Here are some amazing life stories from some of our members.

Out of Darkness into His wonderful Light (1 Peter 2:9) by Julie

Right from being a young girl I was very shy and grew up with little confidence and self esteem. I often felt anxious when around people, especially when in group situations, feeling like I wanted to crawl into a hole. I used to drink lager when meeting people socially, to reduce my anxiety.

When I was in my 20’s I use to wonder what the point was in living. I kept thinking, ‘Why are we here?’ I felt I needed purpose in my life. I use to get bitter when people hurt me and found it very difficult to forgive them. I tried to find happiness from relationships with men but no ones perfect and people hurt me and let me down. I use to get easily stressed and often felt down.

In 1999, while I was at University I saw a stall advertising the Christian Union and thought I’d go along to find out what it was all about. I thought it would be somewhere to go and that it would be a way of meeting new people. I didn’t know what to expect but everyone was really friendly which made me want to keep going back there every week. They sang songs, which were lively, and then someone gave a talk, I loved it. When people asked how long I’d been a Christian I said ‘all my life’ because at that point I thought a Christian was just someone who believed in God. People were trying to encourage me to go to church but I didn’t go until about 1 year later because all I remembered of church was that it was boring and monotonous. I finally went along to St Aidens Church and remember thinking, ‘If I’d known churches like this existed I’d have been there years ago’. It was lively and totally different to the Church of England service I was used to. After attending the church for a few months I went along to their Alpha course they were running. This taught me things about Jesus and Christianity I didn’t know. I found out that being a Christian was all about having a relationship with Jesus and him changing you to be more like him. I became a Christian during 2000.

Two Christians on two separate occasions while praying for me saw a picture of a flower in bud opening up very slowly. They told me this meant that God was going to give me confidence gradually. At this time I was also praying for myself for confidence and boldness. God has improved my confidence tremendously. God also reduced my anxiety slowly over a 2 year period. I very rarely experience any anxiety when in social situations now.

I’m now attending Jubilee Church where I met my husband in January 2005. He’s the man I thought I’d only ever meet in my dreams. Up until 2 months before my wedding on 21/10/06, I had a huge fear about getting married in front of many people. I was absolutely dreading the day. Every time I talked about getting married or thought about it too much it brought the fear to the surface and I burst into tears. I prayed to God a lot during this time. God showed me that my fear was due to things that had happened in my past. God then gradually released all the pain that was deep inside me. Thanks to God my fear completely disappeared. I started looking forward to my wedding day and was able to enjoy it.

Becoming a Christian is the best thing that has ever happened to me. Jesus has worked through me and changed me very gradually. I now experience joy, peace and happiness in my life. God has changed my whole way of thinking. I’m a lot more patient and don’t get as bitter when people hurt me, finding it much easier to forgive. I’ve learnt to relax, as I know that God is in control of my life and he knows best. I live God’s way instead of my own and have the assurance that He’s always with me and will never leave me (Hebrews 13:5). I never get depressed and very rarely feel down or stressed. I can turn to God and can trust Him completely. I was baptised on August 10th 2003 in the river Swaile in Richmond.

I've discovered that going to church doesn’t make you a Christian, nor does trying hard to be nice. It’s a matter of the heart. According to Jesus, his followers are people who have a personal relationship with him. Knowing about Jesus simply isn’t enough. The world is full of people who haven’t found what they’re looking for. There’s something missing, a restless feeling inside. Jesus teaches that real satisfaction and purpose come when we put him at the centre of our lives. To become a Christian is to humbly receive God’s gift of forgiveness and commit to following His leadership. When we do that, He adopts us into His family, and begins to change us from the inside out.

Jesus makes this offer to all of us: ‘I stand at the door and knock, if anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him’ (Revelation 3:20)

Healed by God - John

One Sunday I woke up in a lot of pain in both knees and my lower back. I have suffered with painful knees for a few years and after visiting my local doctor and having an exploratory operation I was told that I had arthritis in them. I was told that this was probably due to my job as a motor mechanic where I was up and down on my knees often kneeling on cold damp concrete floors and I would probably suffer for the rest of my life, and if the pain was too much I was to take pain relief. Prior to that Sunday morning I had been very active on the workshop floor carrying out a lot of physical jobs which resulted in the pain in my knees and back.

