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Real People
We
think the people who belong to our
church family at VEC are brilliant!
Not that there's anything special
about us. It's just great to see how
God chooses people with different
family backgrounds, educations,
occupations, interests, tastes and
life situations to share life
together. Over
the years we have built up a small
library of short profiles of some of
our people. Just click on the
Library link below to see all of
them. We hope you will enjoy getting
to know a little bit about us in
this way, and we look forward to
meeting you in person.
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Simon Duan
Simon has
been coming to VEC for nearly 12
years since getting married and
settling into Sevenoaks. He and his
wife have two lively young children. He used to be a physical education
teacher but for the last few years
has been working full time with the
church. He loves football, time with
family and great friends, good food
and watching reality TV shows.
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Going to church is something I have
always done. At the age of around seven
I came back from a service asking why
Jesus died. Even at that age I realised
that I had done things wrong. Mum
explained that Jesus gave his life in
my place. It blew me away that anyone
would love me that much.
My next
question was ‘what should I do about
it’? Mum said that Jesus wanted me to
ask him to forgive me and then give
my life to him, so I did. That was my
first real personal experience of
God’s love for me.
As I grew up my
understanding of following Jesus
developed, but like most children I
didn’t really know what it meant and
at secondary school I wanted to be
like everyone else, fit in, have a
laugh. I started to live two really
different lives, one on Sunday at
church and then a different one
during the week. At fifteen I came to
a point where I had to decide which
one I wanted to live. I knew God was
real, I had met Jesus, experienced
his love for me, I couldn’t deny
that. I decided that if God was real
I needed to follow him with all my
life. I got baptised and started to
tell people about Jesus.
Since then I
have tried with God’s help to live as
he wants, in my work, as a dad and
husband, when I am out with mates at
the pub and playing football. I know
I have someone who loves me
unconditionally and desires the best
for me. He speaks to me and guides me
as I read the Bible and pray. He
gives me a purpose in life as well as
inviting me to join him to make the
kind of world he wants.
I still mess up
but know he is changing me. Doing this
with a bunch of others as part of this
church is fantastic.
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Amy
Amy graduated
from University last year with a BA
in English and Art and is looking
forward to going back to university
this September to start her teacher
training.
She has recently
moved to Sevenoaks from London and has
been worshipping at VEC for 6 months.
Currently she is working as a teacher’s
assistant.
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I am a very new Christian, I would say
I have believed in Jesus for less than
a year, but here’s my journey so far.
I come from a
Roman Catholic family and while they
would be the first to admit they
aren’t particularly religious, my mum
and dad made sure I attended school
at my local Catholic secondary
school.
University was a
key period in my life in becoming a
Christian! I was really blessed to
have found some truly amazing friends
that I never would have gotten to
know if I had stayed at home. I know
that God used these relationships to
lead me to Himself over the three
years I was at university. Several of
my friends were already Christians
and I was - and continue to be
- inspired by how real their faith
was to them. It wasn’t just something
to do on a Sunday morning; they
really believed in this stuff! But
the most convincing thing for me was
to witness how one of my new friends
was literally transformed by God and
was truly saved by Him! For me this
is a true miracle, a wonderful sign.
Despite all of
this however, I was not ready to ‘pin
my colours to the mast’, and it fell
to my Christian friends to spend time
listening to my doubts and just being
there with me. I have not recorded
the date I finally gave in and
started to truly believe in Jesus as
the son of God, but it has been since
I have started worshiping at VEC so
it is very recent!
My conversion is
one of a slow process that has taken a
lot of prayer and time. I still have
many doubts and questions, fears and
concerns about my faith, and still a
lot to learn. One reason I feel so
happy at VEC is that the church family
are helping me with this.
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Nigel
Nigel has been
coming to VEC for four years. He lives with his wife and two
children near Sevenoaks and works as
a lawyer in London.
He likes walking, drinking wine, reading the bible and
winding up his children.
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I was not brought up in a Christian
environment and until I met my wife, I
did not know that people prayed out of
choice. When I first saw my wife pray,
I thought there was something wrong
with her and I hoped that it would go
away as we formed a close relationship.
It didn’t. The
prayers continued and I slowly
started to realise that things she
asked for in her prayers occurred in
circumstances where there was no
logical explanation for what was
happening. For her, it was all
straightforward; Jesus heard what she
said. To me, it somehow made sense
but I wanted to know exactly what was
going on. That made me actively seek
God in my thoughts throughout the day
and after about eighteen months,
Christ showed himself to me in an
intense and powerful way.
That was six
years ago and since then I have been
reading the bible to try to
understand what happened to me. I
have realised from what I have read
that God promises that those who seek
him will find him. That is precisely
what happened to me and I know it
will happen to others who ask the
same questions.
For me, bible
reading is an integral part of VEC –
there are excellent bible study
courses on a weekly basis. There are
also powerful services and committed
teachers for my children.
