How many destructive choices will keep you from the love of Christ?
As a young man, Pastor Lorenzo Archuleta was running from God, living a fast, dangerous life that kept him from leaning into the good things that would come his way, including his boxing career. He repeatedly chose partying and the gang lifestyle over his young wife and family, causing unimaginable heartache.
Archuleta’s young life was steeped in chaos. He was born in April of 1958 in Los Angeles, California, to parents who had a tumultuous relationship; he grew up in several cities throughout California.
Archuleta as an Infant
He attended 15 different schools from kindergarten through the sixth grade. Archuleta’s parents would take him and his siblings to northern California for the summer to work in the fields, picking potatoes, tomatoes, prunes, and wild walnuts to make money for the following year’s school clothes. He describes this time as “fun and always an adventure! But hard work.” Sometimes, the family would stay up north for the next school year. In fifth and sixth grade, Archuleta was the target of bullies at school and was consistently in trouble, especially after he started to fight back. The bullies didn’t care for his efforts to protect himself, and they would run to their teachers, telling of how Archuleta had punched them. The school administrators encouraged his parents to enroll him in some sort of extracurricular activity to keep him out of trouble.
Since he already seemed to have a knack for fighting, his parents enrolled him at a local boxing gym. He eventually moved his training to the Compton House of Champions, where he was a standout prodigy. He won several youth tourneys and became a crowd favorite and local celebrity. One memory from that time still stands out to Archuleta: the town’s mayor rode by in a limo, pulled up beside him, rolled down his window, and said: “Hey, Champ! How’s the training coming along?” A young Archuleta was sure that he had “made it.”
A Young Archuleta in an Advertisement for an Upcoming Fight
Archuleta and Boxing Classmates
Archuleta stayed out of trouble for a couple of years, but by seventh grade, he was back to fighting in school. As the other students learned of his boxing talent, they would challenge him to test his skills. His mom moved him to a different school, and things settled down again. By the ninth grade, he was at yet another new school. He shares that the actual school year went “alright,” but he found that he didn’t fit in. By his own assessment, Archuleta says that he dressed and acted like a “thug”: “I was nothing like I am today.” That summer, Archuleta entered the gang lifestyle where he would stay for many years. In 1974, he met his wife, Martha, at their high school in Compton. It wasn’t long before they discovered that she was expecting a child, and in February of 1975, when Archuleta was 16 and Martha was 17, they were married. Martha gave birth to a son, and the three of them lived with Archuleta’s mother for about six months until they could afford their own place.
Lorenzo and Martha Archuleta on Their Wedding Day
Even his marriage and the birth of their first and second children, Anthony and Angela, did nothing to slow down Archuleta’s partying and his attachment to the gang lifestyle. Soon, Archuleta’s Aunt Terry became a Christian and encouraged him and his wife to join her at the church. Archuleta would have normally given an emphatic “no,” but after one such invitation, he heard the church was playing a movie about Al Capone, a known and infamous gang leader. The movie ended up being about Capone’s driver and his conversion story. Archuleta describes feeling unspoken pressure from his aunt and wife to commit to changing his life. So, he “went through the motions” and put his cigarettes on the altar. However, the conversion wasn’t genuine, and Archuleta returned to his hard living.
Archuleta as a Young Adult
Three days later, he was at the lowest point of his life, in a lot of pain, and he cried out to the Lord. Archuleta likens this experience to “Jonah and the Whale,” three days of darkness, crying out to the Lord, and then finally surrendering. On September 13, 1983, Archuleta finally surrendered and gave his life to the Lord.
Throughout this time, Archuleta had continued to box. He was still very well known in the area and sought after. The highlight of his boxing career was the opportunity to box at the Olympic Auditorium in Los Angeles – twice! Archuleta remembers watching the famous Olympic Auditorium boxing matches on television as a child. On Thursday nights, his family members, including aunts, uncles, and cousins, gathered in one household to watch the fights. His first match at the auditorium, also the first match his wife saw him in, didn’t end well; he was knocked out. In the second match, he was victorious but left the ring with a broken jaw. At the time, Archuleta was registered as a California amateur boxer, and his manager had big plans for his future. Archuleta explains that his hard partying often interfered with his training. At the age of 24, he woke up one day and thought to himself, “I don’t want to box anymore.” So, he didn’t.
