Life and Death the Pentecostal Way

You don't need faith...

..when you're healthy and strong.

You don't need faith when everybody is agreeing with you.

You don't need faith...

..when everything is all right at home.

But when trouble comes...

..and when difficult time comes, and when the future is uncertain,

and when the path that you're taking is unknown,

the Bible says that's the time Jesus turns around and says,

"Where is your faith?"

Because it would seem to me that your faith has no relevance

if it doesn't come to your aid in the midst of your trouble.

Am I talking to somebody today?

-CONGREGATION:

-Yes!

Where do you get this kind of faith...

when all around you is crumbling...

..the systems and the structure is against you?

Stand up to your feet, and give Jesus praise.

There are over half a million Pentecostal worshippers in Britain.

It's a global evangelical movement

that started more than a century ago,

and it's the fastest-growing Christian faith in our country.

We spent three months filming in one of south London's oldest

black-majority Pentecostal churches,

the Brixton Community Church,

to find out what draws people to this growing faith.

We discovered a place of powerful personal stories,

and a church that wants to change people's lives.

MUSIC WITHIN: Holy Holy by Michael W Smith

# Are you Lord God almighty

# Worthy is the Lamb

# Worthy is the Lamb... #

'New Testament Church of God - it is Pentecostal.

'We shout. We sing.

'And we praise God, and we shout, "Hallelujah!"'

and if you're in a nominal church and you shout "Hallelujah!"

people look at you as if you are insane.

'The spirit of God enters you, and he directs you.'

When you have contact with God, there's something

inside of you wants to explode to the world out there,

"Yes, something is happening in me."

# Worthy is the Lamb... #

Hallelujah!

Hallelujah!

We are loud. We are noisy people.

That's what Pentecost is about, yes.

It's what Pentecost is about.

Whatever you are, whoever you are, come as you are.

The Brixton Community Church has been in south London for 60 years.

It belongs to one of the larger Pentecostal denominations,

called the New Testament Church of God...

..bring them to a safe haven...

..established here by West Indians who came to Britain in the 1950s.

Father, we love you.

PIANO PLAYS

APPLAUSE

Come on!

# Oh, He's the Lily of the Valley... #

The preacher leading the Brixton Church is Bishop Brown,

a prominent figure in the Pentecostal faith.

He wants the church to have a strong social as well as religious purpose.

'The African-Caribbean sector of Christendom

'is expanding exponentially.'

'The church is really quite vital to the life

'of this community.'

There's some people who question, "Why do you need so many churches?"

But they don't ask you, "Why do you need so many McDonald's?"

-So...

-HE CHUCKLES

This is a church that believes it has a role in people's lives

from the very beginning.

Tell him to come out of that gate.

Starting with the Sunday school bus

that collects children from the surrounding area.

Where's Mummy?

Ah!

Ohh!

The Borough of Lambeth is one of the most diverse parts of London,

where wealth and poverty live cheek-by-jowl.

When you start children young into a denominational Christian background,

they tend to, erm...

come a bit more often.

They understand the Bible, being good, being kind,

being generous to people, being humble,

and they can use this as they grow up in life.

CHILDREN CHEER

You water the seed, and the plant will grow.

Come on, superstar.

If we were not there,

preaching, motivating, teaching...

the prisons wouldn't have place to hold people.

The mental homes -

they're already packed and bursting to capacity

with their own people, anyway.

But if the church wasn't there...

..I dread to think what society would look like.

WOMAN SINGS

Anyone can walk in here and join the service...

OK, so, let's stand and pray together.

..but the church, ultimately,

wants people to make a much bigger life commitment.

Father, I just want to thank you for this day, that Lord God,

you will continue to talk to them about where you want them to be,

what you want them to do, who you have called them to be.

And, Father, as they make their way to Sunday, with their Father,

they're going to take a step of baptism...

Jordan is 16, and Hannah, 17.

They're preparing for their baptism -

the biggest rite of passage in Pentecostalism,

symbolising their commitment to their faith.

..it will not just be an empty sign, but, Father,

when they rise up out of the water,

Father, they will signify the resurrection

of Christ Jesus in their lives.