But what I
appreciate most of all about VEC is
that there are some incredible people
who have dedicated their lives to
Christ in a way which humbles and
continually challenges me.
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Pauline
Sixteen years ago a Scots girl
living in Aberdeen meets an English man
from Hertfordshire in the middle of
Africa, marries him and settles in
Sevenoaks! Pauline and her husband
have been coming to VEC pretty much
ever since then. They have two girls
aged 15 years and 12 years who share
their love of music, cycling and
visiting places of interest around the
world.
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I don’t deal in abstract terms, so
things have to be blatantly obvious
before I can grasp them! This is why I
believe God put me in a Christian
family where not only are my parents
Christians but also my brothers,
sister, aunties, uncles, cousins on
both sides plus both sets of
grandparents! Everywhere I turned I saw
how relevant Jesus was to living each
day and I remember thinking how helpful
God was in the lives of those around
me.
Prayer preceded everything and
thanks to God were given no matter what
the outcome was. So there was always an
air of expectation and excitement as to
how God would answer our prayers and
what would happen next, and there was
always an atmosphere of hope. Jesus’
name was constantly being mentioned,
making Him an ever-present person.
As a youngster,
asking Jesus to help me live my life
seemed a natural step to take. My
faith started off being very simple
but has been tested as I have grown
older and faced life’s challenges.
The only times God has seemed distant
over the last 36 years has been when
I have failed to include Him in my
thinking and decision making … it
doesn’t take long to realise where I
have gone wrong!
At the beginning
of the day as I walk to work I listen
to worships songs on my ipod, do my
daily bible readings during my lunch
hour, and then in the evenings look
back over the day and keep a log of
events where God has helped me,
answered a prayer etc. This is how I
keep Jesus real and relevant in my
life!
Because Jesus has
done so much for me I love to
“introduce” Him to others, particularly
to complete strangers, whether it be on
a crowded London underground station or
with a trader amongst the ruins of
Ephesus in Turkey!
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Jim
Jim graduated from university last
summer and moved to Sevenoaks shortly
afterward. He has been
attending VEC for three months now
and recently started to work in the
East End of London as a rotational
Occupational Therapist. Currently Jim is working as part of
the community neurology service
there.
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I was born and raised in Essex and,
yes, I was a typical Essex boy during
my teens and early twenties. At
nineteen I finally gave up trying to
get any A levels and started working
for a little known fast food chain (the
one with the clown!). After
several years of gorging myself on
burgers and chips, at 22, I was ready
for a gap-year in Australia.
It was while I
was travelling on a train in
Australia that I first encountered
God’s presence and I became a
Christian right there and then.
Six years on I
am still trying to work out what that
means. I still have doubts and
I still mess up; I’m far from
perfect. But I definitely know
that Jesus has changed my life. If
you told me back when I was a
teenager what I would be doing today,
I would have laughed in your face!
I know that God
is very real and that he loves me and
I know that Jesus paid for my sins
when he died on that cross. Jesus never demands that we are
perfect before we follow him – he
calls us to follow him just as we are
and then work out the rest on the
journey. How great is that?!
Wherever you are
on your journey with Jesus, if you
visit VEC, I expect that you will see
straightaway a really caring and
welcoming bunch of people who are
helping each other work things out as a
church family. And that can only be a
good thing.
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Guy
Guy moved to Sevenoaks with his
wife shortly after being married, and
they have attended VEC for 14 years. They have two children. Two years
ago Guy stopped commuting after 36
years. Now self-employed, he enjoys
a variety of work – financial
management for local companies, taxi
driving and invigilating. In his
spare time he enjoys spending time
with his family, music, sport and
making jam.
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Although I was brought up in a
Christian family, having regular
breakfast prayer times, and having
daily acts of worship at school, I
failed to see the relevance of
Christianity in my day to day life. I
stopped going to church in my late
teens. There was so much to do in life.
When I got to my 30’s I began to think
about some of life’s big questions,
such as “Is there any meaning to life?”
and “What happens when we die ?”, and
remembered the story of the
resurrection. I realised that if this
was true then it was very important,
but I had doubts.
I decided to
give church another go and went with
a friend who had recently become a
Christian. The whole concept of
having to choose Christ and having a
personal relationship with God was
new to me. I thought that I already
was a Christian and if I obeyed ‘the
rules’ I would be OK. From the moment
that I invited Jesus into my life, at
a Christmas Eve midnight service, all
my doubts disappeared, and they have
never returned. The psalmist says to
God “Yet I am always with you; you
hold me by my right hand.” (Psalm
73:23).
I came to realise
that, with Jesus, the promise we have
in him is everything, but without him
there is nothing. God says: "Fear not,
for I have redeemed you; I have
summoned you by name; you are mine.”
(Isaiah 43:1).
