Bruce Deel is the founder of City of Refuge in Atlanta and author of Trust First, which was the CPA US summer reading book. Pastor Bruce showered the auditorium full of students with humorous stories of his life and how he listened to God’s calling for him even when it was not just hard, but also dangerous. 

Bruce grew up in Virginia and studied to become a Pastor. He and his wife Rhonda had envisioned small-town life, leading a local congregation in faith, weddings, funerals and baptisms. But, God had other plans for Bruce, Rhonda and their five daughters.

Bruce was instilled with the task of helping close a church location in Atlanta, transitioning a dwindling congregation out of the location. Atlanta was not a small town and this church was not a small community congregation. The community was overcome with violent crime. But, just like all congregations he’d pastored, he found people in deep need of God’s love. Several church leaders asked Bruce for help, and he started helping. As rumors of his compassion and grace started infiltrating the neighborhood, this congregation which was slated to close, started growing and growing. 

Bruce and Rhonda prayed for God’s guidance, and they felt moved to relocate permanently to Atlanta. They ended up moving into the third floor of the Church which they renovated into a habitable space. On the first night in this new home, their car was nearly stolen, the first of many incidents in which the Deels saw the need for an unconditional love of and investment in their city. The church (their home) was broken into 34 times while they lived there, including an encounter in which Bruce was assaulted. Despite all the challenges, “Pastor Bruce”, as he became known, and his ministry continued to grow stronger. They began outreach in the streets helping addicts, prostitutes, and victims of sex trafficking. They would take in children whose mothers were going to prison. They would bail people out of jail at all hours of the night. 

Still his ministry grew. There are now multiple locations for Deel’s church–City of Refuge. Bruce is fiercely involved in the education of and stopping of sex trafficking and saving the lives of victims. 

Bruce referenced Psalm 31 for the lessons he needed to keep his ministry going. This is a psalm of David illustrating how when faced with trials, David clung to God with fervency, strength, praise, and hope. Bruce summarized this psalm as four directives for the audience: 
1. Be Brave. Bravery is essential as you do battle against Satan. You will need to be brave to stand up for Jesus and to stand up for morality. 
2. Be strong. You will be challenged physically and in your faith. You will fail if you are not strong in both.
3. Be Faithful. People will try and get you to do the wrong things, and you have to remain faithful to God’s Word. 
4. Be hopeful. God is in charge. Good things are coming. If we are brave, strong, and faithful, then we have the right to be hopeful. 

Following these precise directives, Bruce gave one final challenge to the students asking “what is one thing you can shift after today? How can you represent the Kingdom of God better with one small shift in your life?”

Pastor Bruce was captivating with his stories, kept students laughing with his ability to shift dire situations into satire, and was a perfect example of how to live out God’s calling.