Road To Redemption
Road To Redemption
Ron Myers – From Broken Dreams to God's Greater Purpose
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Sometimes the greatest turning point in life begins with a simple realization:
There has to be more than this.
In this inspiring conversation, John Martin sits down with Ron Myers to share an incredible testimony of purpose, surrender, and discovering what it truly means to follow Jesus.
Ron shares that although he grew up in a Catholic family and knew about Jesus, his childhood was filled with loneliness and pain. At just eleven years old, he attempted to take his own life. In that desperate moment, he heard a voice he would never forget:
"Ron, don't hurt yourself. I've got a plan for you."
That encounter became the first glimpse of God's purpose for his life.
Years later, after serving in the Air Force, becoming a young father, experiencing divorce, and building a highly successful entertainment and promotions business, Ron appeared to have everything the world considered successful.
He promoted concerts, festivals, major events, and built a thriving business.
But inside, something was still missing.
While sitting alone in a hotel room after years of chasing success, Ron cried out to God and asked why he still felt empty.
That's when he heard those life-changing words:
"Now that I have your attention, let me show you what you were created for."
That moment changed everything.
Ron walked away from the business world and dedicated his life to introducing people to Jesus. Instead of chasing success, he began chasing God's purpose.
Over the years, God led Ron into radio ministry, podcasting, outreach, and countless opportunities to encourage people who believed they were beyond hope.
Throughout the conversation, Ron reminds listeners that many people don't meet Jesus in moments of comfort—they meet Him at the end of themselves.
He shares that after interviewing hundreds of people, one truth continues to stand out:
There was no hope until they called upon Jesus.
Ron encourages listeners to stop trying to earn God's love and instead simply come to Jesus as they are. God isn't looking for perfect people—He's looking for willing hearts.
He reminds us that every person has been uniquely created with gifts, talents, and purpose that only they can fulfill.
This conversation encourages listeners to:
- Spend daily time with Jesus.
- Read God's Word consistently.
- Find a Bible-believing church.
- Build relationships with godly community.
- Stop living for the approval of others.
- And discover the purpose God created you to fulfill.
Your past does not disqualify you.
Your mistakes are not the end of your story.
God still has a purpose for your life.
If you truly believed God had a unique purpose for your life, what step of faith would you take today?
Connect with Ron Myers:
For more information contact us at
rtrdestiny@gmail.com
Welcome And Katrina Connection
SPEAKER_01Welcome, friends, to Road to Redemption. I'm John Martin, your host, and excited to be back with a good friend from Mississippi, Ron Myers.
SPEAKER_00Ron, so good to be over here, John. I've heard so many good things about the Road to Redemption. I was honored when you asked me to come and visit with you for your podcast.
SPEAKER_01So you were a big part of this, you know. We we got to know each other after Hurricane Katrina doing radio uh on the Gulf Coast. And um you you told me somewhere along the way, man, you should start a a show, you know. And yeah, um, so you you were a part of this, and thank you for for encouraging me.
SPEAKER_00Well, you're welcome. Iron sharpens iron, we encourage each other, and you know, God had when God has a plan, it's a perfect plan.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00And we can't mess it up unless we just quit.
SPEAKER_01And we don't quit. Well, well, I know Ron, you're with your show, um, you're always interviewing people, but I get to interview you. I like it. And and I want to hear, and I know a lot of our listeners would like to hear, how did you come to know Jesus? Give us
A Childhood Voice And Survival
SPEAKER_01your story.
SPEAKER_00Well, uh, I grew up in Iowa, Catholic family. Uh, I was the only one of seven children that uh went to a Catholic school. So I knew a little bit about Jesus, but I was also the odd one in the family. I was the black sheep of the family, and about 11 years old, I wanted to end my life. I was in the my bedroom in the closet, and I just felt I don't want to live anymore. I'd be better off, they'd be better off if I wasn't here. And um, I put this old belt around my neck and put it up on the little clothes rack, and then I jumped off this little stool, and of course the clothes rack fell on my head. And back in those days, it was bell bottom pants and those loud psychedelic shirts. But I heard the most beautiful voice, the most beautiful voice, said, Ron, don't hurt yourself. I've got a plan for you. And the only reason I knew that was Jesus, because Sister Mary Catherine at the Catholic school told me that when Jesus speaks, you'll know his voice. And I knew, and something happened that day. I said, Wow, I have a plan. And that's been my driving force through all the adversity, going into the Air Force, married at 18, leaving Iowa, going to the Air Force. My girlfriend got pregnant in an Iowa U Miriam. So I married her, went on, Mississippi, Biloxi, Keysler Air Force Base. Well, three years into our marriage, we had two children, but she seemed to like the next door neighbor a little more than me. Um, so she ran off at the neighbor and left me in a two-year-old and a one-year-old. And I'll never forget that night, it was a Friday night of the 13th. A two-year-old on the living room floor, my one-year-old, and I looked up to the sky and said, Lord, what am I gonna do? And that same voice took me back to 11 years old. It's gonna be okay. So then I just knew I had a plan.
