A day at the preach

A group of preachers who travel to universities across the nation made their annual stop at Chico State last week to preach the word of the Bible according to them. One of the men wore a sign condemning “rebellious women,” “baby killers,” “child-molesting homosexuals” and “pot smokers” to eternal damnation, which had some students thinking these three were more kook than preacher. Frank Zaccaro, a tall, good-natured gentleman, was the most rational and approachable of the trio. He dropped out of college to preach when he was 19, and now in his early 30s has been traveling to colleges for the past four years.

What do you hope to accomplish by traveling to universities?

It’s probably different for all three of us. I want to do what I believe God wants me to do, which I believe is to preach. I believe the best forum to do it is at a college. Kids tend to be very open. They also tend to be very willing to share what they believe. They tend to be very willing to listen.

Do you agree with the messages on that sign?

I agree that they’re all wrong. I agree that they’re all going to be judged. But at the same time, I believe every human being is going to be judged, Christian and non-Christian. I believe that if a person doesn’t know Jesus Christ, they will spend an eternity in hell. Part of the sign is to get people to ask questions.

So, what makes a good person?

A good person? A lot of people are very good. I know people that are pretty bad in their life, and they tend to be really rough human beings, but then they can be very good and be very nice to some people. I try to work on being better, but I’ve been working on being better for 13 years, and I ain’t anywhere near perfect. I don’t think I’m ever going to be.

Where do you need to improve in your life?

I need to serve God harder. I need to not lust for women so much. That’s really hard … that’s hard for any guy, you know what I mean? [Laughs] I need to be self-controlled in a lot of areas. I do drink some beer, but I think I have it under control. I don’t drink that much. Maybe have a little more self control.

So you’re probably not much different than some of the students out here …

Some of them. Now in some areas, I would be better than some in that I really work hard to preach. A lot of people don’t go after God that hard.

Do you ever feel conflicted preaching to people about issues that you haven’t addressed yourself?

No, I’m honest about it. I never profess to be perfect. I’m not trying to make them perfect. What I’m trying to do is to get them to understand that Jesus is the way. And if they are a Christian, I’m trying to get them to act more like a Christian. Hypocrisy is being a fake. I don’t want to pull the wool over anybody’s eyes and act like I’m Mr. Joe Perfect and be like me.