, and his call into ministry.
Although 16 years have passed since Jose L. Maldonado attended a Pentecostal church for the first time, he remembers the experience like it happened yesterday.

It took place a week after Maldonado—a one-time drug and alcohol abuser and former gang member—sensed the Lord directing him to walk through the doors of a church.

“This happened five times,” says Maldonado, 48, now the youth pastor at A Place of Hope in West Palm Beach, Florida. “I was scared and shocked because I was in this room by myself, getting wasted. Immediately I understood that God was calling me.”

Before the service, the Connecticut native endured a week of agony. He experienced withdrawal symptoms, body aches, and torment from the devil, who Maldonado says tried to persuade him to return to his old lifestyle.

Maldonado had no idea what was in store when he arrived at the church. Following a powerful encounter with the Holy Spirit, Maldonado felt led to walk to the altar.

At the front, Maldonado prostrated himself on the floor before the Lord. He lay there for a long time, asking God for forgiveness for all he had done. When he sat up, Maldonado saw many other people lying on the floor and calling out to God.

When the pastor walked over, he asked Maldonado if he knew what had happened. When Maldonado shook his head, the pastor began to prophecy over his life, calling him to leave his addiction behind and step into the calling of husband and father for which the Lord had destined him.

Truer words were never spoken. A month later, Jose and Elizabeth married after living together for 14 years. Soon after, both were water baptized and began on the discipleship path that would eventually lead them into ministry.

Before that took place, though, Maldonado experienced life-threatening illnesses that left his survival in doubt. It also sidelined his career as a construction worker and installer of custom doors and windows.

Six years after his conversion, Maldonado contracted a rare kidney disease that required chemotherapy treatment and a month’s stay in the hospital. One day after his release, he was home eating lunch when he saw a large flash before everything went dark.

After he started vomiting, his wife frantically dialed 911. At the hospital, a doctor told Elizabeth her husband had a severe brain bleed caused by a ruptured aneurysm in the left side of his head. He warned Maldonado might not live through the night.

“I believe in the promises of God and I’m not going to go by your word,” she replied. Stepping out of the room, Elizabeth says, “I sat in the corner and prayed to God, fighting with Him.”

Elizabeth continued, “When the sun came up I went back in the room and asked the nurse if he was still alive. She said, ‘Yes, he is.’”

The final miracle wouldn’t take place for a few more years. It occurred after the couple and their children started attending A Place of Hope.

Maldonado was still experiencing kidney problems; at one point the family had temporarily moved back to Connecticut so his mother could help care for him.

During a special service, the senior pastor of A Place of Hope, Eddie Rodriguez, 72, invited Maldonado to tell the congregation about having to be on dialysis and ask for prayer.

At 2 a.m. the next morning, a hospital near Miami called to say he needed to get there right away. They had a kidney ready to be transplanted into his body.

“I had gotten the tremendous conviction God was going to give him a kidney, but I thought it would be a miracle healing,” says Rodriguez, the church’s founding pastor. “Instead, he got a call from the hospital that they had a perfect match. Everybody was amazed. It impacted the church a lot.”

Today, Maldonado’s whole family is involved in youth ministry; Elizabeth is his primary assistant. Son Luis, 27, leads young adults; son Matthew, 25, works with middle and high schoolers; and daughter Taina, 22, handles graphic design and media work.

Reflecting on all the miraculous things God has done in his life, Maldonado says the greatest thing is that He called him out of his destructive addiction, saved his soul, and allowed him to get to know God in an intimate and personal way.

“After that, I’m so grateful for the healing that He brought me,” Maldonado says. “That allowed me to get to know both of my grandchildren (Mia, 5; and Omari, 2). I will serve Him with every part of my life.”

Kenneth C. Walker

Kenneth C. Walker is a freelance writer, co-author, and book editor from Huntington, West Virginia. He has more than 4,500 article bylines and has written, edited, or contributed to more than 90 books.