modern JESUS army Streetpaper No. 81 Page 1

modern Jesus army: bringing spiritual and social help to all people No. 82 FREE

HAVE YOUR HAVE YOUR SAYSAY TEXT US NOW0774 0774 200streetpaper@jesus.org.uk www.jesus.org.uk

INSIDE:

BA

THE CROSS

P7ANGELA’S BATTLE WITH DYSLEXIA

P4-5READ ALL ABOUT IT

SPECIAL FEATURE

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CHRISTIAN BAPTISM! Baptism into Jesus Christ! Baptism by full immersion! Jesus Army had many baptisms in 2007. Most were young men in their teens and twenties. UK youth is open to a Jesus who is alive and revolutionary. Jesus Himself was bap-tised. And He said that those who believed in Him and followed Him should also be baptised. It’s a vital part of being a Christian.

And our baptism in water will, as Jesus described, be accompanied by the expe-rience of being baptised with the Holy Spirit. Baptism in water speaks of our dying to our old, sinful life. And we rise, in Holy Spirit baptism, to walk the new life of holy adventure as Christians. We have with us the life and power of the Holy Spirit. If you would like to know more, please get in touch (see contact details above).

Young men splash out: Danny, 19 and Ali, 22, baptise Dave, 19.

Young Christians make a splash in today’s UK

will be

Jesus said “whoever believes

PTISE

saved”

and is

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modern JESUS army Streetpaper No. 82 Page 2

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FORGOTTEN NO LONGERThe Jesus Army takes the gospel to the “forgottenpeople”, those who are lonely, hurting, and poor.

Julia Faire tells Streetpaper the moving story of one such lonely person.

EDDIE WAS crippled with arthritis, inconti-nent and in his eighties. He had never been mar-ried, never had any chil-dren and had no family in Nottingham. He once told me that he didn’t get visitors and that’s when I decided I would adopt him; I would be-come his daughter. Eddie came to our church a few times but he was a hurt man, and especially hurt by his past experienc-es of church. When I rang to say I was coming to see him he would put on his best clothes although this was a real struggle as his movement was very pain-ful – it was s o m e t h i n g special to him. When I left after visiting him we would pray together for Eddie knew Jesus, better in fact than me, I felt – as I would discover. One day Eddie rang me. He was upset but calm. Some hooded men had come and forced his back-door open with a crowbar at dusk. As he sat helpless-ly in his wheelchair, they

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took everything he owned that was of any value. He pleaded with them (and they consented) to leave his hearing aid batteries. “Jesus was with me” he told me bravely. “I wasn’t afraid.” One Saturday I went to see Eddie. On the way I had a sudden inspiration. I would go into the dis-count shop and buy him some cakes. He was over-whelmed. “Did you know it was my birthday?” he said. On a dark winter evening, I rang Eddie. He didn’t an-swer. I tried again the next night... again, there was no reply. Eventually I got hold of the warden of the

old people’s sheltered ac-commodation where he lived. “I’m very sor-ry” she said, “Eddie has passed away.” I went to the crematorium. There was very few people at

the service – it hardly did justice, I thought, to one of God’s forgotten ones. At the end the vicar asked if anyone would like to pray. I took myself by surprise and cried out, “Thank You, God, thank You that Eddie is Yours and has gone to be with You.” Eddie: forgotten in this life, maybe, but certainly not in the next.

sat sly in lchair, ook ing”

Eddie is no longer a “forgotten person”

Prayer isnot dead,,concludes

surveyyA POLL on prayer, commis-sioned by Tearfund, the Chris-tian charity, reveals that while only about one in fi ve British people goes to church at least once a year, twice as many of them pray. Far from prayer being irrele-vant to today’s secular society, 10 million people say that they pray ‘daily’ and a further 10 mil-lion ‘regularly’. In London, the fi gure is even higher – three out of every four people pray regularly. What did they pray about? 68 per cent pray for family and friends, 25 per cent for world issues and 41 per cent give thanks to God.

Churcheshelpp to

solve streetviolence

FOLLOWING a survey of more than 3,000 church leaders and members, the Church Con-sultation on Violent Crime re-ported that 65 per cent wanted their churches to be involved in playing an active part in help-ing the families of victims of street violence. One of the writers of the re-port, Reverend Ermal Kirby, said churches could help the families of victims “put their lives back together”. The survey followed the violent death of 16-year-old Jonathan Matondo, who was shot on the street in Sheffi eld. Jonathan had spoken of becom-ing a pastor.