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Sue
Sue is married,
with five children - all at different
schools - and has been at VEC for 21
years. She used to work in a bank but
finds that bringing up a family is the
hardest job ever. She enjoys people –
especially her husband, netball,
dancing, being a school governor,
walking in the country (slowly), being
with friends and family, and cherry
liqueur chocolates. She dislikes
macaroni cheese.
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I’ve lived in or around Sevenoaks all
my life, and as far as I can remember
always believed in God. I have a lovely
family whom I still see, most of them
local. I was christened C of E, was
confirmed in a Methodist Church and was
baptised in a swimming pool. So I
don’t think denominations mean much.
It’s God who is important and I don’t
think he minds if we ‘do church’ a
little differently.
Having been sent to Sunday School aged
5 at the Drive Methodist Church I made
lifelong friends there, who formed
their own group when I was in my teens
called JOG (Jesus our God/Guide). We
sang songs, studied the bible and went
to Christian camps. It was there that I
realised that God was looking for a
response. Did I want to live my life
for myself or Him? I wasn’t sure I’d
done much wrong and remember asking God
to show me! By the end of the day I
felt wretched and plainly saw my
jealousy, greed and selfishness for the
sin it was.
I asked God to forgive me and accepted
what Jesus had done by dying on the
cross for me (and everyone else!). I
now had a purpose and knew where I was
going. Studying the bible and finding
out how relevant it is to life has
transformed my thinking: I met my
husband-to-be doing a children’s club
and he went to the Baptist Church, so
when we got married we ‘toured’ the
local churches asking God to guide us
to where he wanted us to be – which is
how we came to VEC.
I can’t believe it’s been 21 years, but
the people who worship here have been
like our family during that time.
Through the years of having children,
illness, joys and celebrations they
have been like real brothers, sisters,
grannies etc to us and we hope we’ve
been that to them too – I can honestly
say that I love my VEC family.
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Alistair
Alistair has
been attending VEC for 21 years. He is married, with five children,
all still living at home. He works
as a video producer and lecturer, and
in his spare time he gets involved in
building, DIY, landscaping, and film
making.
Alistair loves
drama, being creative and filming. He also enjoys science fiction, going
for walks and surprising his wife.
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Jesus got hold of me during a Film & TV
Production course at college. I guess
I'd always believed there was a God,
but one group of students talked about
Jesus as if they had just been with
him.
My parents went to
church, but I was put off by elderly
Sunday School teachers. When I asked
‘Why are we here?' and ‘What happens
when we die?' Mum and Dad said ‘God’.
So I believed/hoped I'd get to God when
I died. But college Christians
blew that away. I went to meetings at
people's homes with visiting speakers.
Off-putting, powerful, challenging, in
your face.
A picture of Jesus
emerged as a divine son full of His
father's authority yet with an interest
in me. The God I had dimly perceived
walked straight into my life. He
answered prayers, showed himself to me
in others’ actions and offered me a
choice, which needed a decision at a
weekend get-together with the ‘lively’
Christian bunch.
Late one night one
of them explained the cross, the ‘blood
of the lamb’ and Jesus' love for me. It
was a relief when we went to bed and I
could talk to Jesus in the quietness.
If He really had an interest in me,
then I wanted to be with Him from that
moment, giving up trying to find my own
way. No blinding light, but a very
good night’s sleep.
Next morning it
seemed every molecule of my body had
been touched. In the train on the way
home, something spoke powerfully of the
reason and purpose for the
trees/cows/grass as the fields shot by,
and for my existence. It took me six
weeks to come down from the ‘high’ of
knowing that God/Jesus loves me! My
college room mate got very frustrated,
my parents thought it would pass, my
old friends couldn't understand it. My
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Glenda
Glenda has been
coming to VEC for about six years.
She has three adult children, all of
whom have left home and she has
recently become a grandparent!
She works locally as an office manager, enjoys spending
time with her family and friends and walking, and is interested in all things
historical.
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I went to Sunday school as a child and
later joined the Youth Group at my
local Anglican church. It was there I
became a Christian as a teenager and
was confirmed into the Church of
England. After leaving home for college
and then getting married, I drifted
away from church going and so grew
distant from God. I believe He was
always there, but I had relegated Him
to ‘the back burner’. I did go to
church but very infrequently.
When my younger
daughter was fifteen she was introduced
to VEC by a friend. She soon started
attending regularly and joined the
Youth Group. Thus it was that the first
time I came to a service at VEC, it was
to check out where my daughter was
disappearing to every Sunday morning!
It was also a time, though, when I was
hearing a very persistent inner voice
telling me that I needed to reconnect
with God. I now know that this inner
voice was the Holy Spirit, and I
believe that God was leading me to the
place where He wanted me to be.
That first service
was something of a culture shock after
the formality of most Anglican services
that I had been used to, but I wasn’t
put off, and visited again. I began to
feel that I could ‘belong’ at VEC and
was encouraged by the friendly welcome
I received. Before long I was attending
regularly.