So, what is baptism?

A public declaration.

-A public declaration?

-Erm...

-Of what?

-From... Huh?

-Of what?

That you've chosen the straight and narrow road,

that you've chosen to live your life like Christ.

But first you have to repent.

The only way you can actually say yes

is if you actually repent of your sins, and you don't turn back,

and you try and follow the straight and narrow path of, erm...

-Jesus Christ.

-That's not repentance!

No, I know! But it's part of it.

-Like, that's the only...

-Well, what is repentance?

Asking God for forgiveness.

Of your sins.

Repentance isn't...

not going out drinking, or not smoking,

or not having loads of sexual partners.

That's not repentance.

Just because you DON'T...

..go with every Tom, Dick and Harry, doesn't mean that you've repented.

So it's not just stopping doing stuff,

it is actually stopping doing that stuff,

stop going in that direction, and turning to God.

Repentance is a change of heart...

and a change of purpose, and a change of your mind.

'I always liken baptism to a marriage between two people,'

because you come into it...

having thought about it,

and made a decision that this is what I want to tell the world.

So that's the new one, that's the gold one.

Hannah and Jordan will be baptised in a public ceremony

involving complete immersion in water.

So that goes on....

like that.

It covers everything up, so nothing shows.

From then on, they can become full members of the church.

'Because I've known them since they were very, very tiny babies,

'to have seen them grow up,'

and get to this stage in their lives,

in their Christian walk, is just amazing for me.

And so, I've kind of, like, personally invested in them.

They're like my babies.

Every single one of them. They're all my babies.

And I just love 'em, so it is really exciting.

I was going to get baptised for my 16th birthday,

as I wasn't going to have any type of party, or...

erm...anything like that.

Nothing wild, but I wanted it to be memorable.

I'm definitely quite nervous and anxious about it.

But I'm also quite excited.

That comes off.

And this, there... There you go.

From what other people have been telling me,

at the end...

it's quite overwhelming.

You know, the experience, and...

coming up through the water, what they felt.

I feel like that's what I want.

That's what I want. That's what I would like to feel myself.

And, erm...

that's what I'm kind of looking forward to.

Yes, hi, good morning. My name is Millicent Brown.

I'm calling from the New Testament Church of God.

I'd like to place an order for some little Bibles

that we give to the children when they're dedicated.

What's striking about this church

is how it offers much more than religion.

It's also about supporting a community.

If people need help in the week, the bishop's wife, Sister Brown,

is there as a drop-in.

I've had people come in that just needed something to eat...

..and didn't have any money for shopping.

If they're having some difficulties in their life,

and they're in need of some support...

..they will come in and ask.

Some of them will say,

"Look, is there anybody I could speak with now?"

Others will say, "Can I make an appointment to see somebody?"

Oh, there's a lot going on in churches that people...

the average person would not be aware of.

Father, we ask this mercy through your name...

Annette has turned to the church for support in raising her son.

She's a teaching assistant and a single mum

with a 12-year-old boy called Kai.

She's been coming to church with Kai since he was born.

I went there, but just to christen him, innit?

And then I...kind of stayed.

And I'm still there now.

You christen them, and then you go and have a party,

like if you get married.

You know, you have a party after.

But this is just dedicating them to God.

To say, "Protect them."

Oh, publicly, yeah.

-INTERVIEWER:

-Do you feel like he IS protected?

Yeah. No, he is.

Sorry. No, he is.

It says it.

Like...

it says it.

What made you stay? What made you keep going to church after that?

Like...

Cos after a while, you realise that you need to be there.

And I don't know if...

..for other people, all things just stay calm, or...

..manageable...

but, like, some stuff wasn't being manageable for me.

And so it seemed like that was the only place to go to get some...

..peace, I suppose.

Like, there's people around me, friends or family.

But...they can't really sustain you, they can't sustain you.

-Hello.

-Hi! Hello, Annette, how are you?

-I'm fine.

-Grab a chair.

-Thank you.

-How's Kai?

-He's fine.