It’s offi cial:“Marriaggeis ggood for

yyou”IF YOU marry, rather than just live together, the statis-tics show that you may well be more healthy resulting in a longer life. This is the fi nding of a study by the government’s Offi ce of National Statistics. Although the number of weddings has declined by four per cent over the last ten years, those who have married will statistically be more likely to stay together and provide better care for each other after they reach the age of 65. Of those couples who cur-rently supply 20 hours or more weekly care for each other, 84 per cent are married.

Fun,, funkyyggosppel for

mobileggeneration

NEW IDEAS for getting the Christian message across by mobile phone have been de-veloped by a Welsh company in Monmouthshire called Teimlo. Mobile users can now choose from a list of services from the “Ecumen” range, which includes ring tones and ‘wallpaper’ with a Christian theme and a Bible you can read in the dark. The new service is praised as one way of communicating the gospel better – especially among young people. ‘It’s getting the message across in a fun, funky way,’ com-mented Pastor Robbie Howells, of Newport City Church, south Wales.

Imaginative glimpses of how different people saw the death of Jesus. C

SO MUCH for your proud boasting, Jesus! Where are your “Father’s” le-gions of angels now then? Just a common criminal, that’s what you are, stuck there be-tween two of your sort for all to see. Ha! The people pre-ferred a mass mur-derer to you. Given the choice by Pilate, they’d rather have Barabbas set free than you, the so-called mir-acle worker and self-styled “Son of God”. So what if you “saved” others – healed the

By a Pharisee a religious leader who opposed Jesus

sick, delivered the demonised, or raised the dead? You can-not save yourself. So it must have been by demons that you did your charlatan acts. We knew it all along. And this is the “King of Israel”? Stuck there like a pig? What are you waiting for? Come down from the cross, and even now we will believe in you. You trust in God; let Him rescue you now then. “Son of God”? An illegitimate abomina-tion, more like!

see page 3 >>

THE GOSPEL of Mark is part of the Bible and tells the story of the Life of Christ. Packed into 60 pages you can fi nd how one man bridged the gap between man and God. Read

about angry Jesus driving out money changers. Read about compassionate Jesus heal-

ing people. Test for yourself the claims of Jesus. The Bible in its entirety has now been translated into 414 languages, and parts are now available in over 2,000 languages. If listed in the bestsellers, it would regularly top the list in all its versions.

For your FREE copy of Mark’s Gospel contact us (see address below). Or text on 07969 679 501 or phone on 0845 123 5550 to reserve your copy.

Get a bestseller

FREE

ALL GOOD armies have an HQ, and we are no exception. We will answer your queries, provide you with free literature or a Mark’s Gospel, even pray with you over the telephone if you are in special need.

You can call us: our National Helpline is 0845 123 5550 (local call rate), and generally there are real people to talk to, not machines.

Email us at info@jesus.org.uk Want to have a look at what the mJa is all about? Check us out from anywhere in the world on our website: www.jesus.org.uk

But in these days of hi-tech, we still have an address and lots of people write in.Jesus Fellowship, FREEPOST, Nether Heyford, Northampton, NN7 3BR

Across the UK you are welcome to call one of our local churches if they are near you. There are Jesus Army congregations and groups around the UK. They are not all the same size, they meet in differ-ent sorts of premises, but they are all made up of people who love Jesus and are ready to help you on in your faith too.

Belfast ........................................................... 0845 123 5552

Birmingham ................................................... 0845 166 8153

Bournemouth ................................................ 0845 123 5558

Brighton ......................................................... 0845 166 8151

Bristol ........................................................... 0845 123 5339

Coventry ........................................................ 0845 166 8154

Croydon ......................................................... 0845 226 1972

Chester/ North Wales.................................... 0845 123 5561

Hastings ........................................................ 0845 123 5551

Huntingdon ................................................... 0845 166 2697

Ipswich .......................................................... 0845 166 8156

Kettering ........................................................ 0845 166 8157

Leeds ........................................................... 0845 166 8167

Leicester ........................................................ 0845 644 9705

Liverpool ....................................................... 0845 166 8168

London Central ............................................. 0845 166 8152

London West ................................................. 0845 833 1319

London South ............................................... 0845 226 1972

Manchester .................................................... 0845 166 8169

Milton Keynes ............................................... 0845 166 8159

Newcastle-upon-Tyne ................................... 0845 166 8187

Northampton ................................................. 0845 166 8161

Norwich ......................................................... 0845 166 8162

Nottingham .................................................... 0845 166 8163

Oxford ........................................................... 0845 166 8164

Preston .......................................................... 0845 123 5554

Sheffi eld ........................................................ 0845 166 8183