I found the less
formal services to be a breath of fresh
air, and the teaching had me
questioning a lot of things about
myself. I soon realised I wanted God
back at the centre and in control of my
life, and asked Him to come back into
my heart. I continue to grow
spiritually (very much a work in
progress) but feel blessed that I am
able to do this within the safe and
supportive environment of the VEC
church family.
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Phil
Phil has been at
VEC for 18 years with his wife and
four children, who have grown up
through the church. Working in
the charity sector for the past 28
years, his current role is in housing
welfare.
Interests
outside work are in music and
watching a range of sport, a lot of
it as a parent!
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Moving to
Sevenoaks was a return to my roots, to
the area where I grew up and where my
spiritual journey really began.
My parents were
active Christians and attendance at
church was a given, but faith became
real and very personal as I entered
my teens when all the bible stories I
had learned in Sunday School came
alive.
I will never
forget the day when I knew in my
heart that Jesus, who had always been
real to me, was more than a friend –
that he had taken my sins on his
shoulders when he died, and that
the punishment due to me was falling
on him. It was like being let out of
jail as the previous few months had
been full of remorse and guilt.
I am thankful
for Christian leaders who taught me
principles of living from the bible,
and have been encouraged at different
points in life by people who have
role-modelled Jesus’ character and
integrity. Several have been
colleagues in the three charities
that have dominated my working life,
teaching me to look beyond outward
conformity and
activity to character and
integrity, and to a hunger to know
God better.
I am still
learning that to journey through
life, keeping heaven in view, alone
makes sense of its more stressful
moments – when there is no seat on
the train to work, when there are
tensions in the office or pressures
at home.
VEC has been like
a second family, and we are grateful to
God for making our spiritual home here.
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Natalie
Natalie has been
at VEC along with her husband for the
past eleven years. She has two
children aged six and eight and works
part time as a teacher.
Natalie enjoys
spending time with friends, going to
the theatre and good novels!
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I became a Christian in my teens after
being invited by a friend to a young
person’s event. During the presentation
I identified an inner sense of
loneliness and recognised there was a
void that could be filled by a personal
relationship with God. Christianity was
really new to me as my parents,
although fantastic, didn’t go to
church. They were hugely supportive
during my teenage years driving me
weekly to church. My faith grew and I
became actively involved in the school
Christian Union.
After school I went to university
where I studied for four years to
become a teacher. In my final year I
became president of the CU and my
reliance on God during this time was
huge as I often felt out of my depth.
However, it was in these moments that
I felt God’s presence and strength
the most. He faithfully remained
close and upheld me in times of
strain and demand.
After university I got married and
started teaching full time. Over the
next few years my husband and I led a
youth group within the church and saw
God working in the lives of some of
the young people. During this time we
felt God calling us out of our
careers and into Christian ministry.
The church leaders fully supported us
and we completed a three year
theological training course.
The church family were amazing during
this time, supporting us practically,
emotionally and spiritually. The call
on our lives was unfalteringly clear
and has been the anchor which has
held us firm during life’s natural
ebbs and flows. God has shown
abundant grace as we have stepped out
from the security of our careers and
in to church leadership. The church
family have walked with us patiently
and have continuously shown care and
support.
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Jill
Jill has been
coming to VEC for 22 years! She is
married and has a daughter aged 22
who has completed her degree and is
now doing year’s apprenticeship as a
youth worker at VEC. She has worked
for a Housing Association for 25
years in various capacities, and is
now the Director, which means the
buck stops with her! She enjoys
reading, tennis, walking, food and
wine, although work doesn’t leave
much time for many other activities!
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I was born in East London, moving to
Bromley at age 6, then to Sevenoaks in
1985. I was taken to church by my mum
and went to Sunday School, but my
family weren’t Christians, it was just
what you did. When I was older I only
thought about going to church at
Christmas. It just didn’t need to be
part of my life. When we first came to
Sevenoaks some neighbours started going
to VEC and kept trying to get us to go,
because they said it was a really
friendly church and thought it was
great. It wasn’t until my daughter had
been born that I really started to
think about God.
I had talked to my husband about
getting our daughter christened and he
asked me why – was it because I
believed in God, or just because that
was what everyone did! His question
kept going round in my head, why did I
want to have her christened? I remember
being in the garden trying to get rid
of this inner voice urging me to go to
church, to find out about God and Jesus
(there was also another voice telling
me not to be so stupid). Now I know it
was the Holy Spirit working in me.
Eventually I did go, and it was the
best thing I ever did.
My daughter was dedicated as a baby
(we don’t have child christenings at
VEC) and eventually, by her own choice
at 18, baptised! What a day! After a
few years attending VEC I was baptised.
Again I kept getting little inner
nudges that I had to do this, and I
kept putting it off.