-Yeah?

But I just wanted to ask you what I should do in regard to...

To...?

Changing his school.

Because he's been in behaviour issues,

and he's been excluded and removed from one school, two schools,

put in another school,

so now they've put him at a pupil referral unit.

"Kai is a bright and able 12-year-old boy

"who has a history of challenging behaviour."

And that's the problem.

He will kick things, like the door, or the chair.

He will pick up the chair, and throw it.

-Now, I understand you've... You've got some of his past work?

-Yes.

-Here.

-Reports and things like that you have for him?

-These ones are from...

-Are these old ones?

Yeah. For reception.

This is Kai's work at seven?

-Yeah.

-That's his handwriting at seven?

-Yes.

-He wrote this by himself at seven?

-When he was seven.

Yeah.

So it appears that he was working pretty good.

Yeah, but in the middle, I don't know, he just...

Something went amiss?

-Yeah.

-Mmm.

I think I look after him very well.

"Why are you angry? What are you angry about?"

Then, that's what... I'm saying, "What are you angry about?

"What, I don't feed you? I don't put clothes on your back?"

-"I don't beat you."

-No, that's not...

-Yeah!

There's a lot of issues that he may have.

-I know that his dad is not here.

-Yeah, no.

-He's abroad.

So he may well need to have that male person who is a father figure.

Why does he react in that way when he gets angry?

-OK.

-What is it that triggers off?

-So, can you do that?

-I'd be more than happy to talk with him.

The battle isn't lost.

-OK.

-I will tell you that - the battle isn't lost.

Thank you.

-INTERVIEWER:

-So, what is that?

This is from Lego Chima.

So this bit comes out, so then that can fly.

It's been eight months since Kai was excluded from secondary school,

and moved to a pupil referral unit.

His future's hanging in the balance

while he waits to hear when they'll find him another school.

They said that I was uncontrollable

cos I kept on messing around in classes and disturbing people.

And because, with my anger, and I keep getting angry...

and doing the wrong things when I do get angry.

What did you think about that?

It was fair, because I was getting angry over silly things,

and doing the wrong things.

But I also didn't want to leave.

-Do you feel like you want another chance?

-Yeah.

What about church?

-Do you like going to church?

-Yeah.

Lots of people pray for me, and also, there's, like,

older children that look after me and make sure I'm all right.

And...I'm kind of getting used to how long the services are.

And do you believe in God?

Yeah.

Like, today, erm... we were coming...

I had £3 in my pocket,

and there was a man that was homeless in front of Tesco...

and I gave him my £3.

And when I got into Tesco,

my mum picked up Oreos, and got me Oreos, so...

God knows that you did a good deed, and he pays you back.

The church building is maintained largely by its congregation,

and leased from the Church of England,

but it's showing signs of age.

# And I will stand with Him on

# That day... #

Pastor decided...

that we had to come up with some kind of fundraising

in aid of the lift.

Some of the elderlies cannot walk up the stairs,

because of pain and other sickness,

so the lift would be easier for them.

-INTERVIEWER:

-It smells amazing.

-Thank you, my darling.

That's my chicken, leave it to drain over here.

So when it's finished, we can pour it out in this one.

We have the good scotch bonnet here.

Good scotch bonnet, so we're going to make them blend in,

with some nice onions.

Yes, how much is this?

You can't be serious!

£1.50?

I don't want the discount - I want to pay for my things.

Jamaican soul food.

-Yes!

-Ah...

-LAUGHTER

The Word, and food.

Are you ready to give?

This church relies overwhelmingly on donations from the congregation

for its survival.

Pentecostal churches usually ask members to pay a tithe,

meaning 10% of their income.

In reality, here, they give what they can.

-This is my seed...

-CONGREGATION:

-This is my seed...

-..as I give it to you...

-..as I give it to you...

-..I expect harvest.

-..I expect harvest.

-It may not come back...

-It may not come back...

-..in monetary form...

-..in monetary form...

-..but however you bless me...

-..but however you bless me...

..I will be satisfied.