Stoke-on-Trent .............................................. 0845 123 5334

Swansea ........................................................ 0845 123 5556

Wolverhampton ............................................. 0845 123 5563

GET IN TOUCH GET IN TOUCH

@

JESUS Fellowship Church is an evangelical Christian Church with a charismatic emphasis. It upholds the full historical, Christian faith, in particular it upholds the doctrine of the Trinity and the full divinity of the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus Fellowship Church is a part of the Multiply Christian Network and a member of the Evangelical Alliance. To receive Jesus Fellowship literature regularly, free, send the response form on page 6 to Jesus Fellowship Central Offices, FREEPOST, Nether Heyford, Northampton NN7 3BR. Tel. 0845 123 5550. modern Jesus army Streetpaper No.82 © 2008, published three times a year by Jesus Fellowship Church, Nether Heyford, Northampton NN7 3LB. Editor James Stacey. All photographs supplied and copyright by Jesus Army Photo Library or Public Domain unless stated otherwise. Printed by BGP Ltd., Bicester, Oxon. Reproduction of any part of this newspaper in any form requires written permission. All Bible quotations are from the Contemporary English Version © 2000 Harper Collins unless otherwise indicated. All articles are contributed by members of the Jesus Fellowship Church, also known as the modern Jesus army. Some members live as part of the New Creation Christian Community. Readers wishing to contact authors may do so by writing to the Jesus Fellowship Central Office.

ross perspectives #1

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modern JESUS army Streetpaper No. 82 Page 3

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Gent by Gent by name name - and - and now by now by naturenature!!

Chaos and crime on Carlisle’s rough estates.Chaos and crime on Carlisle’s rough estates.Then HMP Doncaster. Then HMP Lindholme. Then HMP Doncaster. Then HMP Lindholme. Mark Gent, 28, certainly needed a new life.Mark Gent, 28, certainly needed a new life. MARK GENT had a trou-bled youth by anyone’s standards: cannabis; ecstasy; drinking and fighting on “the Cur-rock estate”. Injecting amphetamines to get high; necking Valium to come down. “You could get Valium for 50 pence each on the estate” says Mark. His mate Barry had “con-nections” with the drug un-derworld and began storing drugs in their foster home. One time, Mark found a thousand ecstasy tablets under Barry’s bed. Mark’s plan to sell the ecstasy ended in disaster. Ripped off by Harry, a dealer he thought he “could trust,” Mark didn’t dare go back home “empty-handed”. But after a week or so of sleeping on mates’ settees he went back and told Barry what had happened. As a result, Mark was

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badly heavied by one of Bar-ry’s “colleagues”, “a massive guy with a bald head”. “He grabbed hold of me by the throat, pinned me against the wall and put a knife against my neck. I thought, ‘I’ve had it, this guy’s gonna kill me’. “He said, ‘Where are the drugs?’ and I tried telling him, through sobs. He kept pressing this knife closer to me. ‘Do you know I could put this knife right through your face?’ ” Mark escaped with his life, but realised he had to get out of Carlisle. The chance to leave came unexpectedly. Arrested for assaulting his foster mum in a wrangle over her purse, he was sent to a bail hostel in Accrington. But he started using heroin through mixing with addicts there. “My giro went on heroin. I just couldn’t break away from my heroin addiction.” The continual cocktail of heroin, drink, Methadone and Valium made Mark, in his own words, “psychotic”. “One time, I was drink-

inasthstfostI bibthin ovthSbpanknbanar inHsh tolivco“Ierthknan

g with this bloke. He fell leep. I got a knife out of e kitchen and went and arted checking his pockets r money. He woke up, so I abbed him. The knife that used – thank God – was a read knife and quite flex-le. If it wasn’t actually for at, I’d have probably been prison now for murder. “There was blood all er me. I panicked and ought ‘What have I done?’