I eventually managed to get vertical and hobble downstairs for my breakfast moaning and groaning as I went. At church I was still in a lot of pain especially when standing, so I kept sitting down most of the time. In the meeting people were asked if they had any illnesses or ailments which they would like to be healed. As a new Christian I had not experienced anything to do with healing personally, yes I had heard about it and had previously thought it was a bit of a con or it was playing with people’s minds.

Because of being a new Christian I was open to the idea of the healing process by prayer so I found myself hobbling forward. Paul who had influenced my decision to come on the Alpha course was one of the people who came laid their hands on me and started to pray for the pain to go. He had his hand on my shoulder for some time whilst praying and then moved his hand to my lower back. I felt an intense heat entering my back; it was a bit like lying on a very hot water bottle. From that point the pain in my lower back eased and went.

On the following Alpha night the talk was, yes you may have guessed it “healing” and once again people were asked to come forward to be prayed for healing. My knees were still painful and sore so after Sunday’s experience with my back I went forward and sat on a chair. A couple placed their hands on my knees and some other people placed their hands on me and started to pray that the pain in my knees would go. After a few minutes I felt a sudden jolt in my left knee followed by the same feeling in my right knee a minute or so later. All I can say is that since that night I have experienced no pain whatsoever in my knees, yes they get stiff, but I think that may be down to old age!

I have found that we cannot see him or touch God but he is there and we can see and experience the effects of God.

Local GP - Found by God! by Raj

I was born into a loving Indian family and brought up as a Hindu. Hinduism was more of a culture for the family than a religion with festival parties and the security of a close knit community.

As I got older I started to question issues about god and religion a little . While Hinduism was fun and had some good moral teachings it lacked personal connection to god. It was ritualistic and had too many rules making it difficult to know whether you had gods favour. My questioning fizzled out a little as exams and university took over.

During the later part of university my search for a spiritual meaning was rekindled. I had developed my own religion to suit my lifestyle. While reading about Hinduism, Buddhism, and new age philosophies my beliefs developed into a religious casserole. There was something there to meet all my differing needs - very ‘me’ centred - not too challenging – not stopping me from doing the things I wanted to do!!

Near the end of university (age 24) my brother committed suicide and a year later my mum died suddenly at the age of 50 from breast cancer.

This affected me a great deal –my mum and brother were the closest people to me - loosing them had a catastrophic effect.

Having moved back to Middlesbrough to work in the local hospital as a house officer I was out most nights till the early hours of the morning completely drunk – completely out of control.

I guess I just wanted to forget the reality of what had happened: that I had lost everything that was dear to me. I guess this goes without saying but I didn’t think much of god at this time either!!

A few years later a group of female doctors started working in James Cook Hospital whom I befriended. There was something about them that was very attractive –apart from the obvious!! They seemed to enjoy everything around them. They didn’t do things to excess. They conducted themselves very morally……they were also regular church goers.

Eventually I started dating one of them, called Charlotte, and as our relationship blossomed her beliefs started to challenge me more and more. Her religion wasn’t an all encompassing, politically correct one like mine! There were definite rights and wrongs. She was very confident in her beliefs. Admittedly this got me a little angry and stubborn. I was not prepared to compromise my lifestyle in search of something new……..we spilt up for a short time.

Around this time I moved down to York to train as a GP. While there I was still searching for some meaning to things and Charlotte's faith only fuelled this further. I was later drawn to an Anglican church in York called St Michael le Belfry – the small church next to the Minster. There I met some lovely people and they invited me to an Alpha Course.

On the Alpha course I learnt that becoming a Christian is often a process involving three steps:

-Firstly a change of heart -Secondly a change of mind, and -Thirdly a change of action.