# Behold He comes

# Riding on the clouds

# Shining like the sun

# At the trumpet call

# Lift your voice... #

The community gathering its own funds is the story of how this,

and many other Pentecostal churches, were established.

So, when they came out from the Caribbean to Britain,

they believed that they could just walk into any church, sit down,

and be accepted as a member.

Well, they weren't.

Christianity in general was not initially welcoming to us.

But the churches weren't started as a protest against rejection.

In their hearts, there was a Pentecostal fire.

# Oh, Lord, you know

# I have no friend like you... #

They had to...

find and plant these churches that would help them give expression...

..to the God that they know...

..and the faith that they had back home.

Praise the Lord!

They moved around to several halls,

schools and church halls, and what have you.

In the mid-70s, we found this place, that was derelict.

Obviously, when we came in, it's not like what it is now.

It was pigeon-infested -

we cleared out one tonne of pigeon poo from the bell towers.

And so, this is where we have been since 1977.

One of the founding members of this church, Deacon Bair,

has passed away.

The generation of people that came here out of the Windrush

came and made their living, made their contribution,

but they're now passing on.

Since I've been here, in the last 18 months,

I must have done over 30 funerals.

'My dad was very ambitious.'

He found himself working at the Post Office,

and he was working seven days a week,

you know, to make ends meet.

When you're new in the country, you take whatever job you can,

whether you're a cleaner, whether you're a domestic hand,

whether you work in hospitals.

They brought their money together, a joint collection,

to purchase a property, the house of God, a place to worship,

and that's what they did.

Mum, like my dad...

Very smart people, weren't they?

-Yeah.

-Very stylish.

My mum, of course, had the hat on.

Beautiful dress.

She would wear lovely shoes,

and in the early days, my mum would even wear gloves.

Back in those days, we didn't have, erm...

our own transportation.

-No.

-So you can just imagine, there are seven of us in our family,

so, seven children getting onto a bus,

all dressed up smartly to go to church.

There's a lot of love in the church, in helping each other out...

..supporting each other with housing, child care,

if you wanted to get on, get a job.

Anything to help their life through.

It was a community.

UPBEAT MUSIC PLAYS

# Have you heard

# Have you heard

# Have you heard about that city in the sky

# Have you heard

# Have you heard... #

Hello, my cheeky one!

Hello, darling!

Shaniqua grew up in Brixton.

Good morning, Baba!

She's now 25, and works locally as a hairdresser.

Come here, darling.

She's preparing to have her baby, Isaiah, christened,

or as the Pentecostalists say, dedicated, at the church.

He is getting something made, which is really, like, personal to him.

And, er...

just the fact that he's going to get blessed...

-ISAIAH GURGLES

-Yeah!

And he's just, like, he doesn't have no clue, but it's just so sweet,

and I love it.

-SHE GASPS

-Teddy, Teddy!

SHE CHUCKLES

-INTERVIEWER:

-So they call it a dedication, is that right?

-Mm-hmm.

-Do you know why?

-Basically, you're dedicating your baby to the Lord.

Erm...you're handing him over.

-So, stand him up.

-Yeah.

'It's just giving him a chance of life, I think.

'Being protected under God.'

Up you get!

-SHE CHUCKLES

-Look at me!

You look so cute!

'To find out I was pregnant, it was a big shock.

'It's very difficult, er...

'you know, when the dad is supposed to be there.

'The situation of that is very - and always will be -

'heart-breaking for me.'

Now we're going to make some alterations! Yes!

But the thought of getting rid of another human just, like,

broke my soul, and I feel like I would have been worse off.

He's come out so happy,

so I couldn't have dreamt of a better decision.

And he's really changed me in so many better ways.

Is the church accepting, you know...

you being a single mum, and everything?

Do you feel like they accept?

Well, I addressed that straightaway to the, you know, Pastor's wife,

erm...and she was, you know, very encouraging about it,

and they didn't make me feel like I don't fit in,

or I should not be there.

And you talked about how it protects him.

Can you explain that a bit?

Anything that may happen, you know, he'll be protected.

