8
C L
.
immy grew up in New York's Hud-
son River Valley in a Christian Home
where his parents made sure that
both he and his younger brother attended
church ve times a week and received a
private Christian school education. He is
fond of sharing that his greatest in uence
will always be his Mom and Dad. " e life
I've enjoyed was built on a foundation es-
tablished by Joe & Sharon LaRose over 45
years ago. ey made a decision, as a young
couple, to live a life rooted in a personal
relationship with Jesus Christ. eir com-
mitment to a life of faith ensured my future
success and more than once saved my life."
Joe and Sharon's choice to become follow-
ers of Christ was accompanied by sacri ce
of both friends and family since neither of
them came from a Christian home. " ey
were the rst generation within their
family to break the cycle of destruction
through submission to Him. In retrospect,
when one considers
their background the
household they cre-
ated was nothing short
of a miracle." Needless
to say, Christianity was
not a matter of con-
venience but rather a
lifestyle that inserted
itself on a daily basis
into the life of young
Jimmy LaRose.
Jimmy shares, "My
J
personal choices have taken me down
several di erent paths. Most of my deci-
sions were in uenced by the principals of
the Gospel and resulted in success. More
importantly, my poor ones are where God
truly glori ed himself transforming my
mistakes into something beautiful...into
something good. It was in those low mo-
ments that my attraction to the Gospel
always led me back to one of Christian-
ity's greatest tenants... the ability to `re-
pent.' I'm convinced that salvation from
`self' was made possible because I grew up
in a home that believed the Bible was the
Word of God and that Jesus would always
be the answer."
It's important to Jimmy that people who
learn of his Christian upbringing under-
stand that his Mom & Dad like every oth-
er set of parents had their own unique set
of faults, obstacles, and broken places. He's
fond of saying, "60%
of families su er from
brokenness and the re-
maining 40% are really
in trouble because they
won't admit it."
"Despite my parent's
"soft spots" it was their
commitment to the
Gospel that made ev-
erything possible for
their children. As I
J
IMMY
L
A
R
OSE
...
...Advancing the Common Good Worldwide
"I
WAS
PRIVILEGED
AT
A
YOUNG
AGE
TO
CONFRONT
THE
DARKNESS
OF
POVERTY
RIGHT
HERE
AT
HOME
IN
THE
US
. I
T
CHANGED
ME
AND
TO
THIS
DAY
HELPS
ME
TO
HOLD
`
LOOSELY
'
IN
MY
HAND
THE
THINGS
OF
THIS
WORLD
."