James’ Story

James Purazzo grew up as a middle child on the southside of Chicago. James was raised with both Catholic and Greek Orthodox traditions, however church, talk of Jesus, and religion was not much of a mainstay in the house. 

“When I was in 8th grade, I went through CCD (catholic education for confirmation), purely out of tradition. I remember  my teacher one day drawing a large circle on a chalkboard and a smaller circle on the inside. She went on to tell the class that the large circle encompassed all the people who believed in God, and the smaller circle represented the catholics that were going to heaven. I - thinking only about my Greek Orthodox mother at the time - raised my hand and said, ‘but, my Mom is Greek Orthodox.’ She sharply replied, ‘I can not account for your mother.’ Boiling with rage, I grabbed the big red Bible we were given and threw it across the room against the wall, then I proceeded to share some very passionate words to my teacher and stormed out. From that moment on I decided that I did not want to be a part of any religion that ostracized the people that I loved.” 

Along the way through his teens and early 20s, James began to pursue a life apart from any sort of religion, and lived a passionate life as an atheist. Living a life with no sense of religious or faith direction ultimately led to partying, drugs, alcohol, and a number of arrests. He believed he was living a life of freedom, but he went to bed every night a slave to the world. Even though James was running away from God, God was not done chasing after Him! 

James went in and out of different career and school pursuits, but ended up pursuing full-time firefighting. James’ first assignment was as an EMT driver.

There was a snowstorm that had rapidly hit downtown Chicago. James and his EMT partner Chad were begrudgingly stuck in gridlock Chicago traffic. To pass the time James began making small talk with Chad. You know the usual “where are you from, how did you find your way to Chicago, etc.” As Chad began to engage in conversation he quickly began to tell James he came to Chicago to attend Moody Bible Institute. James' heart started to flutter, he couldn’t WAIT to debunk Chad’s religious views with his strong atheistic ideas. 

However, as James began to unload his atheistic ideas, Chad seemed to be unphased. In fact he went on to agree with most of James' doubts and said, “I struggle with those things too.” James was underwhelmed with his answer and went on to study Chad. He quickly noticed he had a tattoo that read ‘Joshua 1:9’ 

James asked “what does your tattoo mean?” 

Chad replied, “It’s like a rock reminder to me of who God is. It states, “For the Lord says be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or dismayed. For I am with you wherever you go.” 

James recalled that “as Chad uttered that verse, I felt as though I was hit in the chest. I remember feeling warm, euphoric, and loved in a different way. I didn’t realize I had been waiting my whole life to hear those words. I was overwhelmed to the point of tears. I spent the rest of our shift in silence, which is painstakingly hard for me cause I usually can’t stop talking.”

For the next three weeks that followed James tried to debunk the feeling that he knew he had experienced, but he just couldn’t shake it. “I believe, on that day, I personally experienced the love of Christ for the first time.” 

After a while James called Chad to engage in a more active discussion about Christ. Chad began to befriend James, invited him to his church, and tried to answer any questions that James had. Chad quickly connected James with his mentor Russ Johnson, who was a pastor at the time. James initially started to hang out with Russ thinking that he would absorb all of his ‘Christ-like’ knowledge. However, Russ wasn’t interested in giving James a 10 step program on how to be a Christian. He was more interested in just being James’ friend. He was interested in hearing James' story, listening to his questions, all while Russ did the same thing with James.

“You see, Chad and Russ just befriended me. There were no strings attached. There were no hidden agendas of converting me to Jesus, but instead they showed me how they’ve experienced the love of Christ by the way that they lived their lives; A life by faith. This friendship showed me the importance of being and showing love in a way I never experienced before; and this was how the spirit convicted me to give my whole life to Christ, and I’ve been on fire since. I now live a life fully seen, known, heard, and loved by the creator, sustainer and reconciler of all things! I walk through life loving others regardless of where they’re at, because Christ is with them, be it known or unknown. I wasn’t a project to Russ. I was a friend. I just want to do the same.” 

The love of Jesus changed James' life, and he yearns for others to experience it as well! Jesus’ words, “go and make disciples” has transformed the posture of James' heart! James lives a life loved, whether it be with a church body, at work, at home, or with friends and neighbors. James is now a husband to his wonderful wife, Joy, and father to two amazing boys! He wakes up everyday with a passion to see both his family and others know who Christ is! James is a full-time firefighter for the Denver Fire Department. His work environment is filled with men and women who are just like him. James is devoted to serving and protecting the men and women who serve and protect us with the love of Jesus Christ! “God’s love is what truly changed my life,” and he believes it is what can change YOURS!

James and Joy, and their two little boys are active members in the church body of Authentic Life Church. We are so blessed to worship a God who is in the business of rewriting stories!!!