THIS IS MY STORY
This page gives a simple introduction to the lives of the christians who meet at the Gospel Hall, and will be updated regularly.
Before I explain my story of how the Lord Jesus Christ has become a reality in my life I would just like to point out that there is nothing special about me to deserve God’s grace but it was shown towards me because God is love. The eternal salvation that I have can be yours too if you are prepared to have dealings with the God who created the heavens and the earth.
I was born on the 24th January 1973 in a small house in Fair Oak, near Eastleigh and born into a family. My parents provided a caring and secure environment for my brother, who was two and a half when I was born, and myself. My father spent a number of years working in the Railway works at Eastleigh so that he might provide for the needs of the family. My mother looked after the home throughout my childhood and would work tirelessly to maintain a happy, safe and organised routine for each of us. All of my memories of those early years of growing up are of our family always doing everything together. We would always eat together, play together, go out together and attend church together. My parents were keen Christians and would share their faith in God in each part of our lives. The bible was always followed and we knew “from a child the holy scriptures which are able to make thee wise unto salvation”.
It is from one of my first holiday memories that I can remember starting to think about the gospel. We had been to Paignton for a family holiday where we had heard a man preaching in the open air. I cannot remember what he spoke on but I do know that he had a blackboard and read John 3:16 (For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life.)
Although I didn’t really understand it at the time this was going to be a turning point in my life. When we returned home I remember lying in my bed one night, 17th July, and I began to worry. I had been taught from the bible that the Lord Jesus was one day going to return for all the true born again Christians in the world, and take them to heaven. I was worried because I thought, “What if he comes and takes my Dad, Mum and brother? I’ll be left here alone”. So there and then I talked through the problem with my mum, and asked the Lord Jesus Christ to save me. At that point I could not understand all that the bible talked about, as it was 1978 and I was only 5 years old, but from then on I knew that I was safe.
For the next few years I am sorry to say that very little changed in my life and this must have been very disappointing to God. At school I was embarrassed if people knew that I went to church, and to my shame I would even tell people that I was forced to go! (However, I am now glad to share my faith with others for “I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ”.)
When I was nearing the end of my school days I remember again clearly realising that I needed to be baptised. It was taught in the bible and would be an external show of what had happened to me when I was five. This took place on September 14th, 1986. The following Sunday I was accepted into the fellowship of the Christians who were meeting at the Gospel Hall in Sandy Lane, Fair Oak.
When I left school I was immediately able to start working for Barratt Homes as an architectural technician. I thoroughly enjoyed my time there and was sorry to be made redundant as the building industry slump of the late 1980’s took its toll. I was actually made redundant three times within three years and began to wonder whether a change of career should be considered.
However difficult these times were, they were nothing compared to the events that were soon going to enter into our lives. I remember sitting at home one evening, it was a Monday evening; the date was 22nd June 1992. My brother and I were upstairs when we heard my mother call out. My father had taken a massive heart attack and could not be revived. Because we had always done everything as a family up until this point it was very difficult to understand or see the way forward now that one of us was gone. We were all understandably shocked and spent a long time getting over it. There would often be occasions where I would be annoyed at myself: all of the times my father had been there for me in time of need, and now in his time of need I had failed. I would ask God the question ‘why?’ And often have the reply, ‘why not?’ It was difficult to accept at the time but we would just cling to the faithfulness of God who is always absolutely just in his dealings with us. Who are we to question the purposes of our creator? We as a family had a dependence and faith in God and his word that one day we would see my father again in heaven and we still believe that to this day.
We were able to adapt in our lives to this sudden change and without doubt this experience has lead to me trust more fully in God. Around this time the opportunity arose for me to change career and I followed a degree course at King Alfred’s in Winchester to become a teacher. I have taught for six years in Romsey at the Mountbatten School, and am now teaching Design and Technology at Crestwood Community School in Eastleigh.