o I went to the phone ox round the corner and honed up the ambulance

d explained, ‘I’ve used a ife on my friend’. The am-

ulance phoned the police d they came round and rested me.“I did 21 months in prison HMP Doncaster and then MP Lindholme in York-ire.”Afterwards, Mark drifted Northampton where he ed on the streets and en-untered the Jesus Army. saw a Jesus Army stick- on a house’s window. I ought ‘I’m going to go and ock on that door and try d get some sandwiches

and a blanket’ ” He knocked on the door and Jesus Army leader, Steve, invited him in, saying “Do you want something to eat? Do you want a bath?” Mark remembers his first Jesus Army meeting. “They were singing, and I just started to well up inside. I felt really unclean and I burst out in tears. Steve prayed for me and I felt re-ally filled with God’s love. I felt accepted and clean. “I found God over that weekend and found a love for the church, for my broth-ers and sisters.” Some time later, Mark was baptised – in a river in December (he must have been serious). That was five years ago in 2003. Mark is now an up-and-coming leader, living in a Jesus Fel-lowship community house. His face falls most natu-rally into a grin; no longer pinched, scared, hard, hunt-ed. In Mark’s own words, “God has freed me. The life I’m living now is for God.”Some names have been changed.

Imaginative glimpses of how different people saw the death of Jesus.

Cp

IT’S A LONG and lonely road we’ve trod that’s brought us here to this blood-soaked hill. A road of tears. A road of separation. A road of suf-fering. My son, I see your body on this cross – weak, defenceless, exposed, vulnerable – just like the baby I nursed so long ago, there in the muck and the hay. You were mine, but not mine. Didn’t you say a long time ago that you “must be about your Father’s business”? There I was, and Joseph too, frantic with worry, searching Jerusalem for you. And where were you? Sitting amongst the teachers in the temple, calmly debating with them! No, you were not as other boys. You never were.Now your eye, bloodshot, bleeding, a river of blood streaming, it turns to me and John, the disciple whom you loved. Your mouth, cracked and

By Jesus’ mother

ross erspectives #2

see page 4 >>

broken, speaks: ‘Woman, behold your son.’ John, my son? Are you not my son? But it’s as you said “My family are those who do my Father’s business?” Harsh, it seemed, yet not harsh as once I understood. So still I follow, as I’ve always followed, and I will do your business – to the bitter end.

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modern JESUS army Streetpaper No. 82 Page 4

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The Bible still tops the bestseller lists.So what’s it all about?

READ ALL

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WHAT IS the Bible? A set of rules? A left-over from an unscientific age? A propa-ganda tool? Or just a dull book from school assemblies, best forgotten?

Popular, powerful, and precious? The fact is that the Bible remains popular. About 44 million Bibles are bought each year. It remains a powerful book which has hugely influenced history’s giants, from Martin Luther to Martin Luther King. And for many, many peo-ple it is precious beyond words. As one Chinese Christian said “The first Bible I saw was very precious because it was during the Cultural Revolution when the Christian faith was prohib-ited and Bibles were not permitted.” So why has this book, regarded by some as dangerous or dynamic and others as dull, been so hugely influential? Is it worth the fuss?

The God story But the Bible is not just religious propaganda. It is scarily honest. Rather than “spinning” an

4 4

official line, the Bible spells out unsparingly the failures of God’s people when they messed up, like religious people sometimes do today. The Bible tells the real, often painful, story of God and the human race: that all life has been created by a God who loves this world, who wants to make Himself known, who gets in-volved with us and wants us to work with Him. As well as being human writings that reflect the personalities of many different authors, the Bible’s writings also claim to be “inspired” by God. God spoke through the writers to communicate His heart and desire for people everywhere.

The common thread Not that the Bible is an easy read like a paper-back romance or a junior school textbook (who would expect this from a book that stretches so far across history and different cultures?) But there is one common thread that links the entire Bible together and makes sense of it all. One person: Jesus. The Old Testament contains hundreds and hundreds of stories and prophecies that point towards the saviour that God would send to the world. And His arrival is chronicled and explained in the New Testament.

One statistician calculated that the chances of all the prophecies made about the Christ being fulfilled in one man – as they were in Jesus – are about 1 in 10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000. In other words, not very likely!

