From the Streets – the testimony of John Packham

By John Packham    20th September 2003    0 responses
Part of the series

My testimony is a little different to many that have been published here, but, having read Miranda’s article, “The King’s Table: A Call to Serve,” I have been prompted to share my story with you. Why? Because I came to the Lord as a direct result of the fantastic work done by those people involved with the King’s Table, a ministry of one London church to the homeless of the capital, which Miranda talked about in her article.

I had been homeless in London for six months when I came to the Lord. One Sunday afternoon, I went along to a food handout under Waterloo Bridge – exactly as Miranda described in her article. As I was given food, I was invited to attend a service at South West London Vineyard Church. I decided to go along to see what went on.

When I went to the service, I was deeply moved by the songs of worship that the congregation sang. I was also struck by the message, given by Danny Daniels. He was fantastic – so passionate, enthusiastic, and really on fire for the Lord. He struck a chord in me, and I felt something was changing. When the service was over, I went to the front and was prayed for. Something amazing happened to me then. Whilst I was there, being prayed for, I felt Jesus enter my life. I knew that life would be different. But how? What should I do?

That was 8th April 2001 – a date that will always stick firmly in my mind. I was homeless for another year after that, still sleeping rough on the streets of London. Becoming a Christian didn’t solve all my problems overnight, but I did feel different. Although I had no home of my own, I felt content. As I grew in my faith, I started to see the goodness of the Lord. I know he was watching over me. I know that it was thanks to my faith that I was lucky. It is very common for homeless people to be attacked whilst living rough, but this never happened to me.

Exactly one year after becoming a Christian – to the exact day – I was lucky enough to find somewhere to live. I managed to get into a shared house in New Malden, Surrey, which is just a few minutes walk from the Vineyard offices. God had been watching over me whilst I was living on the streets, and he provided for me. He prompted the people of South West London Vineyard Church to provide food for the homeless, which was such a blessing to me, and continues to be a blessing to lots of people sleeping rough in London. He prompted the person who spoke to me at the food handout to invite me to church. He worked through Danny Daniels at that first service I went to. He led me to ask Jesus into my life at the service. And he then provided me with somewhere to live, a way of getting off the streets.

I am so blessed and lucky, and God continues to bless me. He has now given me a fantastic place to live. Through contacts, I was put in touch with a Christian family who are living in Guernsey at the moment. They very kindly allowed me to move into their home in London whilst they are living there. It is a lovely house, and there is a great peace and spirit in the place. This is just another example of how God is blessing me, though.

I’ve shown you here a little of the work that God is doing in my life. We have an amazing God, who looks after people who believe in him. So have faith in him, because he will look after you, just as he has looked after me.

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By John Packham

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