Success That Still Felt Empty
SPEAKER_00But then again, I loved promoting things. I got out of the Air Force and I wanted to liven up the Gulf Coast. It was kind of a boring place, so I had God, but yet I had my own ambition, and um so I'm doing this, and everything's going well, you know. Festivals, mud wrestling, bikini contests, selling lots of beer, concerts, and then about the 17th year of business. Um I said, Lord, I was in a hotel room in Atlanta, Georgia. I just finished smoking a little joint. I looked up. I had oh Charles, who's the Baptist preacher? Charles Stanley. Yeah, he was on the air, and I looked up and I said, Lord, why do I feel like this? Why do I feel like this? I'm doing well, I'm always in the you know, press and stuff, but I'm miserable. And I heard that beautiful voice again. Now that I have your attention, let me show you what you were created for. And I always tell people, I thank God I was in Atlanta because Atlanta is a six-hour drive to the coast in six hours. Already had my production company, how I was gonna be disassembling it, opening up Ron Meyer's ministries, didn't know what to do. All I wanted to do is find out more about Jesus and tell other people. So that was in 1999, and I never looked back. People thought I should go see a shrink, a psychiatrist, because I was gonna walk away from everything, but I was so happy. And then I felt the Lord say, He showed me this empty warehouse building. It was an empty warehouse building that I had been using for my sets for the beer, the beer booths and all the cosmetics, look for an event, but I couldn't afford it anymore. And I heard him say, make a church. So make a church. And then I had this vision. So within seven days, I took all that material, unassemble it, build a little church, and then I felt the Lord say, now go to feed my sheep and the salvation army and invite people to come here on a Tuesday night. And I felt him say, make sure it's a Tuesday night, because churches are gonna they are gonna think you're a competitor if you go Sunday or Wednesday. So I did a Tuesday night, and I also felt the voice say, Don't tell people, don't tell people. They're gonna come on your own, on their own, and they did. They started coming and coming and coming for two years. We were in that church, and uh, but this has said something and so important that the listeners need to know there's sometimes in life that we're on a straight path, we know we're doing God's work, and then an opportunity may come your way that sure sounds good, sounds godly. Well, I had a church, Pastor Baptist Church. They came to me and they said, Listen, we love what you're doing in the warehouse, but I had no heat, no air. You could see rats up on the uh little steel beams, you could hear people tinkle when they went to the restroom, but nobody cared because we're there for Jesus. They said, We have a church, an empty church across the street. We will let you use it, we'll pay all the bills, you have AC, you'll have heat, you'll have everything, a kitchen. So everybody's hey man, thank you, Jesus. So we did that, and that's when I had an opportunity to begin getting into Christian radio and as a volunteer. I had an afternoon radio show, and one day I put a song on and I said, Lord, because my shirt that little church was I was losing attendance. Lord, why am I losing these people? And he said, Ron, I told you to build a church that it look like a church, act like a church, and smell like a church, and you what do you do? You move into a church. And that lesson changed everything. I realized for me, my platform was the streets, was outside, the people that aren't gonna step foot into a church. They see the they get the heebie jeebies, they see the church, but they'll come to an empty abandoned warehouse or a street corner or something like that. So that's really and that's a long answer for a question when you meet Jesus. But it's a lot of us may have met Jesus our early in our life, but we kind of put it on the backside because we're still following our dreams. But I believe there's a time in everyone's life we've had to finally come and say this, and something's not right with my story. I'm not happy. And then Jesus comes in, he intervenes, and that's how I met you at the Christian radio station. You were coming in through Varricane Katrina, updating our listeners on reports. Um, and God has a plan, and I've just learned now by myself. I usually carry a rock, I don't have one here, but I will tell people by myself, I'm as dumb as this rock. But man, with Jesus, it's amazing the things that he does and what the ideas that he gives us. And you're you're the same thing, John. You want to reach out and speak life into people. You want people to understand that the worst is sometimes the best thing in their life because the messier your life is, the bigger the message
Hope For Anxiety And Depression
SPEAKER_00when Jesus begins to sort it out.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. A big part of what we or our mission with Road to Redemption is to give people hope. Um this we're we're in a dying world, and in the the US, the Western world, we were talking about this earlier. Very walks around and kind of says things are great, but things really aren't great. I mean, people have serious trials and things they're walking through, and they need hope. And there's a lot of depression, anxiety, thoughts of suicide, and everybody's walking around. Oh, everything, you know, and and and and and we we want to provide people hope. And I know you do too. So talk to our listeners a little bit about that, Coron.