When there's maybe a situation that's happened,

or he's gone through something major in his life,

and he needs to turn to someone, but, you know,

there's no human there, he can turn to God.

Cos God already protected him when he was a baby.

So, I feel like, you know, it's saving him from a lot of disaster.

ISAIAH GURGLES

Isaiah's dedication is the first stage

in the process of joining the church.

In a suburb outside Brixton,

Hannah is getting ready for the next stage -

her baptism -

a more profound ritual,

that can only be undertaken by someone old enough

to decide for themselves.

So, just the normal black leggings.

-You can't wear black!

-No! Yes, I can!

They said, really and truly, come in anything you don't mind getting wet.

Well, try it on, and we'll tell you what it looks like, innit?

Yeah, Hannah's the last one to be baptised out all of us.

As much as it was all of our decision,

she took the time to really think about what she wanted to do,

and why she wanted to do it.

It wasn't just on a whim,

it wasn't just because the rest of us have done it.

It was because she's made that decision

that she really wants to do it, and she's ready now.

Kind of recently, I remember, like, erm...

..being actually able to say it.

Like, saying, "I want to get baptised."

I remember when I said it, and I was like,

"Oh, my days, I just said it out of my mouth!"

So, what was, like, your turning point, is my question?

I don't actually really know. It just kind of happened for me.

Like, one minute I was really almost scared, and the next, I was, like...

I was fine, and I just decided, "OK, yeah."

-Just at peace.

-Yeah.

Yeah, that's a better word.

-INTERVIEWER: Do you remember your baptism?

-Oh, yes!

Oh, gosh!

What do you mean, "Oh, gosh?" It was 30 years ago.

Oh, for the love of chips!

HANNAH CHUCKLES

Yeah, it was really lovely.

There was about 25 of us...

and it was candlelight.

-Soft.

-Yeah, and the church...

It was just all candles, and we all had to hold a candle,

and march right down to the centre of the church, all the way around,

and come back again,

and then we just said our testimony individually.

Lots of singing and praising, and...

it was awesome.

Do you feel like you're going to be restricted

as a Christian, though, Han? Do you think that...

Oh, no! No.

I've chosen to follow, erm...

Jesus' commands, although it's going to be trying. I'm just saying.

Cos, I mean, I'm human,

so I know that, like, sometimes, things may happen, and stuff.

-But...

-You make mistakes.

-Yeah.

So I may make mistakes,

but I'm human, and this world is very tempting.

Especially at my age, with all the things going on like parties, and...

I think a lot of times when people decide they want to get baptised,

then it's like,

"Oh, but if I get baptised, I have to be this perfect Christian."

We all sin, and even after being baptised, we're still going to sin.

-Mmm.

-We're still going to make mistakes.

# The Lord is my light and salvation

# Whom shall I fear?

# Of whom shall I be afraid

# The Lord is my light and salvation... #

We've spoken to Hannah about drugs, we've spoken to her about sex,

all of them, you know, all of them.

You know, Hannah's going to meet guys out there,

but it's about making the right choices,

and the church should be a safe haven.

# I will wait on you... #

My experience with God and Ken's experience with God

is going to be different from Hannah's experience with God.

So she'll be out there, or at work, and stuff like that,

and somebody will annoy her, and she'll say,

"You know, Mum, that so-and-so, he was saying this, and saying that,"

but I just said, "Oh, Lord, what shall I do?"

"Get him out of my face!" You know, she finds that God for herself.

And that's all we ask.

Like Hannah, Jordan's also next in his family to get baptised...

..following in the footsteps of his brother, Reiss.

Their teens was a dreaded moment for me.

How was I going to keep them in church?

As a single parent, it was difficult.

Erm...

I didn't think that my children, my two boys, would have been baptised.

It's one of the best feelings a parent could have.

'I was originally not very strong in my faith.'

And as the years went on, I found these...

You know, my brothers at church, and...

they were...

They really influenced me.

They really changed my life from where I was to where I am now.

-INTERVIEWER:

-Would your teenage years have been different

-if you hadn't gone to church?

-Oh, yeah.

Most definitely.

