Ian Williamson was 28 years old and life made no sense to him. He was a nightclub bouncer with a £200-a-week cocaine habit; into sex, violence, alcohol and self-harm. Now, ten years later, he runs an inspiring Christian ministry to men and young people from troubled backgrounds in South Bank, a suburb of Middlesbrough in the north east of England. Matthew Evans asked Ian about his work, and how he got to where he is today, from where he was back then.
Ian, tell us about your conversion
My life was such a mess; I was suicidal. I wanted to love and be loved, but didn’t know how. My mum was a Christian and had prayed for me for years. I desperately wanted to change, but if there was no God then it was the law of the jungle; survival of the fittest.
That was how I lived my life. Things finally came to a head one day when I pulled out a knife in front of my mum and threatened to stab myself. As I broke down in tears, she told me that Jesus could help me.
I was so angry to hear her say this, but she urged me to cry out to him. And I did; I said I would follow him if he really was there. The following morning I woke up with all the same problems, but a new sense of hope.
— This article continues for ET members
