I think the one thing that most people are looking for is acceptance. This is what was missing in the first 25 years of my life. It was a time of rejection and hurt in various ways. My childhood set the pattern of how I was going to live in the future. My parents separated when I was small and later divorced. Half of my childhood was spent living with Mum and the other half with family, in children’s homes or foster parents.

Because I was angry towards authority, feeling rejected and lost, this led to my being expelled from schools and in and out of trouble with the police for shoplifting and burglaries. I then became a petty drug dealer, in and out of sexual relationships, never finding the acceptance I craved.

Desperate, on New Years’ Eve ‘94, I prayed to God for the first time. Amazingly, God heard my cry. I told a friend what I had done, he directed me to a Methodist minister who gave me a Bible and invited me to his Church.

My life changed forever, receiving acceptance, knowing what Jesus Christ did on the cross. Knowing He loved me for who I am, no matter what I did right or wrong, I felt completely free for the first time because of the forgiveness of all my sins.

In response to receiving this gift of salvation, I offered my whole life to Jesus. He guided me to a Bible college, to learn about God and his word. God showed me parts of me he wanted to change. Jesus enabled me to stop taking drugs and healed me of some past hurts.

After leaving Bible college I became a youth pastor, but now I work for an organisation called Open Air Campaigners, which means I go to schools, prisons, churches and streets proclaiming the good news.

I’m still changing by the power of Jesus, and all I want to do is His will.