SPEAKER_00How how well I I'll say to your listeners that I've interviewed hundreds and hundreds of people. I chase God stories, and I've I've interviewed the worst of the worst, the worst, that if you they thought there was no hope until they called upon the name of Jesus. And that sometimes, as I told a friend of yours outside, some people aren't ready to meet Jesus because they haven't had enough hell in their life. But once we get at the end of our rope, once we say we can't look at the world, we can't look at the politicians, we can't look at the denominations, we have to look at our life and say, I don't like what I'm doing. I don't like how I feel. And then you go and say, you go to your niece or however you do. There's not a formula. You just say, Lord, I can't do this anymore. I need you, I need you change my life, change my heart. And that's when it will take place. I have the proof, I have the evidence, I have the stories. 99% of hundred, 300 guests I've interviewed never met Jesus at church. They met Jesus at the end of themselves, and the rest has been here. History. Did someone stumble in that? Oh, yeah, we all make mistakes and we stumble, but it just makes us more determined that we can't get through this world on our own and thank God for grace, because God does never, he's not walking around with a clipboard trying to grade our behavior every day. He wants us to trust in the spirit lives in us and be led by the spirit and walk by faith, not by sight. And when we trust, see, this is what a lot of the listeners, and you probably are like this like me. I tell a lot of my listeners, I believe in them more than they believe in themselves. And if people really understood that they're wonderfully, fearfully made you just are so awesome in the eyes of God and Jesus that you have something that nobody else has in your hand. See that fingerprint? There's only one fingerprint. All of us have one. It proves we're an original, we're not a copy, we're a one of a kind, and all of us have something to give to this world. And my question to a lot of people if you don't become you, who will? See, a lot of reason a lot of people need hope because they're not themselves. They're trying to be who their parents told them to be, or they're trying to be who the boss told them to be. And Jesus says, No, come to me as you are. See, Jesus wants us to be ourselves, bring out the gifts and the talents and the skills that He's placed inside of us. You know, I could say that I want to be a singer. I could take all the singing lessons from the greatest voice teachers in the world, and I'll never sing. I'll scare people away. But when I can use encouragement or love and hope, God just magnifies that. And then you, you know, they told John Wesley said one time, he was, how do you draw these crowds? And he says, I set myself on fire and people come watch me burn. See, Jesus wants to put this fire in us of because when we understand our purpose and we understand that no matter how many stupid things we've done with our life, we're not disqualified. We can't lose our salvation. I don't, I don't book, I don't see anywhere. We are there, we make mistakes, but thank God we're still loved. In fact, the more mistakes we've made, the Bible says where sin abounds, grace abounds much more. He's with the ones, you know. Someone said the other day, well, asked me, they said, Well, what if you the what about these people that go to church and then all of a sudden they they uh get back on drugs or they do this? You can't say God is happy with that. I said, God's gonna discard us because we have a trouble or we have an addiction. No, he's there with us more. He's gonna be, he's holding us even closer than he was before because he knows he hurts when we hurt, and that's why we need to walk with the spirit and just let him lead us. So I hope, you know, and when when you're by yourself, listeners, I have every day my coffee with Jesus. Be open, be honest, be transparent, and then just let Jesus do what he does best. Minister to you and love the hell out of your life. I love it. That's the name of your show. Get the hell out of your life. Get the hell out of your life. It's a funny, it's a funny name, but it is so true. Yeah. Because you it's the plan in words, because when Christ comes in, you literally get the hell out of your life. You are safe. But when you can get the hell, the the anger, the bitterness, the unforgiveness, and when you can eliminate that, you know. I tell people with Jesus, everything I thought I was gonna do in my life, I'm not doing. And everything I'm doing in life I never knew I could do, I'm doing. And it's so fun. See, that's what really what they want, John. They want to tune into you, they want to tune in to me and all these other people because they want hope again. They want to know they're gonna be okay. Well, you have God's word on that, you will be okay.
SPEAKER_01We do, and I I think too, um we were talking about
Revival, Belonging, And Real Stories
SPEAKER_01this early. What people need is is human connection. Um, and yeah, I really see a revival, you know, coming, you know, in this nation. Uh people want to connect with others, connect, you know, they they're gonna connect with Jesus. Amen.
