Jon Mack
Mine is not an exciting story of being called out of the clutches of leather clad bikers or the depravity of drugs and alcohol, mine is a far simpler tale.
I was born to a Roman Catholic mother and Dutch Reform father, so have had from my earliest remembrance an idea of the existence of God and the role he could play in my life if I were to choose to let him.
I attended a local Catholic primary school and was then lucky enough to be sent to a Catholic public school again locally.
Regrettably this school had to close after I had been there about 1 school year and I was moved to Great Walstead School. Walstead is a Christian school and provided me with a good education and a broader basis of faith. It was while at Walstead that I attended an after school mission at Claire Hall and something, I didn’t know what then, was stirred within me.
At the age of 13 I attended during the school holiday a 1 week ‘camp’ in Swanage run I believe by Crusaders.
It was during one of the evening sessions at which the guy talking was explaining to us all about allowing Jesus into our hearts using a very famous painting and a door with three bolts on the inside but no way to open it from the outside that the penny, as it were, dropped. All became clear in a fuzzy sort of way.
It was in the privacy of my bed that night that I said for myself to God a simple prayer asking Jesus into my life. Since then over 30 years have past and much water has passed under many bridges. There have been ups and downs in my faith journey.
I remained a faithful stalwart of the local Catholic Church for many years, but always with a strange felling in the back of my being that there was something more for me.
It was this feeling and hearing a recently ordained priest say much the same thing about him-self and the challenge God have given him that made me approach the church with a request to be considered for training for the priesthood.
After a weekend away near Guildford for an evaluation including 3 or 4 different interviews and a psychiatric evaluation I waited several weeks to find out the result of my application. I was a little disappointed to say the least when I was informed that I was not to be accepted for the training programme.
It was several years later after I had met the girl who is now my wife that I started to attend Northlands Church, and yes you’ve guessed it, more pennies started to drop. As I listened to Charles the Pastor here at the time I realised that it was not about a faith or a religion but about a relationship with God that was possible through His son Jesus Christ my Lord and Saviour.
I accepted this new relationship with open heart and mind. I underwent a believers baptism very shortly after and have been an active member of Northlands church for just over 20 years now I have worked with the children’s groups, the youth group and as an Sunday school teacher in the past.
I have more recently served as a Leader within the church here and in 2010 was elected by the membership here to serve as an Elder.
Mine is a story of someone who has grown and grown up believing in God and the saving sacrifice of His son Jesus and is continuing to grow and learn about what that relationship is all about.
I take what opportunities I am able to share my relationship with those with whom I come into contact.
I have the great privilege of working for Spring Harvest, a non denominational Bible conference held over Easter each year, in a full time capacity. This conference attracts some 45,000 people to the Butlin’s sites at Minehead and Skegness each year.
So God has brought me full circle from applying to serve him full time as a priest to my full time ministry working for him at Spring Harvest and within the local church.