- [Narrator] On any given night all over America,
over a million people will sleep in the streets,
in squalid camps, or in their cars.
It is not an easy life.
The Dream Center houses nearly 200 formerly homeless
family members and plans to house hundreds more.
One of the more interesting
and most successful is Mark Horvath.
Like so many others, Mark moved to Los Angeles
to seek fame and fortune as a professional musician.
With only some degree of success in the music industry,
Mark switched to television and by 1994
he had a promising career in television syndication.
Yet, because of a severe drug addiction
he ended up homeless, living in a park in Hollywood.
- Homelessness is reaching epidemic proportions
around the world whether you're from a small town
or from a big town, a major city.
Doesn't matter what country you're in.
There are homeless people living in your city.
Homelessness is a subject that just is close to my heart.
Back in 1995, I lived in this park.
I just want to tell you that homelessness
can happen to anybody.
Before I lived in this park,
I had a good paying job in the television industry,
a Mercedes, reserve parking.
I never ever thought that I would end up
living in a park in Hollywood, but I did.
I lost my family.
I lost everything that was dear to me.
I lost all my possessions.
I lost the house that I was living in.
I didn't always look the way I look today.
When I came to the Dream Center I had a mohawk.
My hair was dyed.
When I lived in this park,
everything I owned I could fit in this backpack right here.
I had two shirts, a pair of jeans,
and I carried a kitchen knife which I thought
I would use for survival,
but more often than not I sat
on this very park bench contemplating suicide,
thinking about how I'm gonna slice my wrists
with this kitchen knife.
I spent many nights and many days just watching kids play
and people walk their dogs in this park
just longing to have a life again.
The hopelessness, the darkness is just unbelievable.
I remember one day I was sitting here
and I was really gonna do it.
I was gonna slice my wrists with this knife.
I had been saved by this time
and I carried a little Gideon's Bible in my backpack.
I decided I was gonna read a few scriptures
before I slit my wrist.
As I was reaching in my backpack
for my little Gideon's Bible,
I had an AA meetings directory
that was the same size and I think it was God's grace
that I grabbed that Alcoholics Anonymous meetings directory
and around the corner starting in about 10 minutes
there was a meeting.
Well, I went to that meeting
and they talked about God
and it gave me the strength to make it one more day.
This is Hollywood Boulevard.
Thousands of people come to Hollywood every day
to seek fame and fortune.
Back in 1987, I was one of those people.
I always wanted to have a star on the Walk of Fame.
I never thought that I would literally sleep
on this sidewalk, which I have.
I can't, once again, tell you the pain
that it was being homeless in Hollywood.
That was never my dream.
It's just really dark out here when you're homeless.
Something else happens here on the boulevard.
Hundreds of Christians come here every day
to hand out tracks and to save the lost.
Some of 'em even bring bagged lunches.
But of all the time I spent on this boulevard homeless,
there was only one church, and that is the Dream Center,
that would actually come and pick up people
by bus, take 'em back to the church,
offer 'em a hot meal and offer 'em a place to stay
and a place to have hope and rebuild their lives.
One morning, I stood out here at Hollywood and Ivar
and waited for the bus to come
and the bus drove right by me.
I was really discouraged and I waited another week
and that Sunday morning
when I saw that white bus come close,
I stood out in the middle of Hollywood Boulevard
and waved my Bible in front of that bus
and I made that white bus stop
and I got on that bus and I came down to the Dream Center
and that's where my dreams started coming true.
(mid-tempo music)
Dreams do come true.
All my life my vision, my dream, is to play drums.
When I was a little kid, my dad used to sit me
behind a drum set and I wanted to be like him
so I grew up just wanting go play drums.
For 20 years I played drums in the secular world
with a limited amount of success,
but I was never happy.
When I became homeless, drumming was something
I never thought I'd do.
Today I oversee a music ministry called
Under the Influence of the Holy Spirit.
We reach millions of kids.
Over the last three years we have reached
millions of kids installing
a positive message through music.
Today we have Steve Urenda on vocals,
Trinidad Sanchez on bass, and Brian Conroy,
who's my oldest friend here, which is a miracle
in itself because we used to play in bars
in secular bands and here me and Brian
are playing in churches and that's
just a miracle in itself.
♫ All alone with myself
♫ And question why
- What we do is we go into bars,
into the places where sin abounds
and we sing a bold message of Christ and Christ's love
where most people, most Christians won't go.
