A life once marked by violence, crime and prison has taken a dramatically different path, and this Sunday, Richard David Coss will share that story with the congregation at Enos Baptist Church. Coss, the son of alcoholic parents, committed his first crime at the age of 9.
By 11, he stabbed another student at school. By the time he was 25, Coss had spent nearly nine years behind bars.
His criminal record eventually included32arrestsand 28 convictions. The FBI classified him as a “dangerous and incorrigible” criminal.
However, while serving time in prison, an unexpected encounter began to change the direction of his life. Bored with the monotony of prison life and looking for something to occupy his time, Coss wandered into a meeting of Christian businessmen and fellow inmates being held in the prison chapel.
One of the men introduced himself and sat down with Coss. What happened next, according to Coss' account, would change his life.
In roughly 15 minutes, the anger and hatred that had defined much of his life began to give way to something he had struggled to find through years of intervention. Counselors, psychologists, sociologists, correctional officers, special schools, threats and prison had all attempted to alter his behavior.
Coss said that encounter in the chapel accomplished something none of those efforts had been able to accomplish. He began to see the possibility of a different life.
Coss gave his life to Christ and discovered what he describes as a new sense of hope and purpose. His transformation did not stop with his own life.
While still incarcerated, he began influencing other inmates and encouraging them to consider a different path. Coss was released from prison in 1971.
The decades that followed brought both successes and hardships,butoneofthemost devastating moments of his life came on April 19, 1995, when a bombing destroyed the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City.
Coss, who was a grandfather at the time, described the Oklahoma City bombing as “the worst day of my life.” Despite the tragedy and loss, Coss and his surviving family members leaned on one another and on the faith that had become central to his life.
Today, Coss travels sharing his testimony and telling audiences about the life he lived, the mistakes he made and the faith that he believes gave him an opportunity to begin again.
His story is one of crime and consequences, but also of redemption, perseverance and the belief that a person's past does not necessarily have to determine the rest of his or her life.
Coss will bring that message to Enos Baptist Church on Sunday, Oct. 4. He is scheduledtospeakduringthe morning service at 11 a.m. and again during the evening service at 6 p.m. Enos Baptist Church is located at 12223 Snell Road in Kingston. For more information, call 405306-9667.