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NEWBOLD BAPTIST CHURCH WEB SITEMilnrow Road, Rochdale, United Kingdom |
| "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. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved." (John 3:16 - 17 KJV) |
I was out of controlI started shoplifting and skipping school. When I was 13, I got my first charge sheet and from that point my mum had to go to the police station almost every week to bail me out. One day my mum collapsed in the street because of the worry I had caused her. My dad didn’t have much of an involvement in my life. When I was 16, I was charged with street robbery and went on the run. I ended up living in Manchester, but the police caught up with me and I spent 12 months in a young offenders institution. When I came out of the institution I went back to Manchester and started taking drugs and drinking a lot. At that point in my life all I wanted to do was get ‘out of my face’. I carried on stealing, robbing warehouses and taking cars to pay for my drink and drugs. When I was 25 I was sent back to prison for a very bad car crash where I was not only drunk but also high on drugs. People were severely injured because I acted like an idiot. From that point on my life was turned upside down. I ended up losing everything. My first wife, my home….everything. I was sent to Forest Bank prison were I was put on the hospital wing. They put me on a 2052, which is a suicide watch. I told them that I wanted to end my life. I was so low at that point I really meant it. While I was on the hospital wing, a chaplain came to see me called Beryl Pipes. At first I didn’t know what to make of what she was saying. She told me that my sins had already been forgiven as Jesus had died for me. At first I thought she was off her head, but she left me a bible and when I opened that bible the first thing I read was Psalm 23. ‘The Lord is my shepherd’. I was totally touched by this. It was saying to me that I was not on my own. Later on in my sentence I gave my life to God. By this point God had changed me so much. The Samaritans had trained me as a listener, talking to other prisoners who were feeling suicidal. When it came for the time for me to be released I had no where to live so a Church of England Vicar told me about the Sanctuary and I went to live there straight from prison. I moved out of the Sanctuary for a short while, but I went back again because I started to slip back into drink and drugs. I knew I needed help. This time I really prayed and asked God to come and help me get rid of my old life and help me to get over things that had happened in the past so that I could start again. I also prayed for a family of my own and a Christian wife. God really changed me and whilst at the Sanctuary I was talking to Alan Mills, who at that time was the Pastor, about being baptised. On 28th March 2003, three of us at Sanctuary were baptised here at Newbold. That night my prayers started to be answered as I met my new family, Zoe and Mark; what a blessing He gave me. He also got me back to work and I thought ‘what else could He do for me as I don’t even deserve this’, but I was blessed again with a little boy. I thank the Lord for taking away my old life and all the burdens that I was carrying around with me. He got rid of all this and did a great work in my life. Praise and glory be to Jesus for ever and ever, Amen. Cyril This is the real story of an ordinary man whose life has been transformed by the power of God. If you would like to know more, or even speak to Cyril, we would welcome you to: Newbold Church, Milnrow Road,
If you would like to contact Cyril: E-mail Cyril. "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are
heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
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