The Life Center of Connecticut, DBA Youth Challenge, began in 1970 as a residential outreach center for troubled men and women in the Greater Hartford area. The center provided these individuals with a sharing and caring environment in which to grow and develop personally and socially.
Bishop Raúl González came to Hartford, CT, to support the mission of Youth Challenge, now named The Life Center. In 1969, Bishop González experienced freedom from an eleven-year drug addiction through a program similar to Youth Challenge and felt called to help others experience what he had. In 1972, Bishop González became the Executive Director of Youth Challenge of Connecticut, Inc.
Since then, The Life Center of CT has remained committed to helping individuals with addiction. It has continued to expand its programs to accommodate and better serve those trying to leave their old way of life. The Life Center now has a Men’s Residential Center in Hartford, a Men’s Transitional Program, and Esther’s Home, a women’s Sober Home. The Life Center’s activity has not been limited to Connecticut but has reached Guatemala, Costa Rica, Venezuela, the Dominican Republic, Kenya, and Peru.
The Life Center’s clients are referrals made by individuals, detox programs, community hospitals, courts, clergy, and correctional facilities. The Center’s open-door policy welcomes men and women from every walk of life without regard to religious, ethnic, or racial background.
Through the years, The Life Center has achieved tremendous success, appreciating how much the staff, volunteers, supporters, program participants, and family members give of themselves to make the hope of living a new, drug-free, productive, and meaningful life a reality.
Bishop Raúl González, D.Min.
December 11, 1941 – July 5, 2009
Bishop Raúl González went to be with his Lord and Savior on Sunday, July 5, 2009. He was born on December 11, 1941 in Bayamon, Puerto Rico. He was one of seven brothers and sisters, son of Maria Luisa Villanueva and the late Pedro González. Bishop González was married in 1967 to Lady Guillermina Gongon González. They had four wonderful children, Colonel Raúl E. González, U.S. Army, Yvette Hopping, Reverend Esther González-Torres and Braulio, and eight grandchildren, Jade González, Jason Ricardo Hopping, Daniel Raúl Hopping, Rey David Hopping. Elijah Samuel Torres, Ezekiel Raúl Torres, Kasmir Alan Breedlove, and Gabriel David Gonzalez.
Bishop González was personally acquainted with the power of Jesus Christ to save and transform lives. In 1969, he was delivered from eleven years of drug addiction and saved by the power of Jesus Christ. His life was radically altered, and he received the calling to minister deliverance in Teen Challenge.
Bishop’s education and academic recognitions include degrees from Youth Challenge International Bible Institute, Manchester Community College, Logos Bible College, and Graduate School. He also received an Honorary Doctorate of Divinity from The Great Commission Theological Seminary, Humane Letters, and an earned Doctorate of Ministry from Evangelical Theological Seminary, now called Biblical Life College and Seminary.
In 1993, Bishop González received a prestigious honor in our nation’s capital. He was presented with an “Achievement Against the Odds” award by the National Center for Neighborhood Enterprise. He was one of seven persons to receive such recognition. The life and ministry of Bishop Raúl was successful against all odds and obstacles. Like the Apostle Paul, he was born out of season, for his call to the ministry and office of Bishop was not only unconventional but indeed miraculous. He was a living testimony that with God, all things are possible. He always focused on the work of the Lord with his wife, “Lady Willie,” by his side. One of Bishop’s favorite sayings was: “There is a treasure in the addict.”
Bishop González first came to Hartford, CT, in 1971 to help start Youth Challenge, now named The Life Center, a faith-based residential drug-free program for men and women. In 1974, Bishop González became the Executive Director of Youth Challenge of Connecticut, Inc. He also served as the President of Youth Challenge International, providing leadership in establishing and overseeing missions in Florida, Puerto Rico, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Venezuela, the Dominican Republic, Kenya, and Peru.
Bishop González had a shepherd’s heart. His vision for the City was evident in that he and Pastor Willie founded and pastored Glory Chapel International Cathedral in Hartford in 1979. Bishop was the founder and President of the Corinthian School of Urban Ministry in Hartford, CT, and President of the Board of Directors for Youth Challenge International School of Ministry, Wildwood, FL, all functioning under the biblical mandate expressed by the Lord Jesus Christ in Luke 4:18-19, “The Spirit of the Lord is on me because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, set the oppressed free, and proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.
Through Bishop Raúl and Lady Willie’s ministry of deliverance, thousands of drug addicts, both men and women, have been set free. May all the glory and honor go to the Lord Jesus Christ!
