My God Story
In my early childhood my parents and I were living in Malawi, Africa. They were living out what Jesus said we should be doing, serving the poor and sharing His story. It was through this demonstration that I decided to put my trust in Jesus at age 7 in the back of a white Toyota pickup on a bumpy road one late night. Having a basic understanding that Jesus had died to take away all my sins, I simply asked my mum “how do I let Jesus know that I want to follow Him?” She gently led me in a prayer inviting Jesus to come in to my life.
Soon after we returned to Britain. We found that our old rented flat in London had burnt down, so went to stay with my Grandparents in Northumberland and here we decided to settle in the county. This change in culture wasn’t easy for me and my sisters who were home schooled for three years. Being the mid 1990s the boys and girls were fanatical about football teams and plastering their walls with the spice girls, things not even on my radar! God really pulled me through some rough times during school and it was about this time that my relationship with him began to take off.
Diving into my teens, the age of reason, I began to find church irrelevant, isolated and dis-attached from the reality I was experiencing. I began asking a lot of questions about “church”. I continued my relationship with Jesus, praying often and began to experience the presence of the Holy Spirit which was wonderful! Jesus was closer than ever and I wanted to share that relationship so got Baptized at 13.
Entering University I still had an on going battle with church in my mind. Why did we have it? Why did we go? Why didn’t we see miracles? What on earth was the church for? My parents moved to a new church that was beginning to form called County Church Northumberland. They had this crazy vision to see others know Jesus and churches planted all across Northumberland. I was surprised by this group’s passion and zeal for God and their love for people. Needless to say I was forced to look at God’s view of the Church. I started reading what the Bible said about it, unpacked by some great books lent to me my friends. What I discovered was amazing, I found that actually it was His beautiful bride of His own radical design! That we today could see the same things happening in the book of Acts, healing, miracles, prophesy and whole communities even cities coming to know Jesus. I was encouraged that God had predicted success for his Church to grow in number (and not die within 50 years as I had heard once preached). Jesus was in fact alive and actively working to build HIS Church through his people. I’ve been hooked and hungry ever since!
Looking back I’m struck that even as Christians, God has work to do in us to continually recapture our thinking for his purposes, it’s what the Bible calls “the renewing of our minds”. Being a Christian isn’t always easy, sometimes it down right tough! Despite this however, if we rely on God we can find peace and strength. It blows my mind sometimes that soon I’m going to chill out in heaven with Him in person! Others needs to know the God has a plan for them!