Relevant? The story is told of a South Sea Islander who proudly displayed his Bible to an American sol-dier during World War II. Scornfully, the soldier commented “We’ve grown out of that sort of thing”. The Islander smiled and said “It’s a good thing we haven’t. If it weren’t for this book, you’d have been a meal by now!” Down the centuries, the Bible has enabled people in every kind of situation to experience God’s special love through Jesus. This love has changed millions of lives, sustained people through the toughest times and given them a reason and the endurance to make the world a better place. That is why the Jesus Army works to make the Bible – and Jesus, who the Bible shows us – known by people everywhere.

The Bible in ten seconds

The lights came onwe could see the rules,

but being lost,we behaved as fools;He came to save us,died on the cross,

will we learn,or are we lost?

RADIO 4’s Today programme set their lis-teners a challenge: to sum up the Bible in ten seconds. Here are some of the ten-second Bibles they came up with. Some were in verse, like this one

an eye for an eyefather, son and holy ghostturn the other cheek

In the b

Or this “Bible Haiku” (Haiku is Japanese poetry with seventeen syllables in three lines of five, seven, and five)

eginning, God made the earth, made it perfect, like heaven. But man sinned and messed it up. For centuries and centuries he messed it up, even when he

was wandering in the desert, even when he was trying to be good.

Eventually, God took pity on man, and sent his Son, Jesus who really was utterly good. Man messed him up too, but because Jesus was so good, He didn’t mess up. He

forgave man, and made a pathway back to heaven for him.

Some were a bit more down to earth, but took seriously the challenge of try-ing to really sum up the whole of the good book

A talking snakeA fLoating zooA burning bushand then...A man walks on waterSaying‘Do what you ought-ter!’Cos I’ll be back!’Amen.

Snappy rhymes, but possibly not quite as snappy as this

Man meets God,

man loses God, God Finds man.

Last but not least, this ten second bible (well five actually) managed to bring an almost “soft-focus” Hollywood feel to the God-and-man story

What more is there to say?

Reckon you can do better? Send your “ten second Bible” to Streetpaper and the editorial team will choose some to be published. Email: streetpaper@jesus.org.uk

Imaginative glimpses of how differepeople saw the death of Jesus.

By the devilFINALLY I’M almost there. Just a few more minutes, that’s all it will take, and then I’ve won. From the moment way back at the beginning when I wormed my way into human consciousness and sowed the seeds of doubt about God’s intentions, I’ve worked and waited for this day. “Did God say?” I said. That’s all it took to sow confusion and set mankind on the downward path to destruction. Sheer bril-liance, that’s what it was. As for you, Jesus, you may have escaped death as a baby. Somehow Joseph got wind of Herod’s plans and took you away. Or again when the people wanted to stone you, but you walked through the crowd and van-ished. But death’s caught up with you now. It could have been so dif-ferent. Bread you refused. Power you refused. Wordly acclaim you refused. And for what? Where has it got you? A common criminal’s death, that’s what. And if you’d agreed to work with me, you could have had it all. see page 6 >>

nt Cross perspectives #3

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modern JESUS army Streetpaper No. 82 Page 5

ABOUT IT

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Stuart Patnell tells Streetpaper howthe Bible came alive for him.

DUSTBLOWNAWAY

I THOUGHT the Biblewas an old dusty bookabout irrelevant storiesand a weirdo called Jesus. In my late teens, a friend of mine showed me some of what it had to say. I was taken with this Jesus bloke, but I must admit I didn’t really get it. A year or so down the line, I gave my life to Jesus and had a pow-erful experience of be-ing filled with the Holy Spirit. Suddenly, almost overnight, it all made sense. The things I’d read in the Bible before all clicked into place and it came alive to me. I was blown away. When I read them again, they hit me smack in the face and gripped me in a way I would never have imagined.

It was like I’d had a year of learning the Bi-ble in my head, but the Holy Spirit made it all fit together and come alive in my heart. Nowadays when I read the Bible, I’m gripped and I love it.

The dust’s blown away and the cover’s opened. I meet God in there and I’m blown away.

modern Jesus army

presents

raw real and wild

date: 7-9 August 2008

Venue: Jesus Centre,

abington square

northampton uk

age limit: 15-35parental consent required

for those under 18

WINNING. THE WAR, THE LOST, WHATEVER THE COST.IT’S SERIOUS. IT’S TIME TO TURN THE TIDE; TO HEED THE

CALL TO THE REALITY OF FOLLOWING JESUS IN THE UK

TODAY. RAW 2008 WILL CALL YOUNG PEOPLE TO BE ALL OUT

FOR JESUS IN THEIR GENERATION – WHATEVER THE COST.