SPEAKER_00There's gonna be a great revival. Um I think we're seeing the beginning of that right now, all over the place. Yeah, and I was in a wedding in New Orleans about a year ago in this beautiful 1800 shirt, old shirt year-old shirt. Well, it was built in 1800s, and I walked in, and it was a young couple, and every type of person was in that audience: black, white, gay, straight, transgender, and I felt the Lord say, This is what my church should look like. See, we qualify people before they can come in the door, but there is no qualify. People need to hear about Jesus, they don't need to hear, but if you know Jesus, he can take care of the rest. Sometimes, well, you can't come into my church, you know. You you wear tattoos, or you might stay in our carpet, it's brand new carpet, and you don't have shoes. But man, uh we we have we have to see the souls just like right, just like somebody in my life somewhere, I don't know who it was, but told me sometimes that you know, God loves you, and no matter how many times you wanted to hurt yourself, he had a plan for you. And that's what we have to remember that sometimes with this is a messy world, it is messy, and people don't like us of a political uh party or something like that. And another advice is I tell people is a lot of you people that have a heart for recurting people, take a break from inviting these people to church because they're tired of hearing these invitations. Share your story, tell them what Jesus did for you. You know, we used to call it in uh network marketing third-party validation. I just want to know what Jesus did with you, Ron. I don't want to know the history lesson. See, a lot of people know Jesus, but I've experienced Jesus two totally different things. That's why nobody can argue with me about when you come about Jesus. Hey, I've experienced, and don't you tell me some things that he's gonna do or he's not gonna do. He is for us, he's not against us. He wants you to get where, again, going back to the talents, skills, and abilities. Somebody out there like you, look at this. You you you've been a successful realtor, but you've also had that personal connection with people. You're you're a happy guy, you're you're very cordial, and people want to talk to you. There's a lot of people that out there right now, they just need a friend. Yeah, and the best friend is Jesus.
SPEAKER_01They just want someone to be their friend and listen to them. And I I just found just you know, offering to pray for people has been so impactful.
SPEAKER_00Um, and and that's a big part of what we're doing, just praying for people out and about, and and uh see, and I think that the important thing to when people like us when we do like this, people listening, we did not go to school to do this, we didn't go to college, we don't carry a degree with us, we don't have all these seminaries, we're not ordained, or maybe we are ordained, but it is Jesus is working in us and through us. We can't help, you know. If you squeeze an orange, you get orange juice, right? You squeeze a lemon, you get lemonade. Well, when we get squeezed, Jesus should come out, but sometimes everything else comes out but Jesus. And yeah, that's good. He is the truth, the way, the life, and nobody can come to the Father without him.
SPEAKER_01I wanted to ask you before we move on a little bit because I was looking on your website earlier about we were talking about revival. I saw that video I'd never seen before where you were at the Browns building 2000, uh, and the Pastor Kilpatrick. I guess he called me. He interviewed you up there. That was really cool um to watch. But you you were there in that part of that revival for like five years.
SPEAKER_00I was going every Friday night. I drove over every Friday night for two hours from Gulfport. Wow. And I I saw, I saw with my own eyes the power of God and how that moved and the thousands of people. I then I and I said then, I said, This is incredible. I remember the first night I went to that revival. And see, when you have an experience like this, that's what we need to experience. Jesus, the first night I went there, I remember looking at my watch, and it was one o'clock in the morning, and I got there at seven, and I said, What's wrong with my watch? But when you get in the presence of Jesus and and the and then the worship, you know Jesus is there because he needed a minister. He was that was just that was the time I was just changing my whole life. And I said, This this is the real deal. This is incredible. Yeah, he called me up. He said, Well, all the ministers stand up. So probably 2,000 ministers, because the church was packed, 1,500 stood up. And he only called eight to the stage. And he said, You, you, and then he pointed right to me and he said, You come up here. And what he whispered in my ear at the end, he said, I have a word for you. And this is just before I was getting ready to get into the radio business. Um, you are a fisher of men, and God is getting ready to give you a brand new tackle box with brand new lures. And I said, Thank you, thank you, Jesus. And so if God was finished with us, you could be listening to this because you'd already be gone. But we're here because he's not finished with any of this. I have no idea what I'm doing tomorrow, let alone next year. But I don't need to know because he Yeah. And I'm willing to do that. And I'm willing, I'm willing to make mistakes. I'm willing to fail. I'm willing not to get the answers to the prayer. Because after
Faith Steps, Salvation Prayer, Next Moves
SPEAKER_00all, it's his will, not mine. And I'm open, I come to God open-handed, Lord. This is what I pray for, this is what I want. But I also accept that I may not get this because I want you to leave me where I need to be. And just like that radio state, the building I have, you know, the uh the company that you would come to that own that building, when I would interview you through Katrina, they I leased it when they closed the radio station to go to a national signal. There was no more local radio, so they leased it to me for my office. Well, they called me last year and they said, We're getting rid of all of our buildings across the country. And I said, Oh my goodness, what am I gonna do? I don't have a place to go. No, Ron, we know what you're doing, we love what you're doing. Send us a hundred dollars, and that building is yours, the land is yours, the tower is yours. And it wasn't because 100 bucks for a hundred bucks, because they knew God knew that maybe moving to a new office and new things, maybe I don't know, maybe maybe the podcast would have ended. Maybe I wouldn't have done it, maybe I would have just retired on the sand destined island of happiness. Um, but it wasn't, and you know, when you when God comes, he's never late, he's never early, but he's always on time, and all that did is make me want to charge hell with a water pistol, even more.