While sitting in St Michael’s one day I had that change of heart. God put his hand on it and returned it to me…new. Exactly what happened is difficult to describe…but it was a gentle and beautiful experience. From then on I felt different… initially very happy!!

I agreed to go on the Alpha Course. There I met lots of questioning people like me! It was an excellent forum to blurt out what had troubled me about Christianity – did they really believe that all my non Christian friends were doomed to hell? Surely all the other religions can’t be wrong?

It was an excellent forum for me to learn about how Jesus was a true lifesaver. There were wonderful stories about how God had impacted people’s lives – real people – not weird people – normal people like you and me. I was captivated. I couldn’t get enough – through Alpha, God changed my mind.

From then on I noticed that my actions changed. I was much more sensitive at work, much more tolerant – quite useful as a doctor!! I felt more confident as a person. I couldn’t help but analyse the very negative parts of my life and try to do something about them. It became difficult to do wrong things without noticing that they were wrong. However through God’s forgiveness these wrongs didn’t burden me anymore but quite the opposite – it encouraged me to change.

The Alpha Course showed me how to read the bible and how to develop a dynamic, exciting relationship with a living, loving God that intervenes in our lives.

Since then things have moved on. God continues to stretch me. God continues to look out for me. God is with me during the difficult and the good times. He has given me a wonderful wife, Charlotte. He has given me a wonderful home and job. God has gifted me and provided me with everything I need and binned everything I don’t!

The key step in all of this was just letting go. Not to think of this as a failure of character or something. But to let a loving God take over. I guess everybody here is searching for something. I hope you find what I found.

Free Food! by Simon

I was brought up in Middlesbrough in a really rough area. I had a lot of problems at school. I got beaten up a lot. Once I got tipped upside down and my head was rubbed in dog muck. I just remember covering my face up and letting them do it.

My first three years of senior school were the worst three years of my life. They’d gang up on me because I was skinny and small. I was covered in bruises all the time.

I’d cry and cry at night and ask, ‘Why is this happening to me?’ One day, when I was 14, I thought, ‘This has got to change.’ After that I’d go to school, get my tick on the register, then leave and hang about on my own. I bunked off school most of the next three years.

I met a mechanic who became a good friend of mine. He was about six years older than me and I used to ride about in cars with him. He taught me how to fight so I went from being bullied to becoming a bully myself. I started hanging around with some rough lads and got into trouble.

When I was 16 I got a job at a local supermarket as a training assistant – stacking shelves, working on the deli counter and restaurant. My life was going up. I was earning money.

At night I used to hang around with my mate. Because I had money, we chipped in together and bought a car. We did it up and went riding around in it. He showed me a new life. He was a good friend but he was in with some other lads who were drug dealers. I started smoking cannabis. He used to ask me to go on day trips to France with him and his mates. I went along thinking it was just to buy beer.

We went over about six times. Then I learnt that the car was loaded up with drugs – in the bumpers and other places. It was mostly crack but there was also cannabis, cocaine, amphetamines, and Ecstasy tablets. I felt dead good because I was with the big boys. And I was well looked after by them

At that time, I got involved in a lot of bad stuff to do with guns and people getting hurt. It was part of the drug culture. If you messed the big drug dealers around in Middlesbrough, people would get hurt. You could end up getting shot in the kneecaps or beat up or even killed. That’s the way it works.

I saw a lot of people go to prison – and I started to think, ‘Hold on, I can’t handle prison…’ In the end I thought, ‘I’m going to have to get out of this.’ I was getting too involved and seeing a lot of bad stuff.

I was now about 20 and I was smoking a lot of cannabis, and taking a bit of cocaine and speed. We used to just lie there, smoke big blocks of cannabis all night, watching a film or something.

I was still working in the supermarket but had started going in late all the time because I was hanging around with this gang. I was getting warning after warning until in November 1997 I got sacked.

Once I got sacked I started drinking every night. I started with cans, then big bottles of spirits. Me and my flatmates would buy a bottle between us from our giro. By this time I was getting myself well into debt. I moved into a friend’s flat and we used to smoke cannabis. I couldn’t have stopped – the only enjoyment I was getting was the cannabis. It relaxed me.

