- Home
- Entertainment
- Darryl Strawberry: From the Diamond to the Pulpit (Part 4)

Darryl Strawberry: From the Diamond to the Pulpit (Part 4)

John Farrell: You have done some work with drug rehabilitation centers. Could please tell me a little bit about your work with the drug rehabilitation centers you’ve opened?
Darryl Strawberry: I got involved with a group to be able to help. They contacted me because they had seen my story on some program and how I changed my life and gave my life to the Lord and recovered from drugs and alcohol. They came together with me and asked me if I was interested in opening some program facilities that would help people.
My wife and I prayed about it, and said “yes.” So, we got involved with it and we were involved for five years. It was just a really incredible time to be able to do that because the nation was in an epidemic with opiates and heroin killing all the kids. I’d never seen anything like it. I’ve never seen so many young kids from age 18 to 25-30 addicted to opiates. They were all losing their lives. It was a revolving door of kids coming in and out of treatment.
We got involved and started helping. We started bringing Bibles to our facilities. My wife started teaching a class on spiritual principles, God’s principles. It was working. Kids were getting free. Kids were accepting Christ, and it was just incredible what was happening.
But the group I was with didn’t like the idea of us bringing ministry into our program. We wanted that and they didn’t. So we decided to walk away because we’ve seen too many kids without any kind of foundation of Christ in their life, any kind of foundation with God in their life, going back out and overdosing and dying.
I didn’t want that blood on my hands because we’re in agreement with you and you’re making money. Money’s not the object here. It’s about life. It’s about saving lives. That’s what Christ came for: to save the lost. That’s what we believe in. So I walked away after five years and told them the day after, “Take my name off of it. Me and my wife, we’re going to move on. We’re going to move forward with some other plans.”
But we got a chance to see what was happening, and it’s still happening today with a lot of facilities. No one wants to have Christian facilities because the insurance companies don’t cover it like the regular facilities. It’s sad to see because kids were starting to get an understanding that God loves them. It was helping them so much. They were coming out of their shells, and they were getting free from the drugs and from the brokenness of who they were.
It was a great time for us, like I said before. We really appreciated the opportunity, and we did help a lot of kids get free, but we did see a lot of kids overdose and die.
JF: It’s great what you two were able to do, but it’s sad to see that sometimes the story doesn’t have a happy ending.
Darryl: Yeah, it’s very sad to see that. Some still text me today and always thank me for getting on them, and treating them, and making sure that they were going to groups and everything because it took them to a place of getting free. And like I said, some never made it back and that’s a sad story. When you get a call from a parent to tell you that, “My kid overdosed and didn’t make it,” that’s a really sad feeling.
JF: What do you hope your legacy will be?
Darryl: A lot of people talk about that a lot—people leaving legacies in life. And I just think about my mother. My mother left a legacy to us that Jesus is Lord, and I want to leave the same legacy for my kids because I think it’s important to leave that Jesus is Lord.
When my kids get approached by people, people always ask them, “Your dad was great. Didn’t you know about your dad?” My daughters will be like, “Okay.” That’s what my daughters tell me. They’ll say, “Your dad was a great baseball player” and this and that and my daughters will say, “My dad’s a preacher and that’s all I know about him.” They were young.
That means I’m leaving a different legacy than me being a baseball player and the things that happened to me and the things that I achieved for my kids. They get to see that their dad is someone who loves God and who goes around this nation and preaches the gospel. That’s the legacy I want them to be able to see.
They know I live a different life. They don’t know much about the baseball and the trophies. They see pictures and videos and stuff like that, and they think it’s cool, but they see me doing something and they say, “My dad’s a preacher. He loves people. He’s helping people.” That’s the kind of legacy I want to be able to leave for my kids.
JF: Where can people connect with you online?
Darryl: They can always go to www.findingyourway.com. That’s our webpage. It has all of our information and everything we do. They can also go on my social media which is DarrylStrawberry18 on Instagram. Most people know they can follow me there and they can follow me on Facebook at Darryl Straw. Those are places where I’m at and I’m always on those platforms, trying to encourage people about the love of God and spreading love and being grateful for life.
Really, what’s important, I want people to know that who’s important in my life. God is first, my wife, and my kids. That’s the order we go in. And I think when you realize that the importance of God and your family, that is everything, and that’s the example that God wants us to be able to have. Make God first and make your family right underneath God and that brings hope to a lot of people when they see that. I think a lot of people see the fact that I really care for my wife, and I care for my kids, and I care for this country. I care for people. I care that people come to know that Jesus Christ is Lord.
JF: Is there anything else that you want to add or something that you’d like to re-emphasize?
Darryl: Just the hope. The hope that’s out there for people. They’re searching for all these other people to fix things. They’re searching for man to fix everything from the politicians, and they expect that they’re going to make things better. And “Only if I had a little bit more of this, we’ll be able to fix these problems.”
This is not a black and white thing, a Spanish thing, or any kind of color thing. This is a broken nation because of sin, and I think if they understand the importance of turning away from sin and becoming whole with God, then you can live an abundant life. I think that’s the problem in our nation. Christ is not coming back for a black, white person, or a Spanish person. He’s coming back for holy people and people need to know that at the end of the day.
…
Order your copy of Turn Your Season Around: How God Transforms Your Life by Darryl Strawberry
Related Articles
Darryl Strawberry: From the Diamond to the Pulpit (Part 1)
Trending Now
Sign up today for your Inspiration Today Daily Newsletter
Supercharge your faith and ignite your spirit. Find hope in God’s word. Receive your Inspiration Today newsletter now!

John Farrell
John Farrell is the Digital Content Manager for inspiration.org. In addition to having written more than 1,000 articles, press releases, and other pieces of content for Inspiration Ministries, NASCAR, Lionel, and Speed Digital, he authored The Official NASCAR Trivia Book: With 1,001 Facts and Questions to Test Your Racing Knowledge in 2012. John is a graduate of Appalachian State University and lives in Concord, N.C., with his wife and two sons.
Related Articles
January 31, 2025
A Raiders of the Lost Ark Devotional: The Treasure Worth Seeking
Devotional #6: The Emptiness of Religion Belloq sits with Indiana in Cairo after Marion’s supposed…
January 21, 2025
Michael W. Smith: The Heart of the Father
Craig von Buseck: You talk about the ‘Father heart of God.’ People have said that during your…
Next Steps To Strengthen Your Walk
Inspiration Today Newsletter
Supercharge your faith and ignite your spirit. Find hope in God’s word. Receive your Inspiration Today newsletter now!
Christian Articles
Find articles to strengthen your walk and grow your faith. We have a wide range of topics and authors for you.
Submit A Prayer Request
We are here for you. Simply click on the button below to reach us by form, email or phone. Together we will lift our hearts and voices with you in prayer.