Several years ago I moved from the assembly at Fair Oak over to Crawley. The Christians immediately made me welcome and have taught me much during our time together. They share a common desire to communicate the gospel to those who need it through this website, the signpost leaflets, regular gospel services and individual conversations. The assembly have also allowed me to be a part of the bible study for young people on a Tuesday night, which is very enjoyable. People will often say to me “Is your religion Christianity”, and I have to explain to them “It’s not a religion, it’s a way of life”.
From the age of five I have not always been what I should have been for God. I have often been ungrateful and unkind. At times I have denied my association with him. But I would never be without Him. He has forgiven me for the past sins I committed, he is my life now, and is my hope for the future.
In a few short words we can never fully justify how great God is in his dealings with us, all I can hope and pray for is that you will one day experience the strength and assurance of his presence with you as you trust the Lord Jesus Christ to be your saviour.
This is the story of how God has found me, saved me, and kept me. It began when, by
God's grace, I had the privilege of being born to christian parents, and of growing
up in a home where God's name was respected, and the bible was read often. As a young
child, I imagined that this would be enough - that I was a christian because my family
were christians. It was a natural enough thing for a child to think, but my older
sister decided one day to put me right. She had recently been 'saved', and she had the
zeal of a new convert. She explained that, although it was a good thing to be in a
christian family, I needed to ask God to forgive my sins. I knew about the judgement
of God, and I realised that this was important. A few days later, I kneeled by my bed
with my parents, and asked Jesus to forgive my sins. It was a simple prayer, because
I was very young. But it was the prayer of faith, and God heard and answered. Two weeks
before my seventh birthday, I had been born again.
My sins were forgiven, and I was sure that I was going to heaven - but I knew that being
a christian would be a lifetime commitment. Over the next few years, I tried to listen to
the preachers, I tried to understand the bible, but I was conscious that there was another
step which I ought to take. From the age of eleven onwards, I knew without doubt that I
ought to be baptised. I was old enough to understand why. I knew that Christ had commanded
it, and that it would be a public sign that I had died to this world, and that I should be
a new person in Christ. For five years, I put it off, until, at the age of fifteen, I was
baptised. Two others were baptised with me - a friend of about my own age, and a man in
his mid sixties.
The years that followed my baptism were very different. It was as if an obstacle had been
removed. In this I learned an important lesson - that God only shows us the next step when
we take the one He has already shown us. I began to enjoy the study of the bible, and I saw
for myself that it was full of the Person and work of God's Son, Jesus Christ. These were
years of growth in my christian life, as I fed upon God's Word, and became spiritually
stronger as a result.
At the age of nineteen, I left home for university in West London. I was thrown among
young people who knew nothing about me, but who were curious about my faith. I followed good advice
from christian friends and family, and found the Gospel Hall in Uxbridge. There I found a
real spiritual home, and a place where God could continue to lead me forward.
Returning to the Winchester area to work, I returned to the Gospel Hall at Crawley. Almost
immediately, I was asked to help with the new Sunday School work. This proved to be another
step forward - I learned to explain to the children in simple language what God had taught
me, and in doing so I learned a lot myself.
God is still keeping me. I could never have known, at the age of seven, how He would keep and
guide. Today, I still do not know what He has in store for me. But I would gladly say, with the
hymn writer:
"I know who holds the future, and He'll guide me with His hand,
With God, things don't just happen, everything by Him is planned,
So as I face the future, with its problems great and small,
I'll trust the God of miracles, give to Him my all."
Jeffrey Hedges (Webmaster)
"What
has the Lord your God ever done for you?
My
full name is Jeffrey Allan Hedges, and I was born on the 15th May 1976 to a
non-Christian family in Swindon, Wiltshire.
Shortly after my birth, my parents split up and divorced each other and
remarried. I lost contact with my father until I was 18.