My passion, my burden, my love is this ministry
and it's because of the Dream Center
and it's because of the vision
of Pastor Tommy and Pastor Matthew
of allowing ministries to do radical things
like we do here that is just such a blessing.
♫ Up this place
♫ Telling me to hold on
♫ Out your place
♫ 'Til I see, yeah, yeah
♫ What you're giving me
- One of the talents God has given me
is television production.
I get the awesome privilege
of co-producing this television show every week
and not only is it a challenge,
but it's an awesome blessing
to try to fit what the Dream Center does every week
into a half an hour show.
Every week, we go and we shoot the footage,
we edit the footage and we create a television show
that will hopefully touch your heart.
The most amazing thing that God has done in my life
since I got off the streets
is he restored my family.
I'm sitting here with my father
and for many years I didn't talk to my father
and when I got off the streets, homeless,
my father flew out here to see me
and God has just been putting my family back together.
My grandmother, my mother, my stepfather.
The things that I've said to my mother
and to my stepfather when I was homeless,
I don't know how they could ever forgive me
and I will always live with that pain
but through the grace of God,
my family is restored
and better than it ever was
and I love you, Dad.
I love you, Mom.
I love you, Grandma.
I love you, Casey.
I thought my family would never be restored
and here I sit with my father
and I know my mother is recording this show
to watch it tomorrow
and I just want to thank you, Dream Makers,
for believing in the Dream Center
and giving to this ministry.
Thank you very much.
- [Announcer] The word of God says,
"This is what the Sovereign Lord says,
"'On the day I cleanse you from all your sins
"'I will resettle your towns
"'and the ruins will be rebuilt.
"'The desolate land will be cultivated
"'instead of lying desolate in the sight
"'of all who pass through it.
"'They will say this land that was laid waste
"'has become like the Garden of Eden.
"'The cities that were lying in ruins,
"'desolate and destroyed,
"'are now fortified and inhabited.
"'Then the nations around you that remain
"'will know that I, the Lord, have rebuilt
"'what was destroyed and have replanted what was desolate.
"'I, the Lord, have spoken and I will do it.'"
(inspirational music)
- I am here tonight at the end of our Thursday night service
here with Mr. Horvath and, of course, Mark, his son
and you have just heard the wonderful story
of how Mark chased down one of those buses,
came on the church with his iguana and everything
and now Mark is a producer of our TV program every week.
He puts this show together.
I'm telling you, God can do amazing things
for people who believe and a father who believes
and never gives up on his son.
This is a story not only of the Dream Center caring
but a father who believes and just a whole family
of people who have invested in the life of Mark.
But now Mark is a miracle story
and now today it just shows you what can happen
when you believe in people.
Nobody's ever hopeless.
There is hope for everybody and who knows,
maybe tonight in the middle of this revival service
there's another Mark at this altar.
There's another one who came off this bus
and was tired and discouraged
but his spirits have been lifted tonight
to be able to believe again,
to have the power to dream again.
I believe another story is here in this service
because every week there's another story
being told of a life that's been turned upside down
but now is going back into society
and is making a difference.
Tonight we're talking about the power of believing
and the power of going to the streets
and picking up people and that's what we're
gonna continue to do and we're gonna go to the streets
with these buses and we're gonna continue
to pick up everybody who needs a ride
to the old church and bring 'em here
and give them the good message that there is hope,
there is faith, there's something that's alive in them
if you just believe in them.
Mark, I'm so proud of you.
- Thank you, Pastor. - And I sure do love you
and you're the greatest example of what God can do
in the life of a person
and Mr. Horvath, what a miracle.
What has God done in the life of your son?
I know it's been an amazing story.
- Well, he's brought Mark back into the family
and he's probably saved Mark's life.
It's wonderful to come out here and visit him
and see what he's done for the church
instead of coming here and looking
at a gravestone it could have been
and it's just a wonderful thing
that you're doing here with the ministry
and all the support you're getting from everybody.
You must have a channel to Heaven
because you're getting pennies from Heaven
but I'm sure that you're getting the bulk
of this support for this church
from people that donate and they've just got
to keep it coming because that's how it's gonna survive
and there can be more Marks.
And I hope everybody that has a lost soul in their family
can have the kind of revelation and the joy that I've gotten
from what you have done for my son.
I thank you so much.
- Oh, thank you.
I want to tell all you fathers,
keep believing in your children
and every church, never give up on anybody
no matter how hard the case might seem
because look, more miracles like this are in your city.
God bless you.