REV. FORTE:
· Rev. Mario Forte
Senior Pastor Cathedral of Faith Church
Founder Mario Forte Ministries
Founder Team Victory Ministries
Founder South Florida Gang Outreach
· Reverend Mario Forte is one of today’s top motivational and conference speaker. He is best known for a documentary filmed featuring his life story called “From Gangs to God”. This documentary has been shown across the World and translated into 47 languages at last count more than 800 million people had viewed his story.
Pastor Mario has also been a frequent guest on many secular syndicated television programs who have been fascinated with his life and reported his story. Pastor Mario is well known for his dynamic ability to reach people of all ages in both the Spanish and English language. He has been ministering for the past 25 years.
Rev. Forte is recognized as one of the leading gang experts in the nation. He is known on the rough streets of Miami as Pastor MC. He not only speaks the gang member’s language, but he raps his message to the beat of their music. He breaks the ice with his own lyrics, in which he testifies of his involvement in gangs, his addiction to cocaine, and ultimately his salvation and new life in Christ Jesus.
· Pastor Forte’s accomplishments
Senior Pastor Cathedral of Faith Church
Founder Mario Forte Ministries
Founder Team Victory Ministries
Founder South Florida Gang Outreach
· Reverend Mario Forte is one of today’s top motivational and conference speaker. He is best known for a documentary filmed featuring his life story called “From Gangs to God”. This documentary has been shown across the World and translated into 47 languages at last count more than 800 million people had viewed his story.
Pastor Mario has also been a frequent guest on many secular syndicated television programs who have been fascinated with his life and reported his story. Pastor Mario is well known for his dynamic ability to reach people of all ages in both the Spanish and English language. He has been ministering for the past 25 years.
Rev. Forte is recognized as one of the leading gang experts in the nation. He is known on the rough streets of Miami as Pastor MC. He not only speaks the gang member’s language, but he raps his message to the beat of their music. He breaks the ice with his own lyrics, in which he testifies of his involvement in gangs, his addiction to cocaine, and ultimately his salvation and new life in Christ Jesus.
· Pastor Forte’s accomplishments
- Turn around happened at the age of 19
- Ordained reverend by “Without walls international church” One of the nations largest churches.
- Has traveled extensively through South, Central and North America, Europe, the Caribbean and the United States of America
- Rap recording artist.
- Founder of Alpha & Omegas Next Level Youth Ministries one of the nation’s most successful youth programs.
- Has been influential in the reduction of South Florida’s drastic turnaround in violent crime and gang activity.
- Has been successful in leading well over 10,000 gang members away from gang activity.
- Has led well over 100,000 new believers to Jesus Christ many of which have been called to the five fold ministry gifts.
- One of today’s most dynamic youth and conference speaker.
- Holds the current pastoral world record of most bricks broken with one arm.
- Host a daily radio program called “The Voice of Faith”.
ENRIQUE RAMIREZ
Enrique Ramirez was born in Camaguey, Cuba. His father was of Spanish decent, a member of the Cuban Navy, and a world traveler. His mother of Italian decent was one of the head accountants for the Cuban Railroad, a business her family helped establish. They were prominent land and business owners. Both parents were world travelers and frequently visited their families in the United States.
All that changed after 1959. The Castro Revolution would change the lives of the Cuban people forever.
Land, homes, and businesses were confiscated by the now communist Cuban government. Children were forced to work in the fields and participate in the communist party. Resistance could be fatal. At the age of 15, Enrique and his mother managed to leave Cuba and temporarily live in Spain. As soon as she could save enough money, she would join her relatives in Miami, Florida.
Upon arriving to Miami, Enrique and his mother were forced to embrace a different country, a different culture, and an unknown language with no monetary resources. His father was not allowed to leave Cuba with his wife and only son. His mother, a cultured and educated woman, did not speak the English language. Her degree was no longer valid. She was now a single parent, forced to work various low paying jobs with little to no help raising her only child.
As a teenage boy in Miami, Enrique was enrolled in an English speaking High School. He would come home to an empty house, no friends, and a prejudice society towards foreigners. In Cuba he had always experienced stability. His parents provided a loving home and an affluent life. Nothing in his past could have prepared him for these changes. For those of us who have been there, it’s a scary state to be in. You feel abandoned, rejected, and angry.
This is when Enrique turned to teenagers that were in his same situation. They began organizing gangs. They were introduced to violence and drugs. He and his new friends finally found acceptance in this new world. They could relate to each other. Enrique climbed the ranks to be a leader in his gang. He dropped out of school with no resistance from the teachers. They did not know how to address this type of student or perhaps did not want to. At 17, he was given the opportunity to work in the construction industry. This was an excellent opportunity and he became well skilled. Within a short period of time he would take on construction projects and establish a name for himself. With his mother constantly working to make ends meet, no supervision, and no male role models, he was basically raising himself.
Then in the 1980’s came the cocaine era in Miami. Enrique was now a family man making a comfortable living; however, his friends and some family members found an easier way to live comfortably. They introduced him to another level of living and making easy money: drug dealing, racketeering, and loan sharking. They knew he was a leader and fearless, so he was the perfect candidate for their operation. He was moved up the ranks and introduced to top people in the drug world. It had all come about so easily.