AT RAW 2007, HUNDREDS MET WITH THE “REAL JESUS”

AND DISCOVERED “WIL D CHURCH”. IN RAW 2008 WE’RE

GOING ON – GOING WHERE ONLY JESUS CAN LEAD US:

ONWARD AND UPWARD. NO HOLDING BACK.

IT’S TIME TO TAKE UP THE CROSS. TO RIDE THE TIDE OF

HOLY SPIRIT MOVEMENT. DON’T MISS IT. GET ALL YOUR

MATES AND GET THERE.

FOR INFO CHECK OUT WWW.JESUS.ORG.UK/RAW

OR EMAIL: RAW@JESUS.ORG.UK

16/01/2008 08:59:5016/01/2008 08:59:50

modern JESUS army Streetpaper No. 82 Page 6

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Church of the poor

THE MODERN Jesus army is a church of the poor, a working class, underclass church. That’s not to say there aren’t people in our ranks who come from “privileged” backgrounds, but they, like the rest of us, have embraced a lifestyle of deliberate equality: brotherhood for real. One mJa member (the son of a wealthy lawyer, now living in Christian commu-nity), had an email from an old univer-sity friend recently. In it she describes two very different reactions to the Jesus Army: “I mentioned to a lawyer that I know that I’d met up with a uni’ friend now in the JA. He went off on one about it be-ing ‘terrible’ – and I was a bit like ‘Whoa – have you actually ever met anyone or talked to anyone in the JA?!’ Anyway, it was an eye opener as to some of the reac-tions you lot must inspire! “To counter this I was also chatting to a homeless guy outside Harrods who was from Coventry and who knew the JA and said you were all great; in his words ‘not like the skinny girls who go to that posh church across the road!...’ “Think it’s probably telling that it’s the homeless guy and not the middle class lawyer who is positive about your work.”

Have your say:Email: streetpaper@jesus.org.uk

6 6

Imaginative glimpses of how different people saw the death of Jesus. Cross perspectives #4

By the centurion responsible for the crucifixion

IT STARTED as just another day. Just an-other execution. Two common criminals, and then this rabble-rouser rabbi they called Jesus. We’ve done it so often now it’s routine. We have to find new ways to add a bit of interest. So we took his cloth-ing and made four piles, one for each one of us. But the tunic was woven in one piece. “Why not make it a game then, cast lots for it” we said. And it fell to me, as it happens.

Still, it was a long day. Noon came, and darkness fell over the whole land until three o’clock. The sun was obscured. It was weird-ly still. I found myself holding my breath and didn’t know why. “It’s getting late.” We have to finish it before the day ends. Take a hammer, break the legs. That way they’ll no long-er be able to push up on their legs to breathe: it finishes them off pretty effectively. But for this one there was no need. He didn’t

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truggle to stay alive. hy? He’s slumped

orward. A spear pierc-s his heart, blood and ater pour out. That eans he’s dead. No

oom for mistakes.The dark, the weird

alm, the dead teacher. hen the earth shakes. ocks split. Then

here’s this eruption nside me. I find myself houting out: “Certain-y this man was inno-ent”.

We’ve killed an in-ocent man. I’ve killed n innocent man. “This as the Son of God.”

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Jesus Centres

Pin headmiracle ofhealingg

A MEMBER of the Jesus Army was told he had an aneurysm on his brain. It was the size of a golf ball so the medics told him, and it was potentially life threatening. The chances of the man surviving were described by the doctors as “very slim”. His friends in the Jesus Army got praying, believing that God could heal him and save his life. When he went for a check up the “golf ball” had shrunk to a pin head size. The medics were astounded; they had never seen anything like it before. The church is thanking God - they see it as a miracle like those Jesus did in New Testament times.

“Jesus?Jesus who?”

asks manIN HASTINGS recently, two men came to the Jesus Army church meeting even though they had “never been to a church before”. Some Jesus Army members had met them previously on the streets. Meanwhile, in Coventry another young man has been experiencing church “for the fi rst time” with the Jesus Army. More and more people have no idea what Christianity is about or who Jesus is. A Jesus Army leader said: “Many people in the UK have little knowledge about Jesus; even those who do ‘know a bit’ usually have some funny ideas about what Christians actually believe.”