Eventually I told a friend at VEC
that I felt I should do it, and after
that I couldn’t back out! I still love
it at VEC, it’s like my second family,
and I just keep on growing in my
Christian faith, albeit slowly, and now
it does need to be part of my life!
Unfortunately my husband did not come
with me and still doesn’t, but who
knows.
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Roger
Roger came to
VEC about 1983. He is married with
four children and twelve
grandchildren in the US, UK and
India. He and his wife have been in
missionary work in Turkey since 1961,
learning Turkish, starting a Bible
Correspondence Course and publishing
translations of Christian books. They
are now ‘commended workers’ for VEC,
which supports them in this ministry.
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My parents became Christians when I was
about 8 years old. I noticed a huge
difference in their lives as the
fighting and arguing stopped. My mother
led me to Christ in her Child
Evangelism class for young children in
our neighbourhood. I played American
football in high school and was in a
Bible Club sponsored by Youth For
Christ. I attended a Baptist
church and the youth pastor, Al
Johnson, had a great impact on me. He took us to Mexico to work with a
Baptist church, sharing the Gospel and
learning to give my testimony of what
Jesus had done for me.
In 1959, I went to Wheaton College
and met George Verwer and Dale Rhoton
of Operation Mobilisation. I had been
deeply moved by the 5 martyrs who
were killed in Ecuador attempting to
take the Good News to the Auca
Indians. George challenged us to
think about going to Turkey - as he
phrased it “A country without any
Bible and no Christians”. I simply
could not envision a country with no
Christians - in California we had a
church almost on every street corner.
My wife, whom I had met at Wheaton,
joined me in Turkey and we were
married there in 1964.
When we first arrived, we found
there were only 2 (two!) Muslim
background Turks professing Christ as
Saviour. We were involved in
starting the Bible Correspondence
Course which is still going strong. I
also began publishing Christian books
as there were so few in Turkish.
There are now about 3,000 Turkish
believers in a population of over 70
million people! My goal is to
return soon to Turkey, to continue
publishing and for my wife to
continue in her counselling work. Our
ultimate goal? To continue on this
road of ‘becoming like Christ’.
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Belinda
Belinda has been
coming to VEC for two years. She has
been married for 15 years and she and
her husband have two daughters aged
12 and 9. She has been working as a
hairdresser since she left school.
Belinda enjoys going out for a meal
with friends, watching a good soppy
film ... and her favourite hobby is
shopping!
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I’ve always lived in Kent and was
brought up more by my mum’s mum
than my own parents, who worked long
hours in London. I always went to
church but towards my teenage years it
fizzled out. School was more
about having a laugh than a place of
learning. I became an apprentice
at a local hairdresser’s and
later set up my own business. My
parents moved to Wales when I was 21,
but I didn’t want to go. From
then on I had to fend for myself, and
became very independent. I got
together with my husband after going
out with his best friend. In 1992
we were married and a few years later
started a family. It was then that I
wanted to renew my faith.
At other churches, I felt the
teaching hard to understand. A
friend suggested I try VEC. My
first impression was that it was
really loving and friendly. Even more surprising, as time passed
I found the Bible being taught in a
way that was easy to understand yet
seemed at times to be directed at me
personally. And to this day
this still happens to me.
In discovering Jesus I’ve learned
to value those close to me,
particularly my parents towards whom
for a while I had been quite hostile. I’ve also learned to appreciate my
husband and realise that he has
always has my best interests at
heart. My children have been
attending the church as long as I
have and still look forward to going.
In church, I’ve never in my life
felt like I do now, full of love and
enthusiasm. I feel I can deal
with anything. God has come into
my life with a wow factor, maybe
because I let Him in. I still
struggle with issues about God/Jesus
and my home life in general, but I hope
on my journey it will all become
clearer.
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Ramon
Ramon has been
coming to VEC for about a year with
his wife and two boys aged 6 years
and 18 months. Originally from
Scotland, he moved to London in 2000
to work for an investment bank and
moved to Sevenoaks in 2006. Ramon
still works in investment banking and
is a keen golfer and diehard Aberdeen
FC fan.
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Our family never went to church when I
was young, it didn’t seem a very
friendly place and I thought my mum was
more loving than most churchgoers. My
parents divorced when I was 7 and my
dad was working offshore.
A few years later there was a
spate of helicopter accidents and one
night I found myself instinctively
praying to God to ask Him to protect
my dad, even though I wasn’t sure I
believed in God. I started going to
my local church but after a few years
stopped as I thought they were all a
bunch of hypocrites following rituals
every Sunday which had no impact on
their lives during the week. I spent
the rest of my teens focusing on
football, drink and girls. During
this time I met a girl (now my wife)
who seemed different from all the
rest, but she was almost too nice for
me, so we split up.
