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Ben's story

A Sunday School dropout

JCBen had been going to church from an early age, but was not exactly interested in being there. "I got kicked out of the 'Sunday School' a few times - mainly for making paper aeroplanes out of all the worksheets they gave us!" he recalls fondly. "I never enjoyed it and all the people there were really boring, so my experience of church was pretty rubbish".

"My family moved to King's Church and I joined The Blaze. And I loved it. Although sitting through meetings was a bit hard, playing pool and other games was great. Even though there wasn't much God stuff going on, I had a great time".

Beginning to change perspective

Ben found himself gradually beginning to respond to the message about Jesus. Then, one event changed things for good. "At the end of Year 9, I got into a lot of trouble at school, and couldn't find anyone who understood what I was going through. I started to hang out with the Extreme Team guys and, the more I spent time with these Christians, the more I changed.".

Ben's change of heart had a dramatic impact at school. "I stopped dropping out of school, and everything seemed different. I started to realise that there was a point to living. It was a massive turnaround".

Someone there for me

Today, Ben seems a world away from the troubled life he led before Year 9. "I realise that there's always an answer for the things that happen in my life. You might not see it at the time, but you eventually realise why it happened. This is sometimes difficult to handle. But the best thing is that I've got someone to talk to; that Jesus is there to talk to and you don't just have to think it through yourself. Prayer is great - God is ready to help out when we need him".