I know I would be a sinner right now, and I know that...

..the life that I would be living,

if my mum didn't bring me up in church, would be quite shameful.

What changes when you get baptised?

Erm... There was times I even...

Like, I would start listening to R&B...

..and, yeah, it would just kind of make me feel a bit,

like, weird or uneasy.

Erm...

Like, if they were talking about, like, sex too much.

HE CHUCKLES

And then I had to try and find alternatives,

things that were Christian or gospel that sounded like R&B.

'I don't like when people put, like, stereotypes just because they hear,

'like, they go to church or whatever.

'Everyone can still socialise. And at the end of the day, you know,'

you have to be just loving and kind to everyone, like,

regardless of what you know or don't know about them.

You just have to be nice people, that's it.

God, we know you have the power.

Cover us under your blood.

The blood that has all the power.

For the most committed members of this church, it's a place where they

spend many hours of the week.

They vividly describe the Pentecostal belief

that they're filled with the Holy Spirit.

The spirit of God move upon you,

literally as how I would be speaking to you now.

God's spirit move.

It move like a wind.

It move with power.

You know when a wind comes, and blow you here and blow you there,

lift you up? That's what's happened.

And you want to serve God the way that he would want you to serve him.

Hello, my dear.

-Hello. I'm giving out leaflets.

-Sorry.

-OK.

-Hello.

-These members belong to the church's evangelism team,

who believe they have a duty to convert others.

He said, "Don't just go into where it is convenient, go everywhere.

"And tell people of Him." And that's what we want to do.

We want to establish the word of God,

because He called us into service,

and once we are in service, we are at work.

And we are working for Him.

-It's 11.30. 11.30am, OK?

-OK.

-Yeah.

-Is you...? Come here, me want you, me want you!

-No, I can't.

Grandma's got the kids, I've got a few hours till their birthday.

-OK.

-Thank you, thank you. God bless.

You can tell sometimes when people pass and they'll give you a glance.

And you know they're kind of interested.

And so, you follow them and you say,

"Would you like to read about God?"

And you find most of the time they'll say yes.

Pray for us tonight.

I'm supposed to be sleeping in his house,

and he does not keep a clean house.

-When's Jesus coming?

-When's Jesus... We want to know.

-He's coming soon.

I want to put a date in the diary. I want to know...

He's coming soon. All right.

Father, in the name of your Son, and the name of the Holy Spirit.

Thank you, Lord.

-HE MUMBLES

-Give him a hug.

Why do you need prayer today?

I've left... I'm on the streets.

I take crack. I'm waiting to get into a rehab,

in a couple of days to a week.

My brother died of cancer nine months ago,

-my older brother killed himself, took his own life.

-Oh.

At the age of five, I was taken out of the park by a stranger and...

That's a lot, isn't it?

That's what we're here for, for people like you

to give you some kind of hope,

to know that despite what you've gone through,

Jesus Christ loves you. Let's all pray together.

-Alleluia, Father God.

-THEY PRAY

# Come fill my life

# From the inside

# From the inside

# Of me

# Set me on fire

# From the inside

# From the inside

# Of me

# Cos all I want

# Is for you, for you to be glorified

# You to be lifted high

# All I want

# Is for you, for you to be glorified

# You to be lifted high. #

Shaniqua spent much of her childhood living with her

grandparents on the estate just behind the church.

She stopped going to this church years ago,

but she's chosen to have Isaiah dedicated the sake family tradition.

Can you see the doggy?

Is that a doggy, darling?

Having my child, it wasn't the way I planned it to be,

and I feel like that's how it was for my parents.

You know, it wasn't planned, it was a shock.

You know, it wasn't supposed to happen, so, unfortunately,

they wasn't together for them, then, to enable...

to nurture me as parents should.

As a child, unfortunately, you have to sort of find your own way.

You know, you end up searching for things that are not good for you.

I felt, maybe, like, suicidal.

When, you know, days when I was at home in the dark

and I just wanted to not be here any more.

"In the days of heartache, anguish and defeat,

"trust in the Lord Jesus.