Several years later we started
seeing each other again and in due
course I met her parents. Her dad had
an immediate impact on me as I was
struck by his peace and how solid and
dependable he seemed. After a couple
of years of politely smiling whenever
he spoke to me about Jesus, some of
it started to click. I heard
things I had never heard at church
before, like Jesus dying for my sins
and His desire to have a personal
relationship with me. Christianity
was suddenly no longer about rules
and rituals but a real living
relationship with Jesus that is
relevant to all the issues and
concerns in my life, with the power
to help me face them.
We didn’t know anybody in Sevenoaks
when we first moved here. We went
to a few churches before settling at VEC, which we have found to be very
warm and friendly - we feel blessed to
be part of such a loving church family.
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Chris
Chris has been
at VEC since 1999. He is married with
two grown-up children and four
grandchildren. He took early
retirement several years ago after 33
years in international banking,
including 16 years in Japan, Brazil,
USA and Panama. He enjoys playing
golf, playing guitar and singing,
reading, learning, food and wine.
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I went to boarding school from the age
of seven, and because my parents were
abroad I hardly ever saw them. My
only way of getting their approval was
to do well at school, and I did. I got all kinds of prizes, ending with
a scholarship to Oxford, a good degree
and a good job.
By my mid twenties I had all I
needed in life. I had left
behind what I had learned about God
and the Bible as a child, but I knew
I was a decent bloke. I didn’t
have much in the way of real friends
or family, but I didn’t care, because
as far as I was concerned, it was all
about me.
After I got married my wife told
me, “We’re going to go to church”. I said, “Oh, OK”. I didn’t mind
– it couldn’t do any harm, and as we
were living abroad it would be a good
way to meet people.
Then, rather unexpectedly, God came
into my life and made me realise it was
actually all about Him. First He
began to show me (through the books of
CS Lewis) that the Bible was actually
true – I had thought it was inspiring
stories and rules for being kind to
people. Then He began to show me
(through some real Christian people)
that Christianity is ‘for life, not
just for Christmas’ – I’d thought it
was a hobby for nice people.
I found out I wasn’t such a decent
bloke as I had thought – but that God
stills loves me, even though it cost
Him His Son to bring me back to
Himself. I asked Jesus to come
into my life to forgive me and show me
the way. I began to study and
take the Bible seriously. And at VEC I have found real friends and
family. It’s been a long journey,
which is still continuing, but I’ve
come quite a way, and now my priorities
are to follow Jesus, and to help people
who want to know God better, know God
better.
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Kathryn
Kathryn has
lived in Sevenoaks and been a member
of VEC for 18 years. She finished
school this year, and is going to
university to study psychology later
this month. She enjoys attending the
VEC youth group, and is a young
leader for them. She loves horses and
rides regularly at a local stables.
She likes to try to keep fit, but
likes food more!!
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My mum brought me to VEC as a baby and
we have been here ever since. I didn’t
really enjoy Sunday Club – I don’t
remember much about it. When I was
about 12, for a long time I didn’t go
to church at all – it was boring and I
had better things to do. But after a
while I began to miss it – I was
missing out on what was happening, so I
went back.
At that time I was old enough to
join the youth group. It was a
chance to make really good, lasting
friendships with other Christian
young people in the church. We had
such a laugh – we played obscure
games, had fun socials and grew
spiritually and emotionally. In
August 2003 we went to an event
called Soul Survivor. There were
11,000 other young Christians there,
and teaching, ministry and worship
during the week.
I used to
think I didn’t need God – I have a
house to live in, friends and family,
money in my pocket, and success at
school. Why would I need God in all
that?? I was doing just fine. But to
be honest I wasn’t happy. I was
living my life but not to its full
potential. I was hurting in so many
ways and just carried on ignoring it.
But I heard about a God who loves
each and every one of us so much. He
never leaves us, never hurts us,
never ignores us, and never lets us
down. What did I have to lose? I
decided to give God a chance.
Last year I went to Latvia to work
at a children’s camp (most of them
weren’t Christian) and I really saw God
work – many of our prayers were
answered. I got baptised on Easter Day
this year – it was a step forward in my
walk with Jesus the Liberator. Becoming
a Christian isn’t a ‘magic fix’ to
everything – far from it, but I know I
always have the creator of the universe
by my side.
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David
David has been
at VEC for 10 years with his better
half who has put up with him for 21
years. They have two lively lads,15
and 12. He surprised himself recently
with a Diploma from Oasis College. He enjoys tennis, woodwork and DIY,
and rides a Triumph Bonneville. Most
exciting experience: caving in the
Black Mountains. Claim to fame: Mick Jagger was a customer in his family
butcher’s business.
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I have known about God since childhood,
being brought up in a family which
upheld a Christian lifestyle along with
its values. But I didn’t come into a
relationship with that God until the
age of fifteen, while away on a youth
camp in Suffolk. I hated all the (what
seemed to me) kill-joy rules of being a
Christian, and rebelled against it by
following the fashion of the time, punk
rock.
