Living Hope Stories

“Jesus accepts me because he loves me, and I don’t need to earn that love.” It was great to hear Molly’s story of discovering the love and acceptance Jesus freely gives to each of us. Molly grew up going to church, but always thought of it as an activity she did rather than a relationship with Jesus. Whilst at university, she heard and understood for the first time that Jesus had died for her, and that she didn’t need to

“God if you’re there, let me know feel your presence.” We recently sat down with Jonathan to hear his story of wrestling with faith throughout his teenage years. Jonathan grew up in a Christian family but when he was in his early teens, he started to call himself an atheist as he felt didn’t have any evidence for his beliefs. However, through getting involved in a local youth group he decided to give prayer a go when his friend was

"I'm here, this is who I am: God, use me." This term we've been focusing on 'Growing Leaders', one of our seven areas of focus. As part of this, we sat down with Esther to hear her story of moving from being a student in Nottingham, to intern, to leading the youth ministry at St Nic's Nottingham. Esther has since also invested in other youth interns who have gone on to lead in other churches across the diocese. Here she talks

"I prayed, 'Jesus I need you to help me', and I felt like two weights came off me." Following a difficult early life, Marsha found freedom from addiction when she invited Jesus into her life. She describes how the power of God lifted her out of the darkness she was experiencing, bringing healing and restoration. We’re so pleased to share Marsha’s story ahead of her ordination as Priest this weekend, and we’re excited to see how God continues to use her

‘Now I live my life with hope and peace, knowing God’s alongside with me’ Ronaldo came to faith in his home country of Nicaragua, but found himself unexpectedly moving to the UK. It was a challenging and hard time to adjust, but in that time he discovered St Nic's Church and the Spanish speaking community there, as well as the opportunity to join The Apprentice Track internship. We loved hearing Ronaldo’s story and we hope it’s an encouragement to you, whatever

‘There’s got to be more to life than this.’ We loved sitting down with Joyce to hear her story of faith. Joyce had a great life, but one day started to question if there was more. After an invite to church, she gradually became part of the community, but the moment Joyce asked Jesus into her life she couldn’t keep it to herself. Now years later, she is joining in with what God is doing in Wilford and loves to invest

“God, I’m tired of doing things my own way, I want to be your child again.” It was so good to sit down with Camila and hear her story of following a dream God gave to her when she was just 12 years old. Camila is from Brazil, and received a prophesy that one day she would become a missionary. During her early twenties Camila drifted away from God, but when she turned back to him, He reminded her of that

‘Knowing Jesus has completely transformed my life.’ We loved sitting down with Charis to hear some of her story getting to know Jesus throughout her life. She grew up as “the vicar’s kid”, but when Charis encountered the Holy Spirit at a Christian conference aged 10, she felt a deep sense of being known by God for who she was. When finishing school Charis had plans to head off to university, until at that same conference years later she felt prompted

'God said, "even if you lose everything, I'll still be beside you."' It was so great to sit down with Elisha and hear some of her story of how God turned pain into purpose. Whilst she grew up going to church, when things got tough she clung to faith when she felt she had nothing else. Moving to Nottingham and working with young people facing similar challenges, God began stirring something new in Elisha and she felt prompted to join @theapprenticetrack

God had carried me through all of this stuff, so I just trusted him and gave it a go." It was such a delight to hear Liz’s story as she rediscovered faith in her 40’s and found the joy of Jesus. As Liz gradually got more involved in her local church, she was encouraged by her vicar to explore ordination. This led her on an unexpected path of leaving her family business to become an ordained priest. If you're thinking about where