MARYSVILLE — Gang member. Delinquent. Petty thief. Ken Squires said he was all these things and showed no signs of following the straight-and-narrow. Yet because of the charity of an Everett church, the young man who would have been a rebel instead became a man of God.
Squires was one of five children in his family living in low-income housing in north Everett with little or no supervision. He and his friends paid little attention to the law. Stealing clothes and shoes from stores, taking lunch money from kids and getting into fights, the punk who would become a pastor lived a life of rebellion with no hope in sight.
That is, until Christmas came.
“Every year, the folks from Delta Community Baptist Church would deliver a Christmas basket and then pray for us,” Squires said. “Over the years, my brothers and sisters and I looked forward to them. It was more than what welfare could provide.”
It was that same spirit of giving that eventually changed Squires; the faithful gifting of Christmas baskets during the holiday became a constant reminder of steadfast faith and perhaps something more important: hope.
“Those baskets, that kind of generosity, are the single most influential thing that led me to the ministry,” Squires said.
Since his conversion and calling to the ministry, he has found his past catching up with him in some of the most interesting ways.
“When I was 12 and I was watching a basketball game in the neighborhood, a guy I knew named Jimmy pulled out a stiletto on another guy for stuffing his shot,” Squires said. “At the time, I thought I wanted to be just like that. I wanted to be Jimmy.”
Little did he know that 30 years later Jimmy would be in his church office with the roles reversed: the ex-gang member wanting to be just like Squires.
Despite how far he’s come, Squires still remembers where he came from, and in honor of the help he and his family received every Christmas, he and the members of Marysville First Assembly are giving back.
“It is no small thing for us and our church to make 150 baskets and give them to needy families,” Squires said. “But these acts are a result of redemption that lifted me from the projects and gave me a wonderful family and a wonderful church to pastor.”
Even though the church will be distributing the Christmas baskets today, there will still be baskets for those who need them.
“If anyone knows someone who needs a basket, call them and then call us,” Squires said. “Now, more than ever, bold generosity is needed.”
Reporter Justin Arnold: 425-339-3432 or jarnold@heraldnet.com.
Marysville First Assembly
Location: 4705 Grove St., Marysville
Contact: 360-659-2276
The church will continue to give Christmas gift baskets to those who need them.
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