Dennis Coad Shares HIs Story Of Trials And Triumphs of Life And Freedom In Jesus Christ

Dennis Coad Shares HIs Story Of Trials And Triumphs of Life And Freedom In Jesus ChristThis interview features the powerful personal testimony of Dennis Coad. He details a life marked by severe childhood trauma, extreme addiction, mental illness, and crime, culminating in a radical spiritual transformation that led to his current ministry serving the homeless, addicted, and veterans in the Springfield area.Childhood Adversity: Dennis recounts suffering severe trauma and molestation at age 12 in Arkansas. Overwhelmed by confusion and a town that blamed him, he ran away to live in a hand-dug hole in the woods, marking the true beginning of his emotional homelessness.Substance Dependency: To deaden his intense guilt and pain, he began stealing his father's whiskey. This quickly expanded into sniffing glue, using gasoline, popping pills, and ultimately heavy heroin addiction.Frozen and Declared Dead: As a teenager, Dennis drank two pints of whiskey on a dare, passed out in a winter ditch, and was pronounced "dead on arrival" at the hospital before miraculously surviving.A Miraculous Rescue from Drowning: In 1991, while on a multi-day drinking bender, he fell out of a boat into a freezing lake. Sinking rapidly, he gave up and let the air out of his lungs, only to see a brilliant light and feel physically lifted out of the water and back into the boat by a divine force.A Devastating Car Accident: In 1981, while driving down a one-way street the wrong way under the influence, Dennis crashed his motorcycle head-on into a car. His fiancée tragically passed away in his arms.A Failed Suicide Attempt: Plagued by internal voices and severe despair, Dennis placed a handgun in his mouth and pulled the trigger, but the weapon completely misfired.Armed Robbery & Arson: In a desperate search for drug money, Dennis robbed a convenience store at gunpoint and locked the clerk inside an icebox. Later that day, he burglarized a neighbor's home and poured gasoline throughout the structure to burn away his fingerprints, barely escaping the ensuing blaze alive.Prison as a Sanctuary: When a judge sentenced him to 10 years in the Kansas State Penitentiary, Dennis felt an overwhelming sense of relief because he knew it would finally protect him from hurting himself or others.An Answered Prayer: By May 2008, Dennis was diagnosed with bipolar schizophrenia, clinical depression, and PTSD. Desperate, his mother encouraged him to watch a television broadcast by minister Andrew Wommack.Instant Deliverance: During the broadcast, Dennis followed an instruction to pray for his own healing and felt a physical "zap" from the Holy Spirit. He describes being instantly freed from all mental illnesses and drug cravings, prompting him to throw away his medications and completely shift his life's direction.Street and Homeless Outreach: Because of his background, Dennis is able to build immediate rapport with local individuals struggling with homelessness and addiction, offering them hope from a place of genuine understanding.The Discipleship Campus: His ministry has grown to include a small campus featuring four apartments, a sanctuary, a warehouse, and a woodworking shop. Here, individuals are housed, discipled, taught trade skills, and helped back onto their feet.Self-Sufficient Cabins for Veterans: Dennis is actively working on a vision to build affordable, solar-powered, self-sufficient cabins on rural land for homeless veterans. The project aims to provide housing and agricultural opportunities to restore their purpose so they can eventually mentor others.Early Trauma & The Spiral of AddictionNear-Death Experiences & SurvivalA Week of Crime and ConfinementThe Moment of Radical HealingRedemptive Ministry: "The Least of These"