Then I went back home to my parents for six months. I stopped smoking cannabis at the time, but I was still smoking fags. Then I got put on to New Deal, a government scheme, and started working at a local abattoir cutting and making chops. I was earning money again, which was great.

Then one night a friend invited me out to a club for his birthday. We had a drink then we went to a nightclub in Middlesbrough.

We started drinking in there then I saw my mate dancing about and I thought, ‘It’s not like him to be dancing about. He never used to be like that…’

One night I asked my mate, ‘Why are you dancing around like that?’ He showed me some Ecstasy tablets. I had half a tablet and I loved it. I was off my barnet [head] and enjoyed the night.

It started as half a tablet, then it went to one, then two and then three a night. Every Friday and Saturday night we’d go out clubbing and get hammered. We didn’t drink – just took Ecstasy tablets.

I got sacked from my job in the abattoir three months into it and my parents threw me out because I was out of control. I just moved in with friends and went on the dole.

We started getting involved with other drugs – ‘poppers’, cocaine and speed.

This went on for one to two years. I was only interested in getting high. I was having a really good time, partying, meeting a lot of big people in clubland, big name DJs.

I was living in Norton and my younger brother moved in with me and started taking drugs. Gradually the club scene fizzled out a bit so it was just me and my brother sitting in my flat smoking cannabis and going round to friends to smoke cannabis.

In 1999 I got a job at ASDA doing the trolleys in the car park. I kept doing pills and drugs and got involved in a lot of bad things. I was finding it hard to get hold of drugs so I got friendly with a dealer. I used to sell them on to my friends and from ten pills it grew to 50-100 pills.

I was making a lot of money selling the drugs – but then I was eating as much as I was selling.

My brain was so frazzled at this time – the amount of pills I had taken had taken its toll. I had a lot of pressure on me with the drug dealing and working. I wanted out but I couldn’t.

Then I became friendly with a guy pushing trolleys at ASDA with me called Bobby. We used to get chatting, joking and laughing. He said he was a Christian and asked me if I believed in God and stuff. I wasn’t really into it. I thought he was a bit weird.

He gave me a leaflet about the Alpha course and asked me if I would like to come along. I said, ‘No, it’s not for me’. I wanted to go home and get stoned.

Another week passed and he said, ‘Are you coming to Alpha? Go on, come to Alpha…’

Then he said, ‘There’s free food.’

That got my attention. When you smoke cannabis you get ‘the munchies’ – some chemical reaction where you just want to eat afterwards.

So I thought, ‘Yeah, I’ll have a couple of joints then I’ll go to Alpha and get fed and listen to somebody babble on about God… ‘What can go wrong? Free food, free cup of tea, hear a talk, then back home and get stoned again...’

So Bobby took me to Alpha at a church called Jubilee Church. We arrived together and were met by a lady called Shirley. She put her arms around me and gave me a big cuddle and was dead friendly. I thought, ‘It’s nice this.’

I got talking to different people from the church including Steve, one of the leaders. The food was lovely. I was impressed – there was all sorts, chicken, cheese, vegetable pasta, all my favourite stuff.

Then I sat listening to Steve babble on about God. I didn’t take much interest – I listened but I thought it was rubbish.

After the first week Bobby asked if I’d come back and I said, ‘Yes – for the food.’

I went back home and got stoned. After the second or third week, a friend said, ‘Let’s get wrecked on Saturday...’ And I said, ‘No – I don’t fancy it. I’ll just smoke some cannabis and get stoned…’ The pills just got pushed to the side.

For the first three sessions I didn’t take part in the discussion. I kept going back because I liked the food – I still thought what I was hearing was rubbish.

Then the third time I went I started to come out of the shell I was in. I was starting to feel a bit at home and comfortable with these strangers – I didn’t understand it.

I was the only clubby one there. I used to talk about clubbing and the good thing was that people listened. That’s when I started to think, ‘These people are actually listening to me...’