JesusCentre tothe rescue

ONE SUNDAY evening in North-ampton, a Jesus Army volunteer was on First Aid duty at North-ampton Jesus Centre during the Jesus Army’s church meeting there. She was called by the stewards to the foyer to assist a young man. He had been at-tacked with a broken bottle in Abington Park one mile away. When she asked him why he had come to the Jesus Centre he said that he knew he would get help. The volunteer was able to gave him fi rst aid and send him on to the hospital. She said: “It’s good to know that this young man felt he would get the help he needed at the Jesus Centre”.

Jesus Centres are places where the love of Jesus is ex-pressed daily in worship, care and friendship for every type of person. They offer friend-ship, a listening ear, many practical services and food – and act as a ‘gateway’ to other services and agencies. Jesus Centres are run by the Jesus Army Charitable Trust (JACT). There are Jesus Cen-tres in Coventry, Northampton and, from early 2008, central London. Eventually Jesus Centres will be found in other places around the UK. How can you help? Jesus Centres always need money, clothes, food and lots more! Check out the website for details:www.jesuscentre.org.uk

Please send me modern JE SUS army Street-paper and Jesus Life free. UK only.

For overseas 3 issues, £6.00 p+p, please tick here

Please correct my address/post code (see form, right) Tell us your old address as well.

I wish to continue to receive Street pa per and Jesus Life If re-reg is tra tion is re quest ed

Please send me a copy of Mark’s Gos pelUK only, see page 2 for details

Please send me Church Alive, an in tro duc tion to the modern Jesus Army

Please send me an order form for Flame leaflets on radical Christianity

Please send me informa-tion on how I can sup-port the “Jesus Centres” project.

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modern JESUS army Streetpaper No. 82 Page 7

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06.07.indd 06.07.indd

PEOPLE EXTRA

Bad and sad” no moreThe day Angela Leiverslearned to read and write

Dyslexia made Angela’s school life hell. Now she’s heading for heaven.

7 7

SCHOOLDAYS – the best days of your life? Not for Angela they weren’t. “The English teacher used to make me stand up in front of all the class, laugh and call me stupid,” she recalls. “I felt bad, and sad. So I left school at 14, just told my mum I wasn’t going back, and went out to work.” What the teacher didn’t realise, like many other teachers of her generation, was that Angela was dyslex-ic. But Angela soon found

her own way round her prob-lems with English. “I learnt to use my mind more,” she says. “Everything I wanted, I memorised.” Packing jobs and a mar-ket stall followed, before, aged 19, she married a much older man. It was disastrous. He beat her, and as soon as she could, she escaped, de-termined to do her own thing: “the usual things – getting ready at 5pm, drink-ing, partying all night.” A chance en-counter in the lo-cal post office in 2002 set Angela’s life off on a differ-ent course again. She was standing in a queue and got talking to the lady in front who told her about the reading and writing classes for adults that had started up at the Chase in St Ann’s, Not-tingham. When Angela was intro-duced to the teacher, Ju-lia, she thought, “I know you from somewhere.” It turned out they had met in a Jesus Army marquee on “the Forest” 20 years be-fore (Angela’s daughter’s

bgtac isrt

s“faoy Iit

The pen is m

all had rolled in and An-ela ran in after it). Happy o meet Julia again, she sked if she could visit the hurch.Angela, now 45, enrolled

n the English classes. She tarted with the alphabet, eading shorter words and hen longer ones. .

“Julia is very under-

tanding,” says Angela. She makes you feel com-ortable, sits and listens, nd just explains it to you ver and over again until ou get it. “When I went to school,

thought I was always go-ng to be slow, never going o learn. But after about a

ightier: now Angela is writing

a book

year, I could go shopping on my own – it felt really good! I used to have to take my mum with me to read prices.” Angela can now not only read and write, but has found faith, family and friends with the Jesus Army in Nottingham. In January 2005, alone in her bedroom,

she asked Jesus back into her life. “Hold me tight and don’t let me go,” I said. “And I felt a release.” No one can call Angela stu-pid now. She likes reading the Bible, especially the Psalms and the book of John. And her new Chris-tian nick-name is “Evangela”, “be-cause I can talk to anybody about Jesus, anywhere, in the town, at college, down the Chase,” she explains. “Some

listen, some walk away. But I tell anyone who wants to listen.” Angela is now almost half way through writing a book of her life and her struggle with dyslexia “so others can see how I strug-gled and that they don’t have to.”

