Fire in our hearts - The Jesus Army

FIRE IN OUR HEARTSCOMMUNICATE!hanging over him, when he met two members of the Jesus Army.‘The world was doing my head in. I was a tear-away, a thug.Prison didn’t change me, it only made me worse. I changedwhen I decided to follow Jesus,’ he said. ‘I gave up crime anddrinking. It’s beautiful what Jesus can do. My mum can’t believethe change in me.’ 113When this issue reached his home town in Northern Ireland,all copies quickly sold out as people read the amazingnews that ‘bad’ Frankie had been converted. Thousands heardFrankie tell of his conversion on Irish radio.Ronnie, a young Anglo-Indian, soon joined Frankie in hispilgrimage from the streets of London to the home-fires ofthe Farm. As Ronnie ‘Zealous’ told me: ‘We got a lot of racialabuse in the East End. My dad got stabbed on his own doorstep.We had to board the windows up at night. For two yearsI was living on the streets doing crime and dope. I knew aboutGod and my conscience plagued me. Then three of us wereinvited up to the Farm for a weekend. As soon as I steppedinto the house I knew I belonged. I could be myself. The nextday there was a wedding in chapel. We skinned up and wentfor a smoke outside. Rufus was brilliant. He came out andprayed with us. I found the Lord in a big way.’Roger Ellis, leader of Revelation, a new youth church inChichester, made this observation to the Daily Mirror:‘Young people among us find a Christianity that is relevant totheir everyday needs. Sometimes youngsters with nose ringsand spiky hair aren’t welcome in traditional churches. They don’tfeel comfortable. We welcome anyone. We don’t say, “Get your331