I’d had a particularly hard time at school and realized that the friends I had were not really my friends. This started me asking some big questions about myself and the world. And that’s when I met Anne.
She invited me to youth group, and that first evening, I could see that the young people there were different. The level of love and instant acceptance I received was so out of my experience of my peers.
A few weeks later I was attended the Sunday service for the first time. Roger Simpson explained Jesus’ story of the Prodigal Son from Luke 15 and finished with a challenge to follow Christ. For me it was a really easy decision. I had always been attracted to Jesus but no one had told me before that day at church that I needed to actively respond to him.
I said to Anne, ‘I prayed the prayer!’ She was so excited that she rushed me to the vicar. He instantly said, ‘You need to meet somebody’ and rushed me over to Jo Bowden who was an Agapé staff member.
Jo invited both Anne and me to her house after school the following Thursday to do a Bible study together.
We continued to meet, and Jo’s house became a second home to me. I helped take care of her kids, shared my problems. We were deeply involved in each others’ lives.”
“That time was so valuable and formative for me. It defined how I felt about myself and the world. It was not just about coming to faith. Jesus transformed my life.”
Would You Like to Know God Personally?
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Lesley Cheesman is the National Director of Agape UK. She is married to Paul and they have two children, Charis and Joel.
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