The header

I first went forward and accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as my Saviour at a Billy Graham Crusade in 1965 at Earls Court and again the following year at Wembley Stadium. Since then I have attended various churches, but I was still searching.

I realise now that, although I had heard the gospel message, it hadn’t really sunk in, and I hadn’t made a true commitment. Finally, I was baptised in 2000. At the time I thought I had made a true commitment, but my husband died in January 2001 and although my faith got me through, I stopped going to church and went to spiritualist churches hoping to get a message from my husband. I realise now that was wrong.

A good friend of mine, who I first met at the Billy Graham Crusade at Earls Court, died in May 2006 at the great age of 91. She was a very committed Christian and I realised during the funeral service, not only how much I was going to miss her friendship and support, but also how much I missed going to Church and being close to the Lord. So after this I attended other churches but I still didn’t feel right inside. It wasn’t until I started attending South Street in February 2008 that I felt the true power of the Holy Spirit.

The Alpha course helped me to make a true commitment. I found the talks by Nicky Gumbel really thought provoking. He explained everything so simply and made the gospel message so easy to understand and accept. During the Alpha weekend away, I had a truly powerful experience and believe the Holy Spirit filled my heart.

I had a really bad pain in my chest, but after prayer and a good night’s sleep, it went away and when I got home I couldn’t stop singing and praising the Lord!

I believe that I had been bound for many years, but did not realise it, and now I have been set free.

Many thanks to South Street for the privilege of attending the Alpha course and the many friends I have made since February. I was a helper on the previous Alpha course and I am going to be leading a group on the next one.

Praise the Lord!

Hazel Palmer