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Scripture for this chapter
Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
2 Corinthians 5:17 KJV
At a glance
Nicky Cruz, once the most hostile of all, tells his own story of transformation at a suburban church.
Nicky's changed life becomes a turning point that strengthens Wilkerson's own commitment to the ministry.
UECF.NET summary
Wilkerson begins weighing whether to move his family to New York and commit to the work full time. During a visit to the city he encounters Nicky — the Mau Maus leader who had earlier been the most openly hostile toward him — and finds him now speaking of wanting to preach. Wilkerson arranges for Nicky to give his testimony at a suburban church, a striking juxtaposition of worlds.
Nicky's testimony, as Wilkerson recounts it, describes a childhood marked by abandonment and violence, and traces how patient, repeated acts of love and trust — refusing to give up on him even after threats and rejection — opened the way for him to accept the message Wilkerson had been living in front of him for months. It is the book's central conversion story and a turning point in Wilkerson's own resolve to stay.
Key points
- Nicky's transformation is presented as the fruit of sustained relationship, not a single encounter.
- The chapter juxtaposes a hardened gang leader's testimony with a comfortable suburban congregation.
- Nicky's changed life becomes a turning point that strengthens Wilkerson's own commitment to the ministry.
Related Scripture
For reflection and discussion
- What role did patient, repeated love — not a single argument — play in Nicky's transformation as described here?
- How does hearing someone's testimony in an unfamiliar setting (like the suburban church) change how it is received?
- Who has God used to keep loving you long enough for something to change?
This page is an original UECF.NET study companion. It does not reproduce any text from The Cross and the Switchblade by David Wilkerson (with John Sherrill and Elizabeth Sherrill), which remains under copyright. Read the full chapter in a legally available edition of the book — see Further Reading & Legal Editions — or borrow the original 1963 edition via Internet Archive’s Open Library controlled digital lending.