I became the rebel without a
cause; kicking against the God who
seemed to cramp my style. Also
as a hormonal teenager I was
desperately looking for love and
trying to get a girlfriend. On
holiday that summer I found both a
God who loved me, and a God who was
also a rebel, but a rebel with a
cause. All that I had known in my
head suddenly dropped 15 inches and
became a heart experience.
It was not long after that that I
found (or God provided me with) a
girl friend, who seven years on
became my wife. I look back over the
years since that God encounter and I
see times when my faith has been
strong and times when it all seemed
too much hassle. But all along
the way I see God placing people and
situations in my path, to walk with
me in my faith journey.
Over the past ten years VEC has
played a major role in that journeying
process. Church can sometimes be
a real frustration, but it is a great
blessing as well. I still seek to be
loved and as most here will tell you, I
still have a little of the rebel punk
in me. but God is in the business of
changing us into his likeness. He
still has plenty to do on me but my
faith shapes who I am today.
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Penny
Penny has been
coming to VEC for about nine months
with her husband and two boys aged 5
and 1. Originally from Scotland, she
moved to London four years ago and to
Sevenoaks last year. She has a degree
in Occupational Therapy and worked as
a mental health OT. She has also
worked as a caseworker for an MP and
dabbled in making handmade wedding
stationery.
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I was brought up in a Christian home
but began drinking and smoking in
my teens so as to feel part of the
gang. At times I felt bad about
leaving Jesus out of my life but it
didn’t alter my behaviour. At Uni
I was still out drinking all the time –
only now it was legal and acceptable,
especially as a student! While
there, I got back with one of my old
boyfriends. We got engaged but as
we planned the wedding he said he
couldn’t go through with it and we
split up again. I moved to London
as soon as I graduated and moved in
with a new boyfriend. Before long
I found I was pregnant. He was
not happy with the news, so I
moved back up to my parents’ house to
have my baby.
Meanwhile my previous fiancé had
also moved to London and he had been
there for me when everything fell
apart. I had a gorgeous baby boy,
and from that time I came back to
Jesus. I felt I had let everyone
down, God, my whole family, myself, but
Jesus was waiting for me with open arms
as he always is, and he has been at my
side ever since! My fiancé and I
got back together and were married in
December 2003. We moved from
London to Sevenoaks last summer, as we
had another baby and wanted a
nicer place for the children.
It never ceases to amaze me how
faithful God is! Even when we feel a
million miles away from him, he is
working for our good. I can see his
hand in my life from start to finish
and how he has brought good out of some
of my really bad choices. I
realise I don’t know better and I need
him to sustain me. VEC has been a great
church to come to. We were bowled over
by the welcome on our first visit. If church and God weren’t relevant to
my everyday life, I wouldn’t bother,
but it is very clear to me now how much
I need Jesus daily.
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Christopher
Christopher has
been a member of VEC for 17 years,
and is recently divorced. He
studied double bass at The Royal
Academy of Music, and then worked as
a full time professional musician
before joining the London Fire
Brigade. He plays double bass,
teaches it, and works as a handyman.
He likes cooking, wine, writing and
swimming, but not football.
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Twenty-five years ago I was thirsting
for more out of life. I tried
many things, enjoying, fulfilling
experiences, but I found that it didn’t
last. I had to keep having new
experiences, anything will do. I
started wondering about God, was he
real; I had questions, but no answers.
Then deep inside of me God answered my
question. “Yes I am real, here I am.”
I actually turned around in the
street. I thought I saw him; I
turned around again. There I saw
Jesus hanging on a cross, “this is my
son, it really happened, all those
years ago”.
Afterwards I left the old life
behind. I was still in the fire
brigade but played with Christian
orchestras, here and in Austria. I
married and had two children. We worked well together, but
unresolved problems slowly drove us
apart. Finally, after twenty
years we separated. It was the most
painful experience. Sudden
unexpected deaths in my family and
close friends assailed me further.
Life was difficult. Where was God in
this?
Over recent years God seemed to
have drawn much closer, I had a
desire to get to know him more, I
wanted to be real too. I think God
guided me through these difficulties;
he has done so much for me.
Everyone at VEC has been wonderfully
caring and supportive, I could not
have come through this without it.
God is so awesome; he is the
unchanging God who is also the God of
change. He always loves us despite
knowing everything about us. He helps
us to change, not by our own efforts,
but by sticking with him no matter
what. I hated my divorce but
God has changed me through it, though
only because of what Jesus did on the
cross, nothing else will do.
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Jane
Jane is married
with four children and has been
attending VEC since 1998. She has two
part time jobs, 1) working for Adult
Education, visiting primary schools
to do workshops for parents on how
Literacy and Numeracy are now taught,
and 2) working for
Action Aid, going into schools to
do workshops on third world issues.