After his conversion and his decision to stop boxing, Archuleta joined an Assembly of God church with his wife. He was very involved in Bible Studies and was hungry for the Word of God, taking detailed notes at the church every Sunday. Archuleta said that he felt at home there: “They welcomed me. They thought nothing of the way I was dressed. The Pastor loved me. It was mostly a Caucasian church, and I was a Chicano thug.” His church family opened their arms, offering love and support, even allowing him to work within the church. Archuleta was placed in charge of selling the cassettes of the recorded sermons.
Before long, Archuleta and Martha moved their family back to Paramount, California, now with a third child, another son. They were familiar with the Assembly of God churches, so they chose to attend one in Paramount, knowing that their children would benefit from their kids’ programs. The Archuletas stayed there for 14 years. In that time, Archuleta and Martha began Bible College, and he became a deacon within the church.
The Archuleta Family: Back Row: Anthony, Martha, Lorenzo Front Row: Angela, Christopher
In 1998, Archuleta felt ready to start working in ministry. He went to his pastor and asked if he could lead the men’s ministry in the church, and the pastor told him “no.” Archuleta was discouraged but would not turn away from what the Lord had for him. “I have to do what God wants me to do.” So, the Archuleta family was moving on again.
Archuleta had felt the call from the Lord to begin working in prison ministry during this time, so he did just that. He found that he could relate to the men that were on the inside. When offered, he eagerly accepted the opportunity to attend training for prison ministries. However, once he got to the facility, he found himself in an instruction called “Barrios for Christ” (Gangs for Christ). Archuleta heard a new call on his life but thought: “I can’t do it!” He didn’t feel ready or prepared to go back to the gangs. He had a word from the Lord, though, and one word is all it takes. The word spoken over him at the time was: “God will anoint you and bless you. You will be like Moses going back into Egypt.” So, he was sent back to the gangs.
At that first Bible study, in a storefront in Linwood, CA, there were 45 people in attendance. “Unshackled Ministries” was born. Archuleta shared: “We had lived in a life of delusion and bondage to the gang lifestyle and knew what it was like to be set free.” This unique perspective, this deeper knowledge of the nuances of the gang lifestyle, allowed the Archuletas to reach the people in their community on a deeper level. Archuleta ministered to drug addicts and their families, and it was a difficult time. Many of the ones he got to know passed away, but he is comforted to know that several of them had come to the Lord.
Unshackled Ministries Began in a Storefront in Compton
Reaching Out to Compton Gang Members
Archuleta and his team continued to target gang members, ex-cons, and prostitutes with their ministry, doing meaningful work and doing it well. However, he felt the Lord speaking to his heart, “Don’t focus on the target; focus on their families.” Archuleta’s ministry was shifting to include the parents, spouses, siblings, and children of those wrapped up in bondage.
During this time, Archuleta connected with Pastor Dave Morales, and Archuleta shared that Pastor Morales’ church fed him spiritually when he really needed it. Before long, in 2003, Pastor Morales was moving on from the church, and Archuleta was asked to take over as lead pastor. He did so and has been at the church, renamed “Unshackled Ministries,” for over 20 years.
Unshackled Ministries Exterior
Unshackled Ministries
One of the greatest blessings of Archuleta’s life has been seeing his children break the generational curse of gang affiliation. Archuleta shared that many believe: “Once you are a gang member, your kids will be like that too.” While the children did see some of his hard living, they saw many more years of their parents following the Lord. Archuleta’s eldest son, Anthony, pastors alongside him at Unshackled Ministries, his daughter, Angela, is described as “the spiritual giant of our family,” and his youngest son, Christopher, works as an executive pastor at a church in Bellflower, California. The Archuletas have ten grandchildren now, ranging in age from 20 down to 7: five boys and five girls.
The Archuletas and Their Grandchildren in 2019: (On the Sofa) Isabella, Luke, Hezekiah, Jude, Hannah. (On the Floor) Remy, Reed, Jennah, Lunnah, Nehemiah (Standing) Lorenzo and Martha
Nowadays, Archuleta leans hard into his calling, leading his church family with joy and purpose. His humility and thankfulness for the Lord’s pursuit of and covering over his life is apparent. No decision, no choice can take him away from the love of the Father. Archuleta’s life is a testament to God’s goodness and His gift of restoration.
Martha and Lorenzo Archuleta on Their 49th Wedding Anniversary
