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It is when we do the will of God that we feel the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives. It is when the Christian is at the rock face being God's hands on earth, to "free the broken" that we sense his armies at our shoulder.

There are no better examples of Christian love in action in Torbay than the Factory Row Centre run by the Torbay Churches Homeless Trust and the nearby Project 58 drop-in centre. It has been my long-running involvement in the former which helped me understand my ministry.

My journey of faith has been a long one and I expect the road to wind on to unexpected places.

My parents weren't especially Christian but I went to Sunday school and learned about a man called Jesus of Nazareth whom I could trust, who was always there for me and more consistent than any friend.

So I took him my prayers, my fears and hopes and we talked.

When I was 12 or 13 I had stopped going to church, but I continued to believe and trust in this man. One day I picked up and read the Gospel according to St John and discovered, in the Farewell Discourses, something new - not only was this man a friend but he had done something remarkable for me - he had conquered death itself.

The words still resonate: "I am going there on purpose to prepare a place for you so that where I am you may be also." (John 14 v3)

It was about this time I discovered that few of my friends shared this understanding. For me it all made sense and gave life meaning. To them it was irrelevant clap-trap of a superstitious age.

I tried to explain over a thousand pub tables and many a camp fire this revelation of God but all I ever said fell on deaf ears.

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