She also spends two months of every
year in Tanzania teaching primary
school teachers and supporting them
in their schools. Preparation for
these trips takes up most of her
spare time!
She loves
walking, reading, music and children!
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We came to VEC after 4 years in Hong
Kong. This was a lonely and isolated
time in my life. I did go to a church,
but didn’t feel I belonged, as I spent
every Sunday in the crèche! After this,
VEC was a revelation! I’d never been in
a more loving, caring church. My
children had never enjoyed Sunday
School, but they loved it from day one
at VEC.
Three of them have now been
through Sunday Club and Youth Group
and come out the other side. The
Sunday Club gives a solid foundation
of biblical teaching and the Youth
Group is fabulous. I wish I’d had
such a Youth Group when I was a
teenager. It is just the right mix of
teaching and social activities with
dedicated, caring leaders.
As for me, I would find life very
hard without my church family. I meet some very tough situations in
Tanzania. I send out a prayer list
before I go and update it during my
time away. For example, during a
teaching seminar, I give two two-hour
demonstration lessons to show that
the methods I am teaching them are
actually possible with a large class.
This is the most important part of
a week-long seminar because without
seeing that the methods work, the
teachers will not use them. In July
the 2011 trip, I only had an hour
with the class of 62 before deciding
what I was going to teach. This was
not long enough to assess their
capabilities so I was quite worried
about the demonstrations. With
prayer, they went better than I could
have imagined. Thank you VEC!
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James
James is
married, and he and his wife have two
boys aged 4 and 2. They live in
Sevenoaks and have been coming to VEC
since 2005. James teaches mathematics
and computing at a local girls
school.
He likes mountain walking,
cycling, mountain biking, running,
orienteering, and swimming, but
claims to be useless at football.
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I was bought up in Sussex. My parents
were Christians, and so from an early
age I knew all about the Bible. I knew
in my head that Jesus had died on the
cross to take the penalty for all the
wrong in my life. However for many
years this really meant nothing to me
in my heart. I did not accept Jesus as
my personal Lord of my life until I was
15 years old. During my time at
university in Cardiff, along with
studying (sometimes!) and spending as
much time as possible mountain biking
with the university club, I was also
involved with the Christian Union as
their overseas secretary.
I also helped on several
summer camps. After university I went
on to complete a PGCE at Leeds and
then taught in Botswana for three
years. While this was a
fantastic and enriching experience,
it actually wasn't great for my life
as a Christian. In fact, I came
back seriously questioning whether
there was a God at all. However, I
couldn't accept that God didn't
exist, as I saw so much evidence of
Him from the wonderful world around
us. For me the obvious fact
that, as the Bible says, mankind is
fundamentally different from all
other animals proved His existence to
me.
After a difficult few months,
during which time I believe God was
teaching me to rely on him, I moved
to this area in September 1998 and
started to teach at a Kent boys
grammar school. My wife and I
were married in 1999 and we later
moved into the town of Sevenoaks.
Initially we had been going to a
different church outside Sevenoaks,
and for several years we jointly ran
a youth group for 7 to 11 year olds
on Tuesday nights. We moved to VEC in September 2005 and have
enjoyed being part of this small
friendly church since then.
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Zoë
Zoë has been at
VEC for three and a half years. She has
an eleven year old daughter and works
as a nurse, PA and research writer, but
not all at the same time! She likes:
films, languages, travelling, reading,
most kinds of music and photography.
She dislikes: routine, waiting,
following the crowd, drivers who don’t
indicate, jazz and pineapples.
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As a vicar’s daughter, I thought I had
religion sussed. We often moved house
with my Dad’s job, and it was tough
adapting to new situations and people.
It strengthened my independent streak
and I learnt that the only person I
could rely on was myself. I heard God
loved me, but assumed it was because He
had to and that I was indistinguishable
from a mass of other people.
Christianity seemed to be a long list
of ‘do not’s and restrictions.
When I moved
away from home, I decided to live my
way, ‘free’ to do what I wanted:
drinking, behaving how I wanted and
meeting new people.
Becoming
pregnant at 19, half-way through my
nurse training, and my friends pretty
much dropping me had never figured in
my plans. It was the toughest time
in my life, but I was deeply moved by
how my parents accepted me.
The prospect of
being a parent gave me time to
consider the bigger questions of why
we are here and why my life had taken
the turn it had. I began to face the
horrifying thought that my parents
might actually be right! I started
to go to church in the hope of
finding some answers.
It has been a
slow process to relinquish the
control over my life that I fought so
hard to regain after becoming a
single parent, but the last few years
have been the most liberating and
happiest of my life. I know God
loves me, even the nasty bits, and
that He loved me before I really knew
Him. I know I am a child of God,
that He has a purpose for my life,
and that I don’t have to match up to
what society or other people expect
of me - and this gives me both the
security and equally, the freedom I
always craved. |
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