But things were starting to change, even though I wasn’t listening to what Steve was saying. Something was still being planted in the back of my head.

I used to go back and get stoned, but it wasn’t as much – and I started to sit and think. I began to look forward to Alpha. Coming up for the fifth week I was getting excited thinking, ‘Oh it’s Alpha!’ Things were starting to click. I was starting to listen, make friends with people and feel relaxed.

On the Saturday after the fifth week I went home after work and had a couple of joints. I was making a joint and I turned to my brother and said, ‘I’m giving up cannabis – this is the last joint I am taking. I’ve had enough of drugs.’

I made the strongest joint I could make so that I could go to sleep. It was 11.10pm.

I went to bed and woke up the next morning with a phone call from Steve. He was inviting me to church but I said, ‘I’ll come but you’ll have to phone me up because I might not get up.’ I was used to sleeping in until two in the afternoon.

I had never been to a church like Jubilee before. It was like a nightclub with worship songs and happy people. I thought, ‘Strange people.’

Steve invited me along to a prayer meeting that evening and I thought, ‘What could go wrong with that?’

At the meeting there was a big massive circle of people. I asked them to pray for help for me to come off drugs. I knew I needed help.

So I got prayed for and didn’t think much of it. When I got home, I didn’t have a joint and I went to bed.

From then on I hardly touched a joint. I didn’t have any interest. I thought, ‘God must be real – I’ve stopped smoking cannabis.’

I felt this change within me – I felt over the moon and dead bouncy. I was 26 and I’d been smoking cannabis from age 17-18 – so ten years.

It was a miracle... I was a different person. I used to count the weeks and tell Steve in church, ‘It’s six weeks since I stopped smoking.’ I had no side-effects whatsoever.

A couple of months after giving up cannabis I thought, ‘Well, if this works for cannabis, I wonder if it will work on fags..?’ So I went to the prayer meeting and got prayed for to stop smoking and stopped.

I haven’t smoked for two years and I can’t even be around fags now. I’d been smoking fags for as long as I’d been smoking cannabis.

I moved away from my old, drug-taking friends and started going to a church group. I haven’t missed one Sunday at church in the last three years apart from when we went on a church weekend away.

I started having a relationship with God, saying to him, ‘Help me. Put me in the right direction.’

I was baptised in August 2002. It was a demonstration of giving my life to God. My brother and mate came along.

For me becoming a Christian has been a gradual process. Every day, every week there was a change in me. I am totally against drugs now. I am a different person.

I have put on weight too. I weighed about eight and a half stone before and my face was gaunt and sucked in. I looked ill – a skeleton with skin. You could see my ribs. I am now nine and a half stone.

Before I was a Christian Jesus was just somebody who died on a cross. I didn’t know why. I didn’t understand it.Now I know why he was put there – to pay for my sins. I feel. He’s my best friend. He’s always there when I need him.

I have my times when I am up and down, but I just pick myself up and get myself sorted. But I have this relationship with God and it’s great. He’s always there.

I know he loves me. I think he gets a bit disgruntled with me sometimes but now I always say sorry to God for stuff I do wrong. I am still in the early days of my Christian life.

I feel the love of my church family. I feel protected. But this is a protection that is not knives, guns, drugs or anything like that. It is just pure and utter love. If something is not right, people will come up to me and help me.

When I lost my glasses the church bought me glasses because I didn’t have much money. Steve has introduced me to Christians Against Poverty who are helping me get out of debt. I’ve got these people around me that love me.

I invited my brother Ed to an Alpha course. He went along and became a Christian on the Holy Spirit day of the second course that he attended.

He’s changed. He has his difficult times, but he comes to church on Sundays and has made some friends.

Then I invited my best mate along to Alpha. He has changed and now he too goes to church.

God has turned my life completely around in the last three years of being a Christian.

I used to have idols like Judge Jools, the DJ. He was my favourite DJ and was like my God. I used to worship him. But he is nothing compared to Jesus. Jesus is the one and only.