FRESNO, Calif. — Police officer Dave Standley no longer patrols the streets of Fresno on Friday nights — he leads church.
The founder of Gangland Redemption Ministries preaches in a gymnasium at Valley Dream Center in east-central Fresno. Worship includes rap and hip-hop music, church volunteers wear sports jerseys and churchgoers call Standley coach, not pastor.
One recent Friday, Coach Dave talked about the Crucifixion in an equally unorthodox way.
“With this mob looking upon Jesus with rage and ridicule, Jesus goes out like a ‘G’ — full of grace — and he drops the mike and he gives up his spirit.”
Many in the crowd smile, laugh and cheer.
These Friday night services, which started in May, are the latest step in reaching out to a community Standley and others found when searching for a “ground zero” to plant the headquarters of Valley Dream Center. The center has 14 partners — including Standley’s Gangland Redemption Ministries, which he and his wife, Tish Valdez-Standley, founded in 2012 — working toward this mission: “Rescue those with immediate physical needs. Restore individuals and families to health. Equip and release people into the workplace.”
Standley only does Friday night services. He sees himself as a life coach, not a pastor. He wants the services to be another option to help those struggling. He’s led an adopt-a-block program in neighborhoods around Valley Dream Center since 2014 through Gangland Redemption Ministries that provides free bicycle repairs, community cleanups, prayer walks, block parties and a “Laundry of Love” program.
Former gang member Martin Gomez is among the volunteers at Standley’s new Friday-night church. Born and raised in southwest Fresno, he joined a gang at age 10 to combat bullying.
“It was just society, in that area of west Fresno,” Gomez says. “We either stuck together and fought back, or they were just going to keep picking on us.”
He decided he had enough of the gang lifestyle after committing a violent crime.
“I literally cried out by myself, not knowing I was crying out to God, I said, ‘I want change, I need change, I’ve got to have change,’ ” Gomez recalls. “No more than five minutes after that, I got arrested.”
Gomez considered provoking an officer to shoot him, but says he heard a “still voice within me that said, ‘a new beginning.’” When he was released from jail in 2014, he was scared to come out. He checked himself into a drug rehabilitation facility and then became a volunteer at Valley Dream Center.
“Gang members, drug dealers, pimps — every one of them, as a child, had a dream, just like I did,” Gomez says. “They dreamt to be a fireman, they dreamt to be a doctor. They wanted to make something out of themselves. I just want to go back and let them know there’s still hope. It’s still possible. That’s my passion now.”
Standley, who has been a police officer for nearly 20 years and now serves as a school resource officer and is a crisis negotiator with the Fresno Police Department, is inspired by former gang members such as Gomez who have found God.
“That hardwiring — all in, all heart, all passion — goes up to God, and I see warriors for Christ,” Standley says, “guys who put in eight to 12 hours a day at work and they’ll still come out and serve three to four hours. It’s amazing to see the level of effort.”
