‘I have to tell others’

‘I grew up in a Christian family going to church each week, but it wasn’t until I went along to a LIFT gig that The Message Trust put on at the end of a schools mission week that I fully responded to the gospel.

‘Even though I’d heard it before, as the band explained that Jesus loved me enough to die on the cross for me, I knew I needed to give my life to him. When they asked if anyone wanted to respond, my hand went straight into the air. The team came and prayed for me and I’ve never looked back. I threw myself into church, began reading my Bible, started praying whenever I could and got baptised a few months later. I just wanted to grow closer to God.

‘When I was 13, someone mentioned The Scattering to me. If I am honest, I had never heard of it before, but as they explained that it was a mission week where I would get to hang out with my friends and learn more about Jesus, I knew I was in, so I signed up.

‘Not only did shy Priscilla start to disappear but my relationship with God was drastically transformed.’

‘I got to The Scattering excited about the week ahead but also knowing I was totally outside of my comfort  zone.  Anyone who  knows  me  now, knows that I love to talk, but I wasn’t like that at 13! In fact, the only way I can describe myself back then was as painfully shy – I would do anything not to talk to people – so a week of telling people I did not know about Jesus was scary to me.

‘After the first training weekend, my team and I headed to Enfield Town. As the day went on, I knew I needed to throw myself in so, praying the whole time, I approached a stranger and asked if I could pray for them. And you know what? They said ‘yes!’ I could not believe I had done it. God had given me the confidence I needed to offer to pray for someone I didn’t know and tell them about him. And I knew that if I had done it once, I could do it again. But it was more than that, I felt something in me change. I felt a massive urge for people to hear about Jesus, and to be part of telling them. That week on The Scattering changed my life. Not only did shy Priscilla start to disappear but my relationship with God was drastically transformed. I found myself desperate to read the Bible even more than I had been doing, praying as much as I could and wanting to tell others about Jesus every opportunity I had.

‘Since then, I have done five more Scattering mission weeks, including this summer where, for the first time, I was a team leader. I loved getting the opportunity to encourage the next generation of young people to share their faith with boldness, just like my team leaders did for me when I was 13. And I saw God do amazing things such as seeing people healed, watching and hearing about how Jesus transforms lives today.

‘The Scattering is only one week a year – I wish it were more! But from that first mission week, I knew telling people  about  Jesus  was  not  something I did just one week of the year, it was daily. So, I would go with my mates into town to be part of street evangelism our church ran.

‘When I was in sixth form, one of my friends from The Scattering started a Christian Union in my school. As he finished Year 13, he asked if I wanted to take over running it. I remember thinking if I can tell strangers about Jesus, I can easily do it with people I know.

‘Every Thursday lunchtime, I put sessions on where people could come and ask me the questions they had about being a Christian – and we had great conversations. To start with, there were only three or four of us, but by the end of the year there were almost 20 people, and I have seen some of them grow in their faith too! I was so encouraged to see what God was doing in the lives of people I was at school with.

‘I am currently at university and love finding those times, whether it is over a coffee or sitting in a friend’s kitchen, to get chatting to people about Jesus and share the gospel with them at any opportunity.

‘God is at the centre of everything I do and that is never going to change.’