“I WANT to be a missionary.” It was October 1973. The vicar had previously advised me to ask God to show me that Jesus had died for me. The long awaited event had happened. I knew it. Jesus is real, and I am forgiven. Now what can I do? Two of my great aunts had been missionaries. Perhaps it was in my blood. And so now I told the vicar I wanted to be a missionary. I had met one at a Christian Union event; he looked thin, but happy. In fact, I joined the Jesus Army and have belonged to that mission- impelled church for 35 years. And now we have the chance to do a little “missionary” work in Sheffield: we have plans to open a Jesus Centre there. I was born in nearby Barnsley.

When I came back to Sheffield in 1991 it was beginning to recover from the slump of the steel trade. My heart’s passion for some years now has been that Sheffield might be changed, not just socially and economically – though that matters – but spiritually. “A mighty Jesus revolution,” as we sometimes sing, turning the world upside down.

Living in Christian community in Sheffield since January 1991, we have often helped those in various kinds of need. We used to have our Sunday services in the middle of town. Our services ended with a lunch for all. Word got onto the streets and before we knew it all the hungry were turning up. Could we turn them away? Well, no, so we adapted the lunchtime scene, and ate with the poor. Some came to a faith in Jesus, many were open, and loved listening to my friend Andrzej explain the gospel (in English and, occasionally, Slovakian!)

A couple of young men came to our door: could we help? They had recently moved to a “hotel” for the homeless, and had no food. Again, before we knew it a queue of people were coming for “Mary’s sandwiches” and it was only a year or two later that we were simply no longer able to offer this service: we couldn’t meet the level of need. We needed something more permanent, something bigger that would create an impact on the city. Our chance has now come, with the purchase of the former Hanover Methodist Church to be a new Jesus Centre in Sheffield.

It has a hall for worship, and plenty of rooms for charitable activities and meetings. Also attached are two terraced houses, where some of our members will be living. May God use Sheffield Jesus Centre to bring the gospel and love of Jesus to the people of this great city.

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