Ben Cerullo Interview

We live in a time where the church seems to create programs for every group within the church. There are college programs for college students, the single ministry for those who are not married, and I have even heard of golfing and fishing ministries for individuals who like to play golf or go fishing. There was one group who was being overlooked and God laid the plan for Ben Cerullo to reach out to this group with love, acceptance, but most importantly, the gospel of Jesus Christ.

There is a stigma attached to people who are interested in action sports, i.e. skateboarding, snowboarding, surfing, etc. For many years, Ben fell prey to Satan’s attempts to keep him from being all that God wanted him to be, but when God grabbed Ben, God started a ministry to revolutionize the lives of action sports addicts everywhere.

His Testimony

He grew up in church, as his grandfather was an evangelist. He knew who God was and saw incredible things from miracles and healings, to even being blessed enough to see three angels. He grew up in San Diego and moved to Charlotte, NC at the age of fifteen, which came as a “culture shock� to him. He said, “I had the head knowledge, but I guess I never really had the with relationship with Him, so everytime I tried to live my life right, I’d always blow it.� He felt the call of ministry early in life but ran from it because he didn’t want the responsibility that came with that type of calling.

At fifteen, feeling misunderstood and out of place, Ben began smoking cigarettes and drinking, which eventually led to smoking marijuana. He thought he could get in enough trouble and it would force his parents to send him back to San Diego, but it didn’t work. He then decided to be a pro snowboarder and moved to Colorado to pursue the dream at the age of eighteen. He continued to party and eventually moved to California to try and break the pattern of addiction that had gripped him for too long. While in California, Ben had to assess his life after getting a girl pregnant and realizing that his job at the snowboard shop would not be enough. Ben came back to North Carolina to figure out where to go next and moved in with his parents. Though they did not agree with his lifestyle of partying, they accepted him in and ministered to him while he stayed there.

He came into contact with an old girlfriend and married her, but the partying continued. One night, after smoking some pot and drinking, Ben thought that he was having a heart attack and his wife rushed him to the hospital. While wondering if his life may be ending, Ben began to realize how he had not exemplified the things of God to his wife and how he had failed her in that area. He also realized that he had failed God by not accepting God’s calling for his life. He prayed for forgiveness and God reached out to Ben and began to draw him closer, molding Ben into what He had planned for him to be.
His Ministry

After asking for forgiveness on that hospital bed, Ben gave in to the call of Christ for his “whole life�. He spent the next six months in the Word everyday, praying for God’s direction and took a correspondence course to become a minister. After the six months were over, he felt God calling him into a new area in life, and he took a job at the Inspirational Network. Soon after, Steelroots TV was born.

Q â€" What is your vision for Steelroots?

“I guess my vision is to, like our mission statement says, To reveal the truth to today’s generation. There was never a ministry for me growing up, that I could be like, “That’s something I want to be a part of…that’s something that’s cool and it’s representing Christ.� I was into action sports and there was nothing I could bring back to my friends and say, “This is the Jesus that I serve.� I wanted to create a ministry that I wanted when I was young, so that’s what we tried to do with the music and the action sports…just to make something that is relevant to today’s culture and generation that they can take to school and put one of our magazines down beside their friends. We want to get kids, and people in general, to have a relationship with God.

Q â€" What can we expect from Steelroots in 2006?

“We’ve changed the show quite a bit since we started. We have done a lot of evangelizing, but I want to do more disciplining. I want to create products and shows that get kids into the Word more. We need to create things to help them get plugged in more, like “here is what a good church looks like.� I want to get kids discipled and educated. We want to get kids to fall in love with the Lord.�

Q â€" What was the pinnacle moment that made you decide to start Steelroots?

“I guess it was in that six month time period (after the hospital scare) when I was praying, because my heart was always to have a ministry that was just where people are at today. I was waiting for Him to say, “Here’s the green light to go ahead and do it.� It was something that was always in me, in my heart, to do something with action sports. I just had to get to the place in my life where I had that experience with Him.�
I followed up with the next question and when I asked it, he stopped for a moment to think about his response and to phrase it perfectly. Rather than simply blasting everything in sight, you could tell that he wanted to educate me and others about the response to this question, which showed a great depth to the maturity he has spiritually.

Q â€" What are some of the struggles that you have faced in this ministry?

“There’s a lot of legalistic people in church. I guess a struggle for me is to look at people through God’s eyes and love people no matter what. Even when people come up against you and try to tear you down, to love them like Jesus would love them. There’s a lot of people who don’t agree with the music on the show or the way we do things and God is showing me that it is just because they don’t know any better. We have a whole way that we screen all the bands that come on and there are lots of bands that I won’t let come on there because I hear about certain things they may be doing with their band. Another one is financially. Our budget is pretty big and trusting that God’s going to come through and not allowing ourselves to look at how big the need is but just focusing on how big out God is.�

I also asked Ben if those involved in the ministry got together to pray and study the Word and he told me about their Wednesdays, when they get together and read over all the prayer requests that have come in that week and add any that the staff might have as well. As I asked him this last question about the ministry, a grin rose on his face.

Q â€" How does it make you feel, personally, to know that God is using you to impact lives?

“That something that just gets me real excited.�

His Advice
I have heard that you should always listen to someone who has experienced things and learn from the experiences that they had. This is the key to knowledge and wisdom. As I asked Ben some advice questions, I noticed that I was leaning on his advice and taking it to heart for myself.

Q â€" What do you think are the biggest problems facing young Christian men today?

“Hosea’s got a scripture that says, “My people are destroyed for a lack of knowledge� and I think that a lot of times, they don’t understand who God made them to be. They don't understand where they stand in the spiritual realm of things and the battle that’s taking place for their life. I guess everything stems from not having a relationship with Jesus.�

Q â€" What advice do you give to those who feel like God is calling them to start their own ministry?

“I think that prayer is the key to everything. I think that is the most important thing to do is to just cover everything in prayer and seek God and just really, like Jesus said, “I always do what I see My Father doing.� You have to want to see where God’s working and where He’s calling us to plug in and work with Him. When you line up behind God, there are no limits to what He can do or places He can take you. So, I guess really pray, seek God, and get accountability in your life.�

Q â€" Do you have a favorite Bible passage…one that inspires you and motivates you?

“John 15:16, where it says “You haven’t chosen me, but I have chosen you.� Like the amplified version says “I’ve ordained you.� I just want people to know that God has chosen you and He also ordained you. There are so many kids in the world that don’t have hope or feel so alone, but know that God has chosen you!�

As I drove away from the interview, I realized that we all can learn something from Ben Cerullo and the ministry that God has began through him. For me, it was to look deeper into myself and see what God is trying to do, where He is working, and to strengthen my relationship with Christ. Many times, we see only what we wish to see and we live our lives in the regrets of the past, but Ben saw what God saw and that was a ministry that would reach out to a forgotten group who needed God just like everyone else.

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