SPEAKER_01Well, um we always run in my little chatter. No, I love it. I love it. That's what we wanted. But we always like to, as we get towards the end, share, you know, as Ryan talked to you about you can give your life to Jesus right now. Amen. You just right now just call out to him and crowd to Jesus and say, Father, I I I'm a sinner, I'm in need of a savior. I love you. I just I give my life to you. I surrender to you right now. Come into my heart. And amen. God will do that right now as you pray. Right now. Um, and it's that simple. And you are saved, and and he wants a personal relationship with you, and we believe many people will will give their life to Jesus right now. And then once you've done that, it's just the beginning for you. He doesn't want you to do this alone. The primary way that he he talks to you and he teaches you and builds that relationship is through the Bible. He gave us this book. This is our his manual for us. Um, and we encourage you to read this every day, to get a Bible and read it. Spend time with the Lord in the morning when you get up, read his word. We promise he'll speak to you, and then you're not supposed to do this alone. Get into a Christ-centered Bible-believing church and just go. You're never gonna find a perfect church. Um, you know, your church might even be something like Raron was doing on Tuesday night. It just go. Get in that church and then get into a small group within the church, a group that you can do life with and make yourself vulnerable, make yourself accountable, and we promise God is gonna bless your life. You're gonna, it's not gonna be easy, you'll still have trials, but you will have joy and peace in your relationship with the Lord. Well, Ron, before we go, is there anything else that you would want to say that's on your heart?
SPEAKER_00Well, just to add on what uh you said. So many people know their past, and they know the things they've done, and they're not pretty. But remember this the thief on the cross, he had like a what, a two-minute confession, and Jesus says, Tonight you'll be with me in paradise. See, God isn't waiting for people that are all polished and perfect, because first of all, there are none in the there are there are none. But always remember if you think that man, I don't know, I'm too far gone. Think about that thief on the cross, and then to put icing on top of the cake is the last words of Jesus to telesty, it is finished, the finished works of Christ, he did it all, so we don't have to do anything, and even even, even if circumstances, if you live in the jungle, you're out there in uh uh the sea doing offshore work, even if you can't, and I agree with what you said, if you can't make it to church, you can't read that Bible every day. He will never leave you, he will never forsake you, he will never disown you. Go back to when I was 11. He knows your voice, and you like you said, John, begin that dialogue. I would encourage, I tell people to start reading even the book of Proverbs. There's 31 Proverbs, one for every day. Read and then tell Jesus be open, be honest, transparent, don't hold anything back. And then one day at a time, and you'll be absolutely because you know we say that people want hope, but what goes along with that hope? But they people just want some peace in their mind. They want to be able to sleep, they want to quit taking the medication, they want to quit hiding from the world, they just want some peace. They just repeat in Jesus with Jesus. It's going to be okay. It really is.
SPEAKER_01He will provide that peace and just surrender your life to Jesus and trust in him. Take it day by day. Get some people around you, godly people to do life with. You will be blessed. We promise you. Thank you. Thank you, Ron. Wow, thank you.
SPEAKER_00It's been so awesome. Yeah, okay. Anytime I can brag on Jesus, you know, that's really all it is, it's bragging on Jesus because that's it's all about Jesus, right? And I thank you. I thank you so much for what you're doing and team you've surrounded yourself with. Uh, man, to be over in this beautiful place of destined, sand destined, and to do what you're doing. Boy, you get you got a little bit of heaven where you're working is. I love this place.
SPEAKER_01Amen. Well, hopefully we see you over here more.
SPEAKER_00Amen, brother.
SPEAKER_01God bless.