At 19, Jonathan’s life in Kinshasa felt like it was going nowhere. He was chasing everything the culture told him would make him matter, like money, drugs, parties, women—but it only left him feeling empty.
“I grew up like most kids in Kinshasa,” Jonathan shared. “My friends and I were heavily influenced by the culture around us. We looked up to rap stars. Smoking, drinking, money, women. That was my way to connect with them.”
But beneath the bravado, Jonathan was hurting. He couldn’t escape the guilt that followed him after every high.
One day, while waiting to buy drugs, something unexpected happened. The dealer handed him a book instead.
“He said, ‘Someone gave this to me. I don’t know what to do with it.’”
It was a OneHope Book of Hope, a short Scripture booklet created to help young people understand the Gospel in a way that speaks to their everyday struggles and is contextualized to their cultural context.
While he continued to wait for his drugs, Jonathan opened the booklet out of curiosity. Inside, he found messages about self-worth, identity, and the unconditional love of God. One verse stopped him in his tracks: Jesus saying God knows the number of hairs on each person’s head.
“And right then, I realized—even me, as a sinner—God knows me. He loves me,” said Jonathan.
Right there, Jonathan made a decision. He told the dealer he no longer wanted the drugs he had paid for. And when he reached the end of the book, he prayed the prayer inside and surrendered his life to Christ.
That Sunday, he finally walked into the church he had passed by many times before.
“I was no longer trapped in constant shame. What I felt instead was joy. And what I still feel to this day is peace.”
The change in his life didn’t go unnoticed.
“People around me started to respect me, and I began to respect myself, too. I began to treat others with more consideration. The message I kept sharing with them was about God’s love.”
But the story doesn’t end there. Jonathan’s transformation became a powerful testimony. Many of his friends who were once caught up in the same party lifestyle came to know Christ after witnessing the change in him.
Even the drug dealer who handed him the Book of Hope, simply to get rid of it, was eventually moved by Jonathan’s story. That same message of redemption reached his heart, too—and he gave his life to Jesus.
From hopelessness to healing, from addiction to purpose, Jonathan now walks in the light, sharing the very hope that changed his life.
Watch Jonathan’s full story and see how one book changed everything.
Know someone who needs hope? Share Jonathan’s story to show that transformation is always possible.
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OneHope Team
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