Gary Wolstencroft - MY STORY
My life before I
found Jesus was plain and dull and I had no ambition, no set goal in
life, no drive to move forward. I just lived to exist.
My home life was good;
great parents, well-loved; two brothers - one older one younger. I went to
school but was bullied a bit, but I was not a fighter so I just accepted it. To cope with the bullying at school I just put walls around me so no
one could get through. I did not learn much in school as I found it difficult. Years
later I learned that I was dyslectic. When I left school I started work in a
hotel kitchen washing up; not very exciting. When I wasn’t working I drank, a
lot, and the consumption increased steadily.
The first time I
was introduced to the Salvation Army it was by a friend. The Army had set up a
drop in centre for the unemployed where you could play pool darts and other
games the people that went there was very hard and tough not like me but they
became my friends.
The people that ran the centre tried to tell me about Jesus but I would not listen I believed in God and that in my mind was good enough for me.
The people that ran the centre tried to tell me about Jesus but I would not listen I believed in God and that in my mind was good enough for me.
A few years later
I was, working in a hotel kitchen and in-between shifts drinking this was my
life. I was on the way to becoming an alcoholic. The people at work would say
to me "I was nothing and will never become anything", so I believed them. Then I
began to think about the drop in centre and the people of the Salvation Army.
The next Sunday evening that I was off, I decided to go to the Salvation Army. I
arrived sat down in the big hall must have been around 300 people that night.
The meeting began and although I did not enjoy it I stayed. At the end the officer spoke
and said that, 'Jesus can and will forgive you' and gave the invitation to come
forward to receive Jesus; I felt a strange feeling and I wanted to get
up and go forward but there was a battle going on in my head that I could not control. Instead, I got up, left the building, got into my car and drove to the
pub. I must have had around 8 to 10 pints that night and then got in my car drove
home.
The next morning I was back at work, back to normal, yet it was not normal. Jesus was in my head and would not leave.
I decided to go to another meeting the next time I was off work for the day. It was about two weeks later, on a Sunday, so I went but even though I found it boring I remained. Again the officer asked if anyone would like a new start with Jesus. I knew I wanted a new start. A feeling came inside of me I and the next thing I knew I was at the Mercy Seat crying. Then a friend from the drop in centre from a few years ago came and prayed with me, I asked Jesus to forgive me and to come into my life. I stood up, walked back to my seat, and felt a peace.
The next morning I was back at work, back to normal, yet it was not normal. Jesus was in my head and would not leave.
I decided to go to another meeting the next time I was off work for the day. It was about two weeks later, on a Sunday, so I went but even though I found it boring I remained. Again the officer asked if anyone would like a new start with Jesus. I knew I wanted a new start. A feeling came inside of me I and the next thing I knew I was at the Mercy Seat crying. Then a friend from the drop in centre from a few years ago came and prayed with me, I asked Jesus to forgive me and to come into my life. I stood up, walked back to my seat, and felt a peace.
The next day I
woke up happy. I went to work to speak with the head chef - we did not
get on, in fact we hated each other. I walked up to him; the rest of
the staff knew that this did not look good. Then I held out my hand, shook his, and told everyone I had become a Christian. Then I began to sing Onward,
Christian Soldiers. I gave up drinking and left the hotel trade. I became a
soldier and began to sell the War Cry in the same pubs I used to drink in.
I loved witnessing to people and loved the open-air services. In fact, I was attending five meeting altogether on a Sunday. Then - I was filled with the Holy Spirit, and was on fire for God and a had a burning passion for evangelism. I felt God's call on my life to become a SA officer so I became a member of the vocational fellowship. Yet my passion for more kept growing and the gifs of the spirit was growing in me. Yet I needed to learn more about them.
Eventually I felt God calling me away from the Salvation Army, so I moved on to a Pentecostal church. About six months after moving to my new church I went to the Pastor and shared with him about the dreams I kept having. I dreamt that I was in a Salvation Army uniform preaching. He said; "forget the dreams" as I was only getting them because that’s where I was saved, and so I did.
I loved witnessing to people and loved the open-air services. In fact, I was attending five meeting altogether on a Sunday. Then - I was filled with the Holy Spirit, and was on fire for God and a had a burning passion for evangelism. I felt God's call on my life to become a SA officer so I became a member of the vocational fellowship. Yet my passion for more kept growing and the gifs of the spirit was growing in me. Yet I needed to learn more about them.
Eventually I felt God calling me away from the Salvation Army, so I moved on to a Pentecostal church. About six months after moving to my new church I went to the Pastor and shared with him about the dreams I kept having. I dreamt that I was in a Salvation Army uniform preaching. He said; "forget the dreams" as I was only getting them because that’s where I was saved, and so I did.
As well as moving
on from the Salvation Army, my work situation changed. I was asked to go onto
a community program to do market gardening. To this I said yes as I loved
gardening, little did I know what I was getting myself in to.
I arrived on my first day and there was about twenty young men there - all looked rough and ready, later I found out that most of them had been in prison. Almost everyone did drugs of some sort. God had put me on the chain gang, I began to work and I knew I was not there to learn gardening but to do God's work as an evangelist, and I was on a new and deeper lesson in evangelisms.
