I heard his voice before I saw him.
I’d arrived early at one of Kennington Lane’s many cafes, and sat out back, in a courtyard of gradually-filling seats. It was a grey but warm morning, and the smell of toasting sourdough and sizzling bacon wafted through the door. So too did the sound of Harrison, an ex-political activist, chatting with the barista.
Harrison is a familiar face here. He and Jeremy regularly met in the cafe for three years, studying the Bible and chatting over a latte (or fresh orange juice, today’s choice). Having joined Grace London as a new believer, Harrison was taken under Jeremy’s wing and eventually joined the staff team as an intern and Evangelism Trainee. Cue the coffee-fueled discipleship. But his story starts further back.
“I come from a single-parent family,” Harrison began. “In some ways, it was a good childhood, but it was also confusing - we moved around a lot, and settled in London when I was 11. That was a big shock, coming from Stoke-on-Trent. A big culture shock.
“It led me to think about my identity, being in a multi-cultural city but coming from a fairly homogeneous town. I became involved in the far-right and joined activist groups from the age of 17. That catapulted me into a pan-European group, and I would travel to different countries doing political stunts. It was a crazy time of life. Looking back, I guess it was fuelled by resentment, anger, not feeling very grounded.”
“So, what changed?” I asked.
“One of the people who raised me was my gran. About a year before she passed away, she became a born-again believer and started inviting us to church and giving us Bibles. Everyone was like, ‘What's going on?’. The Bible she gave me was under my bed for years, but I never touched it. I thought it was a load of rubbish.
“But one Sunday morning, I felt this urge to read it - I don't know why. As I opened it, I was struck by the reality of it. I was like, ‘Whoa, this is actually quite deep,’ especially in Romans, where it gives a diagnosis of the human heart.
“I believed there and then”, Harrison continued, his voice passionate and a smile washing over his face, “and I had this experience where I was filled with the love of God. I was in awe. I remember going to work the next day, and the whole world looked proper different. Colours were more vivid. I know it sounds crazy, but life was now hope-filled.”
I was curious to connect the dots and find out how he ended up at Grace London. “How did church come into the picture?” I asked.
“I was looking for a young people's church”, Harrison replied, “because I lived just outside London, where a lot of the churches were more elderly. I found Grace, sent a Facebook message, and not long after, spent two hours on the phone with Jeremy.
“It was all super exciting,” Harrison said, chuckling. “I can still remember it now, chatting to Jeremy on the phone for hours. He told me I should join the Salt Course, so I said, ‘Tell me about it.’
“Each week on the course, I’d meet all these different people—a muslim guy, an atheist, etc.—and we’d spend the evening chatting with Jeremy and the other leaders. After a while, I decided I wanted to attend church too, so I went to Grace, and I liked it... I loved it. I haven't stopped going since, except this Sunday, my last.”
By this point in the conversation, our drinks were finished, but I was keen to hear what the future held for this activist-turned-zealot. Since joining Grace, Harrison has been part of the staff team for three years. But after many Bible studies in this cafe, he is moving on to a new role and a new church.
“Tell me about your new job”, I probed.
“Praise the Lord, it’s still a training role”, Harrison laughed. “It’s a pastor-in-training role, and it actually started yesterday. Hope Church, where I’m now working, is based on the Vauxhall Gardens estate, and the vast majority of members live within a five-minute walk. I'll be running some of the evangelism ministries, helping to pastor people, and continuing my studies. It's gonna be full, but I'm ready for it.”
Our time was almost up, but there was one more question I wanted to ask: “How would your younger self react if they met you now - and what advice would you give?”
“I used to have no aspirations for my life. I never saw myself studying, never saw myself in a job I loved. I never saw myself getting married. So, I think my younger self would be like,
’That's pretty cool. I didn't think that would happen.’
“And advice?” Harrison asked himself. “Give your life to the Lord. That’s everything, isn't it?
And read your Bible, mate”, he quipped, laughing. “Open it up and save yourself a lot of heartache.”