Dyslexia: some factsAngela’s teacher, Julia writes:

Dyslexia is not a “disease” that someone can be cured of. It is a type of mind, like any other, with its own strengths and weaknesses. It is noth-ing to do with intelligence. It is a difference in the brain area that deals with language and affects the skills that are needed to learn to read, write and spell. Dyslexic people are often very creative, have good physical co-ordination, think problems through well and can easily understand others. Around 10% of the popu-lation is dyslexic in some way. Every classroom is

likely to have 2-3 dyslexic children. Many have had a similar experience to Ange-la, being labelled as ‘thick’, often going through a hu-miliating hell at school. The signs of dyslexia are varied and not all dyslex-ics have all these signs: dif-ficulties in learning to read, write and spell, in telling left from right, in remembering sequences like the alpha-bet, months of year, in re-membering or following oral instructions. “Side effects” can include low self esteem, depression, and behavioural difficulties in children.

FdRthWHOWWPGA

amous yslexics

ichard Branson, founder of

e Virgin group of companies

illiam Hewlett, founder of

ewlett Packardrlando Bloom, actor

hoopi Goldberg, actress

inston Churchill, wartime

rime Ministereorge Washington, fi rst

merican President

Leonardo da Vinci, renais-

sance geniusAgatha Christie, bestselling

crime novelist

Useful websites about dyslexia

www.bdadyslexia.org.uk

www.beingdyslexic.co.uk

www.dyslexiaaction.org.uk

www.jesuspeople.bizSEND for a free catalogue to: Jesus People Shop, FREE POST, Nether Heyford, North amp ton NN7 3BR t: 0845 123 5550 f: 0845 166 8178

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CovenantPeopleJulia Faire

15/01/2008 10:53:0915/01/2008 10:53:09

modern JESUS army Streetpaper No. 82 Page 8

GGFFSS

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OOD NEWSOOD NEWSROM ROM TART TO TART TO INISHINISH

Yours with love:

modern Jesus army Streetpaper is full of good news, from front toback. Read all about it.

FF

TENS OF THOUSANDS of modern Jesus army Streetpapers hit the streets each year. They’re packed full of good news, which makes them almost unique as newspapers go. In every Streetpaper there are stories of people – ordinary people, people like you and me – who have had life-changing encoun-ters with Jesus. There are stories of life in a buzzing,

exciting church. There are wake-up calls for the com-placent, challenges for the stuck-up – and a message of hope to the despairing: Jesus is alive. He died for you, took the rap for you to bring you forgiveness, but is now alive and offers life-changing hope and a certain future. Streetpapers are found on the street, in pubs, in telephone boxes, on buses, on your neighbour’s coffee table... you name it. Get a Streetpaper now. Don’t miss out.

Imaginative glimpses of how different people saw the death of Jesus.

phot

o by

Rya

n K

unkl

eman

HOLD ON, my Son, hold on. It is almost fin-ished. My final plan to reverse the Satan’s plot and the disaster of human evil. They were made for relationship with me. I could never bear to leave them outside forever. And you, the sinless Man, are the only one who can set this sinful human race free. You groan and twist, tormented on the cross. Your suffering is my suffering and all the world’s: all condensed into this one moment of unadulterated evil. And then I turn my face away. No evil can dwell in my presence. “Why have you forsaken me?” you cry. But only for a moment, my son. Hold on. Hold on. Soon you will be with me in glory forever. And because you poured out your life even to death, because you counted yourself with the sinners, death will lose its sting.

CrossBy God the Father

Soon you will be with me, seated at my right hand, radiant in light. And those who believe in you will join us here; even though they must cross this world’s way. “It is finished” you cry. No more sin, sickness, no more suffer-ing, no more death. Only joy – forever.

What is your perspective on the Cross of Jesus? Put your faith in Him and experi-ence forgiveness and new life. He’s done your dying; join Him in His living. Pray like this: Jesus, thank You for dying for me. Please come into my life with Your love and forgiveness. Please save me. I freely choose to follow You for the rest of my life. If you prayed like this, get in touch with some local Christians who can help you on the next step (or phone the Jesus Army on 0845 123 5550).

perspectives #5

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15/01/2008 12:10:1915/01/2008 12:10:19