It was not long before they gave me my own seat with a notice above my head saying Bible Basher Sits here. Sometimes they would put drugs in the water, so I could not drink the water. There was one time someone offered me what looked like a Fisherman's Friend, yet I felt God say, 'do not take it', so I did not. I found out later that it was a form of speed (drugs).
Another time I was locked in a shed and they threw a fire work in and abandoned me. I was not harmed, praise God.
I was able to witness some of them make a commitment and become Christians. Some I prayed for, and God healed them, and the seed was truly planted. After one year of hard labour for the Lord, my time was up so I left.
I arrived on my first day and there was about twenty young men there - all looked rough and ready, later I found out that most of them had been in prison. Almost everyone did drugs of some sort. God had put me on the chain gang, I began to work and I knew I was not there to learn gardening but to do God's work as an evangelist, and I was on a new and deeper lesson in evangelisms.
It was not long before they gave me my own seat with a notice above my head saying Bible Basher Sits here. Sometimes they would put drugs in the water, so I could not drink the water. There was one time someone offered me what looked like a Fisherman's Friend, yet I felt God say, 'do not take it', so I did not. I found out later that it was a form of speed (drugs).
Another time I was locked in a shed and they threw a fire work in and abandoned me. I was not harmed, praise God.
I was able to witness some of them make a commitment and become Christians. Some I prayed for, and God healed them, and the seed was truly planted. After one year of hard labour for the Lord, my time was up so I left.
I was still in the
Pentecostal church when I became involved in Teen Challenge. It was here that
my evangelism training was developing and I learnt to work as part of a team. By
this time, I was working in the caring profession that God had clearly called me
into. I had so many great witnesses working along side the team of Teen Challenge. In addition, I was still witnessing at work too. The Pentecostal
church that I was going to asked me to come on a Bible week so I jumped at the
chance. During the Bible week there were many things going on, and in one of the meetings,
a man stood up and began to tell us all about a new school of evangelism he was
setting up with an organisation called Impact Missions. Well my heart leaped
for joy given that all I wanted to do was witness about Gods love. I came back
from the Bible week excited and knew I needed to pray about the School Of
Evangelism. I prayed and went to an interview in Scarborough where the School was
going to open. I spent the weekend there, came home, and left three pleads before the Lord: the first was for my mum and dad to come to a meeting, the
second was for the Lord to speak to me through His Word, and the third was for the
Lord to meet my financial needs. As soon as I had finished praying the phone rang,
it was my mum. She said that she and my
dad both wanted to come to church with me that night; they had never been to
church with me before. Then I opened the Bible randomly - it opened to Timothy 4: v1 to 5 'do the work of an Evangelist'. I knew that God was calling me to the
School of Evangelism. It was
another six months before I was ready to go and I could not wait.
I eventually
arrived at the school and there was about twenty others there - I was excited and
nervous. I was to share a house with two other men, one from Swindon and the
other from Nigeria. One day we decided to pray together - as we were praying I
heard a groaning sound so I opened my eyes and I saw the man from Nigeria
laying on the floor sweating and
groaning. I thought, wow this is new to me so I prayed for God to teach me to
pray like this. Therefore, he began to teach me how to pray and use spiritual
warfare. I was even given a nickname (carpet burn) as I was always prostate
before the Lord.
I used to get up in the morning to go on a prayer walk. I would start around 6 AM and end up on a hill overlooking the town; my prayer mounting, I learnt how to fast and pray and I lost a lot of weight but I did not care, I was on fire for God.
I used to get up in the morning to go on a prayer walk. I would start around 6 AM and end up on a hill overlooking the town; my prayer mounting, I learnt how to fast and pray and I lost a lot of weight but I did not care, I was on fire for God.
I learnt many
different ways to evangelise and I was able to grow in God. Eventually my time
at the school ended the school and I went home to Blackpool. I was still full
of enthusiasm and was keen to move forward. I had many ideas for outreach in
Blackpool yet every time I came forward to offer myelf in service, I was told
no.
I was still having
dreams of me in Salvation Army uniform preaching, yet I kept them hidden in the
back of my mind. I even went to the odd Salvation Army meeting but God kept
saying no to my thoughts of going back. I began to get very busy in work in the
caring profession. I began to drift away from the church, yet God would not
leave me - I would go to a church for a time then drift away. This continued
for quite a few years. I continued to have the same dreams about the army yet
that is where they remained, in my head.
My health had
deteriorated with depression due to my workload; working with adults with challenging
behaviour for seventeen years. I had not been to church for a long time and
eventually my mind and body just gave up I began to try and end my life by
taking several overdoses, ending up in hospital where I was treated. I
eventually returned to a church for help and God helped me. I stayed with the
church for about three years, yet did not agree with the doctoring.
Then the dreams
came back and so I decided to go to an army meeting. I enjoyed the service and
went for the next few weeks. Then I decided to share with the officers about my
dreams and how I felt led to become an envoy. So now, I am back in the
Salvation Army in uniform and holding on to Gods calling.