Hell Street was located on an inner-city street in Houston, Texas. For over twenty years while being the Pastor of the Church, conducting a Christian school, and conducting a skid-row mission, we were able to tell many fallen and lifeless addicted men and women that sweet old story that Jesus Christ saves sinners. It is and was such a thrilling experience to see hope come back into their lives and see their joy because their sins and their old life had been forgiven forever.
Starting over is difficult, but it is not impossible!
Hell Street was the term adopted by some of the men in our rescue mission who had walked those streets. It was the term that describes the area where our church buildings were located. Con men, party people, prostitutes, and drug pushers regularly walked by the buildings. At any given time of the day, one could see several drug deals transpiring across the street from the church buildings. Approximately thirty "legal" beer joints, bars, strip clubs, porn "bookstores," and nightclubs owned by the Chinese Mafia and other like groups and individuals lined the streets around our church buildings.
When we left the area, we had witnessed several bars closing and one porn shop and one abortion clinic shut down. The area had changed some, but it was clear that the wicked would always have their places of amusement for any unsuspecting simple person.
Our new home in the country setting was given the street name Heaven's Gate, which sparked the title for this book.