Tribe Leaders: John & Stella Garza

“Arise, Shine Naphtali – Come to the hope of Israel, the Fountain of Living Waters and be greatly blessed by Adonai!”

I was raised in a home with good morals and lots of love, but not much Bible or reading of Scripture. I lived my life thinking that doing good works and trying not to do the really sinister stuff was the key to a good life and I would be okay. Somehow I would get to Heaven… maybe. As an adult I had all the stuff: cars; home; money in the bank; a great family. I felt that all these things were mine because I worked hard and I deserved them.

Then one day everything started to fall apart. I started to lose all the things I believed were mine. My little dynasty came crashing down. I was losing everything. Then the final blow came when I watched my wife of 20 years die of kidney failure. I got very angry with the Lord and started running in some bad circles. I even considered suicide at one point.

It was then that the Lord brought Stella back into my life. We had known each other as kids some 25 years earlier. I was, and still am, awestruck by her beauty. We started talking and comforting one another – she had some relationships crash and burn in her life, too. So we became very good friends, and I asked her if I could come to her church sometime. She was thrilled and I was curious about Cornerstone.

I remember the first time I walked into Cornerstone – I almost fell out! I didn’t know that that many people went to church all at one time. I followed Stella one too may times into Cornerstone, and then I got saved. I started hearing some things from the pulpit that challenged the way I thought and had always believed. Pastor Hagee told us one day, “Don’t believe me, look it up!” So I did and it was all there in Scripture.

Stella and I began a journey allowing God to use us, and He did. Six months after I got saved, we got married and became one family (4 teenagers and 2 dogs). One year later we started in leadership (Home Ministry), and the group grew and grew. Now we are having the greatest time of our life, serving Jesus, loving each other and the family of God. God has given us a heart for the lost and a burden for those that are bound up in religious traditions and man-made church rules (we were there once!). Stella and I have been called to serve, to evangelize and to love. We belong to the best church, we serve among the best bunch of believers, with a great Pastor. We have a great God who is full of mercy and grace that extends to wherever we are to bring us to a saving knowledge of Him. Praise Jesus and let us together march forward to win the souls of this city, state and country. Let the revival begin with us!