The Evangelical Alliance (EA) will later this month launch a new website aimed at sharing conversion stories from across the UK.
The Great Commission evangelism site will feature new stories each week on how people have come to the Christian faith.
In the first video on the site, greatcommission.co.uk, Joe shares his story of a life of drug addiction which changed when he prayed to God for help. He says: "Aged about 19 I got involved in substance misuse, and that was my life for about 20 years. In the end I felt like I was a failure, addicted to failure, I was just desperate. I just wanted out of my situation."
He continues: "I just cried out to God, begging him for help; 'If there is a God I need you now'. Within several weeks of calling out to God and God answering my prayers, placing people in my life who were there to support and encourage me, I found I'd detoxed myself within a few weeks, gained the strength quite quickly that I'd never had before."
Joe describes the changes in his life and how he is now evangelising himself. "I thought I was unemployable and I now work within the detox centre that I went through myself," he says. "I'm there sharing my experience, and I share my faith and show that it was a big impact on how I became abstinent from drugs. I'm in the process of becoming a member of an Eden team [of urban missionaries] and I'm running a men's group from my flat and people are coming and getting saved."
In another Great Commission weekly story, Shelia talks about how she reaches out to people on the streets of Peterborough. "People do say to me, 'it's okay for you because you find it easy', but I think we can all find it easy if we take that initial step," she says. "I'm not special in any way, just a mum and a grandma and I just have the conviction of my faith."
Gavin Calver, director of mission at the EA, said: "We know Jesus is changing lives across the UK today, but still four out of 10 people in England are not even convinced that Jesus was a real person. What's more, of non-Christians in England who say that they do know a Christian, four out of 10 say that they have never had a conversation about Jesus with that person.
"There's a huge opportunity for Christians in the UK to talk about Jesus, and we want the stories, reflections and resources on the Great Commission site to inspire and equip Christians and churches to be confidently talking about Jesus."
The Great Commission team is sharing stories on Twitter at @great_comm, and you can sign up at greatcommission.co.uk to receive the latest updates. The site will go live on 26 October.