My mother remarried but again this did not last long after the birth of
another child. My mother, although
a unbeliever, took me and my younger brother to a Sunday School at the local
Gospel Hall in Liddington Street, Pinehurst, Swindon.
I can still remember the first time I entered the building, being dragged
in and not really wanting to be there at all. However, this changed by the end of the first session and I
wanted to return every week. I listened to the things that I was told with great
interest. For the first time in my
life I was told that someone loved me. My
mother had 3 sons and had to work a lot to feed us and clothe us.
This meant that she was not around a lot.
At
the age of 7 I became involved with some friends that were thieves.
They taught me all that they know and to this day I can remember the ways
of avoiding capture when stealing. By
the time I was 8, I had become a very successful thief myself.
However, the Lord had other plans for my life and, despite my knowledge
of escape, I got caught shoplifting. I
was taken home in a police car and given a spanking by my mother.
This happened on the Saturday, and on Sunday she took me to Sunday
School. On the way, she said
something that has stuck with me. She said "You need to pray for forgiveness because you
have been a very bad boy" Little
did she know that these words would be taken up by the Holy Spirit to convict me
of my sins. During Sunday School I
listened to the teacher but I cannot remember what he said.
When I got home I played with my brothers as normal, but mum's words kept
returning to me. As I went to bed,
I could stand it no longer. I did not know how to pray or even if the Lord would listen,
but I did know that I needed to ask Him to forgive my wicked ways.
I asked God for forgiveness and I am happy to report that He did just
that. At the age of 8 years old, I
felt the peace of forgiveness which has never left me.
Well,
the Bible says "By their fruits, ye shall know them" (Mat 7 v 20).
After being saved, I told no one for many years.
This was not because I was afraid but because no one would listen.
My family were and still are very anti-Christian in the attitudes.
I am greatful that they did not try to stop me from attending the
meetings when I wanted to, but they did not understand when the Christian life
took over my physical life.
Life
at school was very difficult for me after my conversion.
My friends expected me to continue to lie, cheat and steal anything that
I could. When I returned to school
on the Monday completely unwilling to do any of these, my so called friends
turned on me. From that day until
the day I left school at the age of 16, I was beaten up on a daily basis.
I could not tell anyone but the Lord my God promised to go with me
wherever I go and He kept me safe.
Since the age of 11 I had attended Kingfisher Camp in Cheddar. This was a chance for me to spend a fortnight (camp lasted a fortnight and I tried to attend both weeks) with fellow christians. I loved it as a child, coming from a home where no love had been shown, to spend two weeks away from that home and in a place where love is all around. Through the loving prayers of the Saints in Swindon and the teaching gained through the Sunday School and Kingfisher Camp, I started to grow and over a period of time I realised I needed to be baptised. I approached the Elders of Pinehurst Gospel Hall and asked them to baptise me. They were overjoyed at this prospect, but because I was still only 15, they had to approach my mum and ask her for permission. My mum agreed and on Friday, 22nd May 1992, I was baptised and I was taken into Fellowship at Pinehurst Gospel Hall, Swindon.
I
learnt to drive and I left Swindon for a weekend in Winchester, staying with
some friends from Camp. It was
during this initial visit that I met the people who gathered at the Gospel Hall
in Crawley for the first time. My
second visit to Winchester was to Tim Beer's commendation.
This was held in the Village Hall in Crawley and it was standing room
only. I had known Tim for many
years through Kingfisher Camp and was only too happy to say goodbye.
Back
in Swindon I went through a stage of depression for various reasons and I
started smoking and drinking heavily. Then
one day in January/February 2000 I went shopping.
I bought a large bottle of Whiskey and a large quantity of Paracetamol.
I did not want to live any more. I
had forsaken my God however, I am pleased to say that He did not forsake me.
I got home late that night and made sure that no one was up.
My mind was made up, I would swallow all of the Paracetamol and drink the
Whiskey and end my life. I only got
as far as consuming all the Whiskey and woke up the next day to find that none
of the Paracetamol had been touched and realised the Lord had preserved me. As I look back, I can say that it was because I was very far
from my Lord.