It was a life of no limits: so it seemed. There were expensive homes, fast cars, and exotic vacations, but there would soon be a price to pay. He and his friends would eventually get caught and go to jail. It was that “communism” he had escaped as a child that managed to find him as a young adult.
While in jail, Enrique continued to participate in illegal activities. He survived comfortably as a loan shark. Unbeknown to him, God was about to find him and use him for His Kingdom! His Heavenly Father had come to rescue him from his worst enemy: himself.
It was years before God’s breakthrough in Enrique’s life took place! God looks at the inward man and buries our sins in the deepest parts of the sea. Then a breakthrough came, someone else in the family had broken silence and they released Enrique and other members of his group. This was pivotal. In jail, he was forced to look at himself and want to change. How did he let his life spiral out of control? Poor choices had landed him in jail. He had hit rock bottom. In jail they talked about God, now God was giving him a second chance. He was going to make the best of it. He realized that jail saved his life, but it was now up to him to make changes for the better.
Once out of jail, he was immediately approached to continue in the drug trade. He refused and went to work into what he had always excelled in: construction. He was not going to make the same mistakes again. He was then invited to a local Christian church, Alpha & Omega in Miami Florida, by his best friend Carlos. They had both done time together and didn’t want to go back to that lifestyle. There he accepted Jesus as his Lord and Savior. He was determined to become the person God had wanted him to be all along. He surrounded himself with Christian people that were determined to succeed. Enrique volunteered with the Youth Pastor at the time, Mario Forte, and volunteered his time with the South Florida Gang Outreach. Pastor Forte’s ministry grew to be recognized throughout South Florida, the United States, and the world. Pastor Forte is a dynamic preacher and motivational speaker, seen on television, radio, movies, and many other places.
As Pastor Forte’s ministry grew, so did Enrique’s role with the youth. He is now a successful business owner. He is a role model and ministers to teens and young men. He is a mentor, trains and employ’s young men to work in the construction industry, and has traveled throughout the United States, the Caribbean, South, and Central America on missionary trips. He uses his skills as a construction manager to build God’s churches. Enrique has since remarried. He and his wife are on the Board of Directors at The Cathedral of Faith. He is also the armor bearer with now long time friend and Pastor, Mario Forte. The Cathedral of Faith is located in Medley, Florida. It is a ministry of miracles that changes people from the inside out. Their motto: "Diamonds in the rough.” “Man looks at the outward appearance, but God looks at the heart.” (1 Sam 16:7) God’s mercy meets you where you are at.
All that changed after 1959. The Castro Revolution would change the lives of the Cuban people forever.
Land, homes, and businesses were confiscated by the now communist Cuban government. Children were forced to work in the fields and participate in the communist party. Resistance could be fatal. At the age of 15, Enrique and his mother managed to leave Cuba and temporarily live in Spain. As soon as she could save enough money, she would join her relatives in Miami, Florida.
Upon arriving to Miami, Enrique and his mother were forced to embrace a different country, a different culture, and an unknown language with no monetary resources. His father was not allowed to leave Cuba with his wife and only son. His mother, a cultured and educated woman, did not speak the English language. Her degree was no longer valid. She was now a single parent, forced to work various low paying jobs with little to no help raising her only child.
As a teenage boy in Miami, Enrique was enrolled in an English speaking High School. He would come home to an empty house, no friends, and a prejudice society towards foreigners. In Cuba he had always experienced stability. His parents provided a loving home and an affluent life. Nothing in his past could have prepared him for these changes. For those of us who have been there, it’s a scary state to be in. You feel abandoned, rejected, and angry.
This is when Enrique turned to teenagers that were in his same situation. They began organizing gangs. They were introduced to violence and drugs. He and his new friends finally found acceptance in this new world. They could relate to each other. Enrique climbed the ranks to be a leader in his gang. He dropped out of school with no resistance from the teachers. They did not know how to address this type of student or perhaps did not want to. At 17, he was given the opportunity to work in the construction industry. This was an excellent opportunity and he became well skilled. Within a short period of time he would take on construction projects and establish a name for himself. With his mother constantly working to make ends meet, no supervision, and no male role models, he was basically raising himself.
Then in the 1980’s came the cocaine era in Miami. Enrique was now a family man making a comfortable living; however, his friends and some family members found an easier way to live comfortably. They introduced him to another level of living and making easy money: drug dealing, racketeering, and loan sharking. They knew he was a leader and fearless, so he was the perfect candidate for their operation. He was moved up the ranks and introduced to top people in the drug world. It had all come about so easily.
It was a life of no limits: so it seemed. There were expensive homes, fast cars, and exotic vacations, but there would soon be a price to pay. He and his friends would eventually get caught and go to jail. It was that “communism” he had escaped as a child that managed to find him as a young adult.
While in jail, Enrique continued to participate in illegal activities. He survived comfortably as a loan shark. Unbeknown to him, God was about to find him and use him for His Kingdom! His Heavenly Father had come to rescue him from his worst enemy: himself.
