Ron’s Testimony

Over the last 25+ years, our ministry has influenced over 30,000 people to make decisions for Christ

I am Executive Director/Founder of Lighthouse Educational Ministries Inc. (LEM) a non-profit 501 C/3 self-supporting ministry which was started in 1996. I am an ordained and licensed minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

LEM has ministered in California Institution For Women for over 25 years and Chuckawalla Valley State Prison for over 10 years. I have ministered in Chino Men’s Prison and California Youth

I was raised in a divorced family. My father was very physically and verbally abusive to us. Because of peer pressure from kids at my school and growing up on the streets of Pomona, Ca. I made some very poor choices to do whatever it took to fit in, which contributed to the poor choices that led me into the Devil’s playground. As a result, I began using and dealing drugs in High School which led me into the deep pits of drug use and dealing which became my life for 20 years.

I spent more than 20 years using narcotics of all types. Other than Heroin, I have pretty much used them all. I spent 15 years of my life dealing and trafficking drugs across the country and across the borders of Mexico and Canada. I dealt drugs to people ranging from the elite in Hollywood all the way down to those on Skid Row.

It’s a wonder I did this for 15 years without getting busted. Part of my success had to do with the fact that I was an enforcer when it came dealing and trafficking. I used, at will, whenever necessary, all types of violence, fear, and force. I was one terrifying bad guy. Nobody dared to mess with me. I was feared and intimidating to people. For years I carried weapons with me wherever I went. It is only by God’s grace that I am alive today.

But, after years and years of this, I was lost. I felt empty, scared and, hopeless. I reached a point where I didn’t care whether I lived or died. In fact, I didn’t want to live anymore.

After months of wanting to die, one night I reached the end of my rope. That’s when I asked God if he was really real. I wanted to know if he was really there, and, would he, could he, help me! The following night I was arrested!

While I was in LA County Jail I had a visitation from Jesus. He spoke to me and I asked him what he wanted. He said that ‘ he came for people like me.’ I argued with him that he couldn’t want me after all of the evil things I had done in my life. His response was that ‘he knew all the evil things I had done and that he still wanted me.’ I continued to argue with him for quite some time until finally, I said: “if you want me then I will try and follow you.” After that statement, he disappeared and I called my Mother. Through my Grandmother I was bailed out in order to go to her church and ask Christ into my life. It was then that I experienced a miracle. It was that night that I asked Christ into my life that the Lord saw fit to deliver me from 20 years of substance abuse. My Saul to Paul experience according to Acts 9

I have now been clean for 19 years and involved in recovery for 17 years.

As a result of my crimes I spent one year in prison, which could have been much more if not by God’s grace… while in prison I experienced the beating, rape, and killing of a man within six feet of me. Among many other experiences that are too graphic to share which, if not by the grace of God, would change a man forever. And in many ways have changed me.

Shortly after my release, I was introduced through my ex-wife to a man named Wally Nelson who asked me to come into a local prison in Chino California. He asked me to give my testimony to a group of women. After my testimony, half of them came forward and gave their lives to Christ. This is when I knew that God had a calling upon me.

Over the last 10 years, our ministry has influenced over 30,000 people to make decisions for Christ

I am Executive Director/Founder of Lighthouse Educational Ministries Inc. (LEM) a non-profit 501 C/3 self-supporting ministry which was started in 1996. I am an ordained and licensed minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

LEM has ministered in California Institution For Women for over 16 years and Chuckawalla Valley State Prison for over 4 years. I have ministered in Chino Men’s Prison and California Youth Authority along with Orange County and L. A. County Jails.

Having been incarcerated and paroled myself I understand the difficulty in becoming self-sufficient outside the prison walls. Over four years ago we opened our first transitional re-entry sober living home called “Lighthouse Inner Change” to provide a safe place for those being released from prison to live during their transition back into society. Currently, we have 4 homes. The purpose of these homes is to help parolees with their transition back into society. To date, we have survived without help in the form of funding from either the state or federal government.

For two years I was the Administrator and Director of Steinkamp Bible Study Prison Ministry, a nation-wide Bible study correspondence course for prisoners.

While in prison I was ministered to by several faith-based organizations. Upon my release, I had the privilege of men taking me under their wings and disciplining me in the importance of Bible Study, Prayer, Accountability and Fellowship.

In August of 2008, I survived open heart surgery from a genetic defective Aortic Valve and have been in recovery for 10 months. Since the surgery, I have realized that the battle belongs to the Lord, not to Ron Zaucha. It is often difficult to know when to surrender and when to be responsible. I am sure most of us have gone through similar struggles.

My personal life, experience, and training have equipped me to be an encouragement, help, and inspiration to those who are impacted by the Criminal Justice system. Or have experienced problems with substance abuse. My testimony is much too long to be able to put into a few sentences but if any of you desire to know more I am here and ready to share.

I have found through my prison ministry there are thousands of people all across the country serving time who are in the same position I was before I met Christ. We never hear about them because they have been mostly forgotten by the rest of us. They need to know that God really does care for them. He died for them too. They need to know Jesus is real and he loves them no matter what they have done. I have learned first hand that God is no respecter of persons. What God did for me he will do for anyone of these other lost souls who have taken the wrong path. If God thought it was important enough to reach out and save me, and reveal to me that he has a plan for my life then we must show that he cares for them too and wants to show them that God has a plan for their life and willing to meet them right where they are.