We believe that Jesus still changes lives today - it's why we're passionate about telling others about Jesus. 

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Here's some stories of local people whose lives have been transformed recently: 

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Trevor’s story 

Trevor has 2 boys in their 20s and works in the petrochemical industry.

 

I keep questioning: did I find God or did God find me? 

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Leading up to Christmas 2024, I was the lowest I've ever been. I don't know why. I've got a good job. I've got two beautiful boys and a good circle of friends. But fear and anxiety were stalking me. Something wasn't right. It was a really dark time.

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On my birthday, 3rd January, I got home from a night out with my friends and my sons. I decided that it was time to stop drinking alcohol.  I class myself as an addict, an addict to alcohol. It was only going to be a brief couple of weeks but I haven't touched a drop since. I couldn't understand why it was so easy to give it up. This is when I started questioning whether God had found me and was helping me. 

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I went out, purchased a Bible, and my goal was to read it from cover to cover, which I'm doing. I'm nearly to the end. I’ve been told it's the wrong way to read the Bible!  It's helped me to understand how God works and the workings of Jesus in his healing and miracles. It's made me understand more about the faith.

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After giving up alcohol, I went through months and months of solitude. All I did after work was sit in silence. No TV, no music. Just sat there healing. This went on for about three, four months. I started getting myself back together. It's been a slow process, but I do believe that the Holy Spirit in God has helped me through this. I don't think I would be here now if it if it wasn't for the intervention of God.

I've always prayed but it wasn't from the heart. Since my life has changed and I've become more concrete in my faith, praying is now from the heart. I feel it. I’m praying every day when I get up and before I go to bed, even throughout the day. My prayers have been answered, somewhat slowly. You've got to be very patient, which is another thing I'm learning. God doesn't answer you straight away. But prayers are a massive part of my life. And I wouldn't go a day without praying.

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I've never been christened, so I decided to approach the church about being baptised. I started coming to church in Autumn 2025. It has changed my life completely. I find it a very peaceful environment.

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My baptism is the final piece of the jigsaw. I need to do this to truly show my faith.  I definitely believe God is my saviour. 

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Jordan’s story

Jordan works in financial services and got married at St James’ by the Park in 2025.

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My parents were atheists, however they did send me to a Catholic school. Growing up, I was always curious about God but I wasn't allowed to ask questions there. I was told I just had to believe. 

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I then met my husband who had faith so I used to question him quite a lot about it  but he didn't have all the answers.  

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When we met with Dan to talk about getting married, he brought up Alpha as a place to ask all these questions.  I decided that I would go and try it. It was amazing – I was able to sit with a group of people, whether from a religious background or not, and ask all the questions I had over all these years from childhood, and I was able to doubt and reconstruct and get all the answers that I was looking for. 

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I like history, but I didn't realise how much evidence there was that Jesus was real – so that reeled me in. Then when we were learning about the Holy Spirit I realised that this whole time there was a presence there guiding me through life. What surprised me about Jesus was how much his teachings are still relevant today. 

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At first, becoming a Christian was very overwhelming, because it was a sense of love and peace that I hadn't felt before. But since then, I have started building my relationship with God through prayer and by reading the Bible. And it's definitely a journey that I want to continue on as it's given me a new sense of purpose in life. 

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I think the main difference it’s made is it's given me another person that I can lean on and have support from,  which has brought so much peace to me.

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Seyi’s story

Seyi is a husband, dad of two teenagers, and higher level teaching assistant in a local school. 

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I came from a very religious family. But when I was 21, I lost my mother, through cancer. My mum was such a kind hearted person. The loss was so, so big for me. I was drinking lots. I felt I’d been let down by God and Jesus. So I decided that I was not interested - I'm not going to believe in God. I'm not interested in being a Christian anymore. 

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20 years later, I lost my second older brother as well. That was hard. I was like “There's proof that I'm not interested.” Six years later, my older sister died too. 

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Why would you believe in someone who could do this to you? I felt angry. 

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Four years ago, I was going through a hard time. I was thinking something's missing. There's an imbalance somewhere, and I can't pinpoint what the problem was. I met Dan and as we were chatting away I told him what was happening in my heart, and he said, “Is it ok for me to pray for you?” Normally I would have said “No thanks because I don’t believe in that.” But I said “Yes.” The pressure and weight that was on my shoulders just released. 

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From that day on I decided I will start making an effort to come back to God and Jesus and to become a Christian again.

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I started reading the Bible app each day and that's helped help my spirit grow, making the book of life light up and come alive to me. It's been great reading and understanding more of what it means to me in my life now. The story of the prodigal son was one that made me smile because it's sounds like what I did, by moving away. When I came back, I was welcomed back with open arms. And for me, that was love from God and Jesus, who .sacrificed himself to save me. 

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I’ve also been going to a Bible group called ‘The 12’ and they’ve made a huge difference. It's joyful to share and to feel safe. 

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I've realised that Jesus has always been there: even through the dark times in my life, he had people around me. I was blind to it then, but now I can see it. 

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Terry’s story

Terry is a retired bus driver. 

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I had a very angry father which made me a very angry person. Even when I was driving buses, I was angry. 

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Two years ago, my wife Denise was visited by the Lord. [Her remarkable story is here.] It was quite dramatic and made her a much more peaceful and happy woman. I thought to myself, “Well, I'm not sure whether it was God or what it was.” 

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I started coming to church with her just to see what it was all about. I started feeling more comfortable in myself and more peaceful.

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Someone asked me if I would go on an Alpha course. I thought “I'll give it a go. If I don't like it I don't have to go back.” When I got there, the people were fantastic. I learned so much. And so I went back and learned more each week. 

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After about the fourth week I went and bought myself a Bible. When I first opened it up in the shop, it opened at he very page – Psalm 100 – which God had given to Denise when he spoke to her. I've read my Bible two, three or four chapters, day by day. 

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As I’ve read, I’ve seen the love of Jesus for the people of this world. That's what I found  in my heart. I'm 80 years old,  so it's taken me a long time to find God, but I'm so pleased that I have found God now. 

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On the Alpha course, I was asked if I would like to commit myself to God and I did. I felt that was the most wonderful thing in my life. And from then everything changed in my heart. I began to be a more happy person, a more peaceful person. The anger disappeared. 

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I was christened in this church 80 years ago. Now I want to make my own baptism vows and be a Christian.