‘The best, worst thing that’s ever happened to me’

‘I was brought up in a Christian home and had a great life, but over time I went my own way and making money became the most important thing to me. I’d say I was obsessed by it. This obsession was so bad that it took over and lead me to doing many things that I deeply regret. Desperate for more money, I ended up committing fraud and was charged with blackmail. I couldn’t believe I’d done this, I’d hit rock bottom.

‘While I was out on bail, a guy called Craig came to fix my garden wall. Part way through the day, he stopped laying bricks and started praying! I went out and asked what he was doing, and he told me about the church he was part of and invited me to go along with him.

‘Desperate for a reference to use in court, I went and wasn’t ready for what happened. As I heard about Jesus’ love for me, something I’d not heard about since being a kid, I knew I needed it and in tears went to the front to respond. After the service, I met Andy from the local Eden team who was so welcoming. Over the next few months, I kept going to church and got to know Andy more, in fact he was the only person apart from my wife that I told about my court case. He supported me through it, was there in court and was the last person I saw as I was taken down the steps to start my prison sentence.

‘I felt like my life was ruined. How wrong I was! Sitting in my cell, the first person who knocked on my door was a guy called Dan who introduced himself as being part of The Message’s prison team. I couldn’t believe it. He invited me to the Bible study he was running and it became the highlight of my week. There, I truly fell in love with Jesus. I felt like a new person.

‘Then I heard I was being moved to another prison. I thought this was the end and everything would go back to how it was before, so I started desperately praying this didn’t happen. Alone in my new cell, the first knock on the door was from Elisha who introduced herself as being from The Message’s prisons team. My prayers were answered! Straight away, I got involved in the Bible studies and services, carrying my Bible to them with pride instead of hiding it away. I wanted others to hear about Jesus, so started inviting guys to Bible studies and praying with others on the wing.

‘One Christmas, The Message gave a present to everyone in my prison. The impact of this was massive. ‘Why have they done this?’, ‘Why do they care about us?’ were just some of the questions guys had. I was able to tell them about Jesus, and how The Message team wanted to show them his love.

‘All the time I was in prison, Andy and the Eden team carried on supporting my family on the outside talking to them, praying with them and helping them practically. I can’t thank them enough.

‘Since I’ve been released, my life is completely different. I describe going to prison as the best, worst thing that’s ever happened to me. I didn’t want to go through it, but now I know that God wanted me there so I could fall in love with him and tell others about him. Without him and The Message team I doubt I’d have the life I have today. There’s no going back.’