I began to look for an opportunity to leave Swindon, permanently. After seeking His guidance in prayer, I telephoned a friend in Winchester and told her the situation. She started to look for accommodation for me. Within two days, she had telephoned back to say that she had found somewhere and I have now been with the Christians at Crawley for a number of years.
I
was born in September 1973 in Ballymena, Northern Ireland and had the privilege
of being born into a christian home. I
call that a privilege, not because it gave me any special standing before God
but simply that from birth I had parents who prayed for me and desired that I
should know “the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto
salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.” (2nd Timothy 3
verse 15)
And
so from as early as I can remember I was taken to Sunday School at the gospel
hall in Ballymena and eventually along to Sunday evening meetings for the
preaching of the gospel. I enjoyed Sunday School with its choruses, stories and
learning verses from the Bible but to be honest I found the gospel meeting a bit
boring. It was quite common at
around 5pm on a Sunday evening for me to develop what my mum called
“Sunday-itis” when suddenly I didn’t really feel well enough to go out. My parents were, however, wise to my scheming and made me go
to the meeting anyway.
And
so from a young child I knew all about how the Lord Jesus had been born into
this world at Bethlehem and lived a perfect life here on earth.
I knew that He was crucified at Calvary for our sin and I knew that He
rose again and was now back in heaven with His Father.
Not only did I know all this but I also believed it to be true.
The only problem was that I was believing ABOUT the Lord Jesus rather
than believing IN Him – these truths were facts to me, not a reality.
Another
biblical truth that I knew was that the Lord had promised that He would come
back again to take all true believers to be with Him in heaven. And I knew that
this could happen at any time, night or day, and when it did my parents and
older brother would go, along with so many family and friends.
Through childhood and into my early teens the thought of being left
behind filled me with dread and I lost count of how many times I would creep out
of bed at night and listen to try to hear voices from the living room or peek
into my parents bedroom to make sure they were still there.
This
continued until the most memorable occasion when I was 16 years old. I woke on 2nd
January 1990 and the house was silent. I
checked my clock and remember thinking it peculiar that no one was up – mum
and dad were always up by that time. I
lay in bed for about half an hour, the house still in silence.
The one thought that kept going through my mind was that the Lord had
returned and taken my family and I was left behind.
I finally plucked up the courage to go and check my parents’ bedroom.
Imagine my relief when I saw them both lying there fast asleep!
I went back to my bedroom, lay on my bed and through my tears the first
thing I said was “Thank you God” – I had been given another chance. Then I
got down on my knees beside my bed and prayed a simple prayer of faith.
I confessed my sin before God and took the Lord Jesus Christ to be my
personal Saviour.
Eighteen
months later I took the next step of obedience in my christian life and I was
baptised along with my brother and a friend. The next Sunday I was received into
the fellowship of the other believers at Cambridge Avenue Gospel Hall, Ballymena.
A year later I left home for university in Stirling and that brought with it a number of new challenges in my life. With hindsight perhaps I didn’t always make the best decisions and I know I must have disappointed God on so many occasions. But He is faithful and has never disappointed me.
I
sometimes look back with wonder over the last 12 years and see how He has
directed my paths. I really wanted
to stay in Scotland after graduation but one door of opportunity after another
was shut and I finally applied for jobs in greater London. I was offered a chartered accountancy training contract with
a firm in Staines, the partners of which were christians, as I later found out.
Through friends at the gospel hall in Uxbridge I was introduced to Tim
Kimber and we married two and a half years later.
I have been in fellowship with the other believers here at Crawley for
almost three years now.
In
1990 I trusted the Lord to take care of my soul for eternity.
I have no hesitation therefore in letting him take care of me while I’m
still here on this earth.
“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?…For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8 v35, 38&39)
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