Elder Richard Lizzol was born in the Bronx, New York in 1960. He is the eldest of four brothers and two sisters. He moved to Brentwood Long Island, NY at the age of seven and to Shirley, NY at the age of 11. His life was not always easy. As the oldest, he helped care for his younger brothers. His parents divorced when he was 16, and he began working on a clam boat to help his mother pay bills and care for his siblings. At the age of 18, he graduated from high school and started working for Enterman’s Bakery. His life was not progressing as he thought it should, something was missing. He met his wife on July 3, 1983. Richard was 23, and Frances was 22. She was of the Catholic faith and seeking a more tangible relationship with Christ. Frances was attending a prayer group at a Catholic church where she sang and played her guitar. She did not share her heart felt desire with Richard at first because she thought that he would think that she was weird. Richard and Frances married on September 8, 1984 and continued to seek God.

One day, Richard was in his room asking God what to do with his life. He opened his Bible and read and began to speak in tongues. Not knowing what this meant, he asked Frances since she attended services regularly. At this time Fran was only exposed to the Catholic Prayer Group. She brought him there where he followed the “Life In The Spirit” seminar. After a couple of weeks, he completed it. Qualified people in the church prayed over Richard, and he began to speak in tongues. The anointing was on him so that he could not sit in his seat. He said, “I felt so much joy.” They came to get Frances to calm him down. She had not experienced anything of this magnitude so she didn’t know what to do with him. After this great experience, he met a brother on his job that read his Bible everyday during lunch. He and the brother (Chris) would study together. When Richard went back to the prayer group, he brought back something new that he’d learned. He was told to sit down and be quiet. Richard was so discouraged that he began seeking the truth.

Richard and Frances went to the Catholic priest and ask questions of concern regarding salvation. The answers given by the priest did not line up with the Word of God. They were reprimanded and heartbroken after this meeting. The meeting caused them to leave the Catholic Church and invoked them to seek the Lord with more tenacity. They began to visit various ministries, but they were still dissatisfied with how they lined up with God’s Word. Richard asked his wife if she wanted to go to Chris’s church. She agreed. They went to service in February of 1984 and had a spiritual experience that they haven’t forget until this day. Richard danced for the Lord for the first time. They remained faithful to this ministry until God moved them in November of 1995.

Elder Lizzol now pastors Heavenly Vision GHCOC in Shirley, New York where he preaches and teaches the Apostolic doctrine with the fervor of his first experience with the Holy Ghost.