The Yakuza is a form of organized crime that is older than the Sicilian Mafia. With over 300 years of history, this Japanese form of the mob is perhaps the oldest in the world.

One member of the Yakuza, Hiroyuki Suzuki had the courage and strength to abandon the life as a gangster and now has found his way in to the brotherhood of Christ.

The term 'Yakuza' comes from a Japanese card game, similar to blackjack, called Oicho-Kabu. The worst hand is a set which includes an eight, a nine, and a three. These three numbers are called Ya, Ku, and Sa, respectively. So, it is said that a good translation of Yakuza is 'useless hand'.

Suzuki has swapped his guns and gambling dice for a crucifix and a dog collar. He's a born -again Christian in a country where Christianity never took root, and a celebrity whose remarkable life story has earned him an invitation to speak at the White House.

Four years ago, he and seven other former gangsters founded Mission Barabas, one of the world's most eye-opening Christian groups. Under the slogan "Our boss is God" they've adapted Yakuza values of loyalty, obedience and discipline to serve Christ and put on a religious show like no other, in an attempt to attract converts.

The organization of the Yakuza is like the pre-modern Japanese i.e. (family group). There is the Oyabun, or 'Father', who has absolute highest authority in the group, and the Kobun, or children, who unquestioningly serve the Oyabun. A strong Kobun may have his own sub-family (and thus his own Kobun), and this form of branching may extend several tiers. A typical family of Yakuza is 20-200 members. Considering the several sub-families as well, membership in any one Yakuza 'clan' may exceed 1000 members.

Suzuki joined the Sakaume-gumi, a gang affiliated to Japan's biggest Yakuza syndicate. His motive was to get even for a beating he received at a nightclub on New Year's Eve in 1975. His message to other's is. "I've committed almost every sin in the book. I've experienced the darkest depths man can reach. Never again. Never again." His main concerns are more about the future than the past. He wants to set up a late-night call-in show on TV, open a counseling center in Shinjuku and build a bigger church to replace the Mission Barabas chapel.

He has also been approached by a major Japanese studio that wants to make a film about his life. "I'm all for it. My hope is that it will be the opposite of The Godfather. Not a tale of a good man who became corrupted, but the story of a sinner who saw the light. It will be worth it if only one person sees it and thinks, if a Yakuza can change, then so can I."