STORIES
IT’S EASY TO MISTAKE THE MAIN ‘THING’ OF A CHURCH. IT’S AN ELABORATE BUILDING. IT’S A PRIEST. IT’S A SUNDAY SERVICE. AT REDEMPTION LONDON WE BELIEVE EVERYONE CONNECTED WITH OUR COMMUNITY BRINGS SOMETHING EVEN MORE VALUABLE TO THE CHURCH: THEIR STORY. WHETHER IT’S SOMEONE’S FIRST TIME CONNECTING WITH REDEMPTION OR THEY’VE BEEN ON BOARD FROM THE START, EACH AND EVERY PERSON HAS A REDEMPTION STORY IN THEIR PAST, PRESENT OR FUTURE. HERE ARE A FEW:
JOSH
I moved to London and got caught up in life in the big city. Chasing success at work, going out partying and generally enjoying life but I felt empty. I was searching for meaning by throwing myself into work, drink, girls and charity but nothing brought me lasting satisfaction.
I heard about a new church opening in London Bridge. I had faith when I was younger but I struggled with parts of Christianity and eventually drifted away. I started to explore faith again - I went back to Church, reading books, studying the bible, and praying. I began to reconnect with God again and it slowly transformed me.
I had struggled with addiction, loneliness, and depressive thoughts for so long, but all of that was replaced with the joy of knowing I have a Father in heaven who loves me. I have a purpose now — to become more like Him and share His love with others.
SHARON
Some of the most overwhelming moments in my life hit me in sixth form and in the first couple of years of uni. I felt unsure about my worth and what I was living for and I remember breaking down.
I’d put so much value into my education. I’d allowed my academic achievements to have a real hold on me to the point where a piece of paper or grade would directly correlate to my happiness and sense of satisfaction. However hard I tried, I could never live up to the standards I had set myself. I felt inadequate.
During my move to London for uni I also felt consumed with choices and responsibilities which I wasn’t ready for. I had made some bad decisions. I threw myself into trying to find satisfaction through validation of friends, through relationships and education, anything that would give me a sense of worth.
I arrived at a church one day and heard a message about what fulfilment really is. I was feeling exhausted with the “perfect” image of life that I had set for myself. I was there in church, feeling nowhere near as happy as I thought I would be at this point in my life, without real peace. I didn’t know what a true relationship with God actually meant. That day I decided to make a fresh commitment to fully rely upon God. I put my faith firmly at the centre of my life and choices.
That changed my life completely. I no longer had to suffocate under the pressures that I had put on myself. My worth was no longer tied to performance or external validation, but to the truth that I am a child of God. He’s chosen and accepted me. Nothing can take that away. That understanding led to a deep peace and fulfilment which I couldn’t find on my own.
I now live and work in London, and life is far from simple. Navigating its mess and complexity isn’t easy. But I now feel I have a deeper foundation and sense of identity. A worth that comes only from God.
Rich
I know a lot of people with horrible memories of hospital waiting rooms. One of the darkest times of my life was spent in different waiting rooms in a London hospital - waiting for news, desperate for a miracle. It’s been a few years but I still feel pretty awful when I go into a hospital and get flashbacks.
When my son was born he wasn’t moving or breathing. There were doctors in the room waiting for him, ready to start with resuscitation. He was swiftly taken away and my wife and I were told we would be updated soon. We got word that he had started breathing but that he wasn’t moving at all. Then further news that he’d been put into a deep sleep inside a cooling suit. The cooling was to prevent his brain injuries from becoming any more severe and reduce the negative impact of his sudden seizures.
We started to pray. Our friends and family started to do the same. People close to us prayed for days and days. Some on their own, others together in hurriedly organised prayer times at their churches. We felt spiritually held up and comforted by the weight of prayers around us and for our son, a really powerful feeling of being surrounded by peace in the middle of being distraught.
We were told he was very likely to have life altering neurological issues, probably severe based on the length of time his brain had been cut off from any supply of oxygen during the birth. We held him in Intensive Care, and cried and prayed. We whispered in his ear that we loved him, and cried and prayed some more.
A year later our son’s neurologist said to us that there was something entirely miraculous about the full recovery that he made. We talked with the neurology consultant about prayer and about God, and we all marvelled at the 180 degree transformation that had taken place before our eyes. Whilst scans shortly after his birth evidenced neurological damage, those taken at later dates in that first year showed absolutely no irregularities, and his overall development was, if anything, faster than average.
We’ve never forgotten how God answered those prayers. Nor have we forgotten how dark valleys can feel completely different when a community starts to pray all around you.
JOSH
I’ve had times of feeling sceptical about elements of church and faith. I have wondered about the way people get emotional in church services and whether that’s genuine.
Deep conversations matter to me; I enjoy asking questions about faith to people I trust. Over the years I have asked questions about the healthy, right place for emotion and excitement in Christianity. I want to know how someone can relate to God in a way that’s true to life: that isn’t a performance but isn’t closed off either.
As I’ve explored my doubts about church and emotion I’ve been brought on a journey I didn’t expect. It’s been powerful.
Asking robust questions has helped me to see I’m living in God's world and he created me with a combination of intellect and emotion. It makes sense for both to be integral to how I relate to God.
God has been changing me as time has gone on. When I’m aware people are excited about God around me and I’m not, I’ve come to see that as an opportunity to examine my motives toward God and my motives towards other people. I have found that when I’m honest with God about my life, and repent of my judgement of others, I feel more excited for the truths we’re singing, and grateful.
In recent years I’ve even faced more emotional times. Often songs in church have made me aware of God’s wisdom for my situation.
I still have lots of questions about church. I think that’s normal. But I’m learning that when I participate I feel less judgemental and find it easier to love God and other people.
Bethany
In my final year of uni, there was a module I really needed to pass and if I didn't pass it I’d have to retake the year. I was doing the exam and missed the deadline. So, I got an automatic zero.
I remember being so upset so I was talking to God and asking him for a miracle yet nothing happened. I contacted my teachers and supervisors and they said, “There's nothing we can do. You just have to retake the year.” Even though it was disappointing, I felt God working.
The next day, I got an email from my heads of department saying that they decided to mark it anyway. I passed my degree!
That was the first time where I really learned the importance of God's timing because actually he allowed me to feel that peace and to know that my identity is in Him. It’s not dependent on what I get in this exam and my life's not dependent on it either. When I came to terms with that, I felt this overflow of peace. He did this incredible miracle that I didn't deserve.
It was me that had made that mistake. It was me that didn't submit the exam on time.
Yet he still found a way to give me favour and to give me grace. It doesn't matter what we do, it doesn't matter what happens to us but God's favour is constant.