It was years before God’s breakthrough in Enrique’s life took place! God looks at the inward man and buries our sins in the deepest parts of the sea. Then a breakthrough came, someone else in the family had broken silence and they released Enrique and other members of his group. This was pivotal. In jail, he was forced to look at himself and want to change. How did he let his life spiral out of control? Poor choices had landed him in jail. He had hit rock bottom. In jail they talked about God, now God was giving him a second chance. He was going to make the best of it. He realized that jail saved his life, but it was now up to him to make changes for the better.
Once out of jail, he was immediately approached to continue in the drug trade. He refused and went to work into what he had always excelled in: construction. He was not going to make the same mistakes again. He was then invited to a local Christian church, Alpha & Omega in Miami Florida, by his best friend Carlos. They had both done time together and didn’t want to go back to that lifestyle. There he accepted Jesus as his Lord and Savior. He was determined to become the person God had wanted him to be all along. He surrounded himself with Christian people that were determined to succeed. Enrique volunteered with the Youth Pastor at the time, Mario Forte, and volunteered his time with the South Florida Gang Outreach. Pastor Forte’s ministry grew to be recognized throughout South Florida, the United States, and the world. Pastor Forte is a dynamic preacher and motivational speaker, seen on television, radio, movies, and many other places.
As Pastor Forte’s ministry grew, so did Enrique’s role with the youth. He is now a successful business owner. He is a role model and ministers to teens and young men. He is a mentor, trains and employ’s young men to work in the construction industry, and has traveled throughout the United States, the Caribbean, South, and Central America on missionary trips. He uses his skills as a construction manager to build God’s churches. Enrique has since remarried. He and his wife are on the Board of Directors at The Cathedral of Faith. He is also the armor bearer with now long time friend and Pastor, Mario Forte. The Cathedral of Faith is located in Medley, Florida. It is a ministry of miracles that changes people from the inside out. Their motto: "Diamonds in the rough.” “Man looks at the outward appearance, but God looks at the heart.” (1 Sam 16:7) God’s mercy meets you where you are at.
Minister Kyros
May God
help us see the opportunities that are always
around us to do
good...
Remember........Just going to church doesn't make you a Christian any
more than standing in your garage makes you a car..
Each and everyone one of us is going through tough times
right now, but God is getting ready to bless you
in a way that only He can. Keep the faith.
Out of darkness, out of death, out of the addiction to crack cocain, out of violence, out of hate, out of pain and rejection, out of prisons and mental institutions, out from the PITS OF HELL did GOD deliver me! To know me was to hate me. To love me was to be crushed and taken advantage of. To see me was to fear me!! THIS was my life before i knew CHRIST. A life of madness and chaos!! Now i serve the LORD through my Music Ministry and now i go back into the prisons and speak at High Schools and Drug Programs to minister with what God has Blessed me with, Music! I have a wonderful family and a beautiful Wife filled with the spirit. I've been Blessed with 7 awesome children who serve Christ or are seeking HIM. This walk with CHRIST is not an easy one, yet THE LORD never said that it would be.."For the PATH is narrow". For we are not perfect, i am still growing and learning HIS ways and everyday is a battle. I remember sleeping on a piece of cardboard box, I was homeless, sleeping in the streets and eating out of trash cans. Walking the streets without any shoes on my feet and wearing the same dirty clothes for weeks at atime. Unshaved, unbathed, doped up and begging for money to get my next hit of crack. How can i not be greatful?? For it was the LOVE of GOD that saved me!! HE rescued me and today LIFE is great because of HIM.
help us see the opportunities that are always
around us to do
good...
Remember........Just going to church doesn't make you a Christian any
more than standing in your garage makes you a car..
Each and everyone one of us is going through tough times
right now, but God is getting ready to bless you
in a way that only He can. Keep the faith.
Out of darkness, out of death, out of the addiction to crack cocain, out of violence, out of hate, out of pain and rejection, out of prisons and mental institutions, out from the PITS OF HELL did GOD deliver me! To know me was to hate me. To love me was to be crushed and taken advantage of. To see me was to fear me!! THIS was my life before i knew CHRIST. A life of madness and chaos!! Now i serve the LORD through my Music Ministry and now i go back into the prisons and speak at High Schools and Drug Programs to minister with what God has Blessed me with, Music! I have a wonderful family and a beautiful Wife filled with the spirit. I've been Blessed with 7 awesome children who serve Christ or are seeking HIM. This walk with CHRIST is not an easy one, yet THE LORD never said that it would be.."For the PATH is narrow". For we are not perfect, i am still growing and learning HIS ways and everyday is a battle. I remember sleeping on a piece of cardboard box, I was homeless, sleeping in the streets and eating out of trash cans. Walking the streets without any shoes on my feet and wearing the same dirty clothes for weeks at atime. Unshaved, unbathed, doped up and begging for money to get my next hit of crack. How can i not be greatful?? For it was the LOVE of GOD that saved me!! HE rescued me and today LIFE is great because of HIM.
