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Location: |
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Friday, 6/12 @ 7:00 AM |
Christian Executive Officers Breakfast @ Handlery Hotel
San Diego, CA |
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Saturday, 6/13 @ 11:00 AM |
SoCal Singles Retreat @ Calvary Conference Center
Twin Peaks, CA |
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Saturday, 6/13 @ 9:00 PM |
Inland Empire 66ers Baseball Faith Night @ Arrowhead Credit Union Stadium
San Bernardino, CA |
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Saturday, 6/20 @ 8:00 AM |
Bikers For Christ
Murrieta, CA |
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Wednesday, 6/24 @ 3:00 PM |
Future Quest Youth Conference @ Foothills Church
El Cajon, CA |
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Saturday, 6/27 @ 6:00 PM |
Church Service @ Calvary Chapel
Oceanside, CA |
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Sunday, 6/28 @ 9:00 & 11:00 AM |
Church Service @ Calvary Chapel
Oceanside, CA |
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Welcome! Please allow me to share a few
words with you. Below, you will find my brief testimony of God's
wonderful mercy and grace, a story about a man who got more from
this world than he ever expected, yet found himself empty and
without hope.
If you are wondering about the name of C28, C28 is a verse from
Colossians 2:8. This verse is special to me because I had become
real good at the things of this world ( traditions & basic
principals of this world, rather than Christ) only to realize I
was chasing all the wrong things. as I became more empty and
full of despair, I was led to Jesus Christ for the peace and
purpose I never had! Soon after, I was moved by God's Holy
Spirit to reach the hurting and the lost in malls. Why Malls?
Because malls get tens of millions of visitors each year. The
mission statement at C28 is to
"To glorify God by sharing the life
changing gospel message of grace, truth and love found in Jesus
through prayer, evangelism, and God's written word on apparel."
after 10 years and the sale of Dogloo Inc., an International company which I was
cofounder and CEO, I found myself with all the material things of this world,
but felt without much purpose in life. I was a responsible man , a moral man, I
loved my family and prayed every night, but I had never heard the gospel nor did
I have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. In March 18, 1998 by the grace
of God, I became aware that I was also a sinner (pride, jealousy, selfishness),
that I would face judgment at death someday and the due penalty of my sins was
eternal death in hell. I finally realized I needed Jesus. It was clear that I
could not work my way into heaven and as a mere moral man, I was headed straight
to hell without a Savior. That's when I repented and turned away from my sins,
asked Jesus into my heart as Lord and Savior of my life!
My life began to change from a self centered life to a God centered life. I
began to experience the peace I never had before and the assurance of my
salvation.
I began attending church and was baptized as my public acknowledgment of my new
found faith in Jesus. I joined a weekly bible study called BSF
http://www.bsfinternational.org/
and began obeying the words in the bible.
I listened to multiple daily sermons on the radio. I could not get enough of
God!
I began praying that God would use the gifts and talents He had given me, for
His glory. In December of 1999, while driving home through Victorville, the Lord
led me and my son "JR" to a little store called "Christian Headshop". The store
was very cool, like nothing I had ever seen before! It was that night that God
gave me the vision to share His life changing gospel message of grace, truth and
love found in Jesus. I felt the Lord speaking to me about opening stores for
youth. Initially, I was not sold on the idea since it did not make much business
sense to start a retail store in this day and age. I prayed for months, I wanted
to be obedient to God even though there were many uncertainties. This retail
concept had never been proven before. There were thousands of Christian stores,
but none for youth. Only by prayer and faith did I proceed. I started praying
about a name and after much prayer C28 ( Colossians 2:8, not about this world
but all about Christ ) became evident since it brought Jesus Christ all the
glory! In april of 2001 after much opposition from malls, the Lord opened our
first door at the Tyler Mall in Riverside, California! I learned it was all
about praying, obeying and trusting in God's sovereignty. God began opening
doors! |
Have you or someone you know come to Christ as a result of this testimony?
Please let us know at testimony@c28.com |
There have been many challenges, but with God's strength and direction we have
persevered. God is so faithful.
By God's grace we now have 6 company stores, 7 franchise stores, NOTW clothing
and C28.com for online shopping. God is gracious and faithful! Many
people come to C28 stores to pray. There are countless testimonies. as an
example, a young girl on a wheel chair came into Temecula asking "is this the
store that prays for people?" . This says it all. Since the first store opened
in april 2001,
13722
people have been led through
the sinners prayer and accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior! all
praise goes to our almighty sovereign God! Little did these people know that
what started as a usual day of shopping lead them to the best gift of
all, salvation through Jesus! Many, many lives have been eternally changed. God
is so good!
For 38 years no one ever shared the gospel with me! I was one of those people that
looked like I had everything, but was actually lost inside. We want to help
people realize God's plan for them without having their life pass them by.
"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans
to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."
Jeremiah 29:11.
Can you imagine a normal day of mall shopping turning into your
day of salvation! It happens at C28! The Lord is using C28 to save lives, give
people a hope, a promise and a future. God uses C28 stores to bring people
closer to himself in a secular environment, imagine that! all praise goes to
God!
• We want to reach the unreachable and to love the unlovable.
• We want people to know there is an alternative to the things of this world.
• We want people to realize there are answers in this life and hope for a tomorrow.
• We want to make people realize that without Jesus, there is no today
or tomorrow ( Eternal Life)
God forgives us no matter what we have done. When we repent of our sins, ask for
forgiveness and accept Jesus into our hearts, we can be forgiven and filled with
God's Holy Spirit forever. Christians are in no way close to perfect, they are a
work in progress. We are sinful people and we live by God's loving grace. Praise
God!
"Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance:
Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners--of whom I am the worst." 1
Timothy 1:15
aurelio F. Barreto III
Founder & CEO
Have you or someone you know come to Christ as a result of this
testimony? Please let us know at
testimony@c28.com
Most Often asked Questions about C28 Founder
and CEO Aurelio Barreto
Q: What was your religious background as an adult, and how did God call you to Himself?
a: I grew up Catholic and did all the right things as an adult, but while I was a teenager I went from drugs to girls and then
as an adult to being a moral man. After selling my $62 million dollar business and retiring at age 37, I realized first hand
that all the money, power, influence and success of this world could not buy me the happiness and peace I was looking for.
Q: Why did you start a T-shirt company?
a: After giving my life to the Lord Jesus, I began changing and wanting to glorify Him. I began praying about serving Him.
At first I thought I would be a pastor, I thought about being a missionary, but that was only until I realized that God wanted
me to do everything as unto the Lord. I realized that my gifts and talents were in business and that I could truly glorify Him
through business. When He gave me the idea of a retail store I thought, "Dear God, why retail of all things? I will certainly
lose everything. Please God, just point me to ministries where I can donate a couple of million to and I can serve You." I thought
I would lose it all. At first we were losing $50K per month. After the first 4 years of operations I finally surrendered the business
over to Him 100%. I told Him I had no idea what I was doing and was afraid I would lose it all. I told Him that if things were going
to work, then He would have to take charge. That very year after surrendering the business over to Him was the very first year we had
a profit, and now we have been profitable for the past 5 years ever since. All praise goes to God. And what matter most is that over
13,000 people have prayed to receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior since we started 9 years ago. I have seen and witnessed changed
lives that are now bearing much fruit.
Q: You said that after 4 years of operations you finally turned over your business to God 100%. What did this look like?
a: Basically, it was a surrender of the mind. That I could actually trust God to not just take care of the business, but actually
do better than I could.
Q: In what ways (if any) do you now believe that you were behaving/thinking inappropriately the previous 4 years?
a: Always taking charge instead of waiting on the Lord. Not being so quick to exercise my God-given rights as opposed to waiting
upon the Lord to give me His clear directions. I needed to trust God to do what only God can do.
Q: In just a few sentences, what do you hope for your T-shirt company to accomplish?
a: Expose people to God's Word. Shirts are read an average of 300 times by people who otherwise would never step into
anything Christian. As Christians, we assume that everyone knows about Jesus and the unfortunate reality is that the
majority has no clue.
Q: What resources have helped you as a Christian businessman, particularly in a leadership role?
a: The Lord Jesus. The Bible is totally about business. Jesus Christ was a carpenter, back then that was business. Our company's mission
is to glorify God by sharing the life-changing gospel message of grace, truth and love found in Jesus Christ. We seek to do this through
prayer, evangelism, and God's written Word on apparel. Our
mission statement, vision, message and values are posted on our website.
Q: What practical measures have you placed in your life to battle materialism?
a: It truly is about God’s grace. The same grace that God used to save me is the same grace that keeps me looking to Him.
There is nothing bad with money, but it is the "love" of money that kills a person. The parable of the talents is clear
about multiplying whatever God has given a person. Whether it is time, talents or treasures, we are to multiply them for
God's glory.
Q: Do you have any significant involvements outside of your role leading C28?
a: It seems like God has me speaking and doing evangelism 1-2 times per week. I also serve on 3 boards of directors
for different Christian organizations: Woodcrest Christian School
for 8 years; Haven Ministries for 6 years; and
CBA for 2 years.
Q: The Lord has blessed you with things that people of this world go to great lengths to achieve
(such as success in business and accumulating financial wealth), but is that
what life should be about?
a: I thought I was fortunate in life to achieve the "things of this
world" early in my career. The reality was very different, the reality was that
money, success, and power could never buy me happiness, peace or purpose in
spite of how much money I made.
Q: What was the driving force in your life before you were
saved? And did it satisfy your heart?
a: Material Success and achievements were my motivation, yet
achieving these things ultimately led me to thoughts of despair and suicide.
Q: When C28 and NOTW was just an idea, were there spiritual
battles going on to prevent you from stepping out in faith?
a: Totally! My wife Peggy and I went through a 4 year full bore
attack on our marriage, if it were not for Christ, we would have divorced. Another
battle was going through a period of years experiencing an overall
discouragement. In spite of the awesome ministry and people coming to Christ, I
doubted that we would ever make ends meet and doubted that God was truly behind me. To
make things worse, I also lost about $4 million in stocks immediately after I
made the decision to start C28.
Q: Can a true Christian also be a shrewd business person in this world? If so, how?
a: Absolutely. I think God calls us to be good stewards of what He
has given us. The bible actually calls us to have the heart of a dove and be
shrewd as a snake.
Q: I know there are Christian business owners out there that
have been definitely called to open a Christian store and some that may be not.
What kind of advice can you give to them?
a: Go into business only if you are certain that your God given
gifts and talents are truly in business. God is a logical God.
Q: C28 has grown from 1 store in 2001 to a total of 10 stores
throughout the USA. What do you attribute that to?
a: God's grace! It has also taken faith in what the Lord has called
me and equipped me to do. It has been extremely scary at times, yet God has held
my hand every step of the way. He is an awesome God! I love Him so much!
Q: Your C28 website states that 13,540 people have accepted Christ
as their Lord and Savior through C28. Could you have ever imagined that God
would use a retail store to touch so many lives?
a: No way, I remember when it was just 7 people that had accepted
Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior!!! This is a huge blessing in my life that I do
not deserve.
Q: Anything else you would want to add?
a: After 9 years of walking with the Lord I know Him to be an
extremely merciful God, full of grace. The awareness of the grace I have today
is 100 times greater than when I initially came to Christ. He is my loving God
who cares for me and takes care of my daily needs. I want the world to know
about my God! Don't you?
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