Richard Mann - Surprised by God 

 
This is what Richard Mann said when he was baptised in Rothwell Sports Centre.  Richard was a thoughtful atheist for many years before coming to faith.

In December 2006 I walked into a carol service at Rothwell Baptist Church and found Jesus inside.  Not inside the building but in  those who worshipped there.

At first I didn’t know it was Jesus, just that there was something special was present in those who were in the church, and worshipped there.

There, over time, I came to know Him and the power of the salvation He gives to those who ask.  All of my life I have been seeking a truth about life in my own way.  Little did I know the truth was there for anyone who has the courage to ask, and that I was not capable of finding what I was looking for on my own.

Now I know the truth and find more joy each day as He reveals more of His grace to me.  I know that I have been brought by God to Rothwell Baptist Church for a purpose and stand willing to rise to that purpose when God reveals it to me.

Jesus made himself known to me through a prayer in the Bible, John chapter 17.  In this wonderful prayer, Jesus prays first for his disciples and then for those who would come to believe.

Verses 20 and 21 says:

“My prayer is not for them alone.  I pray also for those who believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you.  May they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.”

I have now seen, through the church at Rothwell, how Jesus can live in us.

Richard Mann