"He will not only be with you throughout your life,

"He will carry you in the times you need him the most."

When you thought there was no-one there, He was carrying you.

He was moulding you, He was strengthening you.

He was building you up, He was...

'It's all right, Shaniqua.'

He was being...

He was being a real, true father,

and just making something of me

when I didn't understand, when I didn't realise.

People knowing me, they'd be like, "Why don't you come to church?

"You know, God has done amazing things for me.

"Like, I need you to see it for yourself."

And it's as simple as that.

And you go, like, "Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah."

I'll be like, "No, I'm a sinner. I sin like no tomorrow."

I can't afford to show myself up, like, it's embarrassing.

And then one day, I went. One day, I actually went.

Literally, as soon as they would sing and pray, I would cry.

I would cry my heart out.

Because it just touched me in a different way.

It just moved me.

# Hallelujah, eh-eh-eh-eh

# Hallelujah, ehhh! #

Shaniqua has started going to a younger kind of Pentecostal Church.

# Hallelujah, eh

# Hallelujah... #

This is one of many new ones springing up around the country

in community halls and rented spaces,

each with their own distinct character.

# Hallelujah, eh-eh-eh-eh

# Hallelujah, ehhh

# Hallelujah, eh-eh-eh-eh

# Hallelujah, ehhh

# Hallelujah, eh-eh-eh-eh... #

It is a youth-based church where, you know,

we have a lot of young people coming in.

Doesn't necessarily mean adults can't come, everybody is welcome,

but the story behind it is that my pastor has changed the lives of her

young boys who were gang members.

THEY SING

And it started from there, so it brought, you know, their friends,

and their friends' friends, and that's how the church has grown.

THEY SING

'When I leave, you know, I always feel like, you know,

'I've got the biggest smile on my face.

'In a good way, it's like a fix.

'Drug users, they get their fix from drugs, but this is a good fix.'

# You are

# You are, you are, you are. #

-So, you enjoyed that, then?

-Yeah.

-So, what else did you do anyway?

-And we did...

Annette is still trying to get her son, Kai,

moved from the pupil referral unit.

He's been trying a new secondary,

but he hasn't yet been offered a place.

So, what do you think? Is this going to be your new school?

Yeah. I'm going to start going in September.

I went for a trial for this week,

to see if it's OK.

-Do you think you'll be happy there?

-Yeah.

Good. Great.

There's his dad.

That's my dad.

And that one there as well.

When did he go back to Jamaica?

He went when I was born.

Yeah, like two weeks old.

Yeah. They didn't let him stay, I think.

We weren't married. I wasn't married to him, so he had to go back home.

-My favourite picture. One of my favourites.

-Is it? Oh, OK.

-How come?

-It says, "I love my dad, from Kai," on the chalk board.

To help with his behaviour at school,

Kai had an appointment with Sister Brown at the church

to talk about his anger issues.

On the way there, Kai ran into a gang of boys

who he said insulted his mum.

Kai.

Hello.

That's not the way to start, is it, huh?

I can see you're upset.

Want us to wait for a little while?

That's OK.

I can wait until you feel better, all right?

You all right?

Hey, son, how you doing?

-Come upstairs with me.

-He's upset. He's upset right now.

What the boys said to you upsets him real bad.

Yeah, but we've had this conversation about what people say

about people or me.

We don't mind, let people say what they want.

No, no. OK, you can't stop people from saying what they say.

But every time it happens, it's upsetting Kai.

And when people begin to say things to you,

they are talking about him

when they talk about you, because you're his mother.

That's exactly what's upset him.

Do you know where those boys go?

Have you ever talked with them by yourself?

No, I just see them riding up and down the street on bikes.

-When? When?

-When I'm coming home from school.

All indications that he's a brilliant boy.

You've been ever so brilliant at school, it's excellent.

Have you got any idea what else are the causes why you get angry?

Just when they talk about my family.

-When people talk about your mother and your family?

-Yeah.

You communicate. You know, you are able to say that,

but how can you express yourself without getting angry,

without getting uptight?

To be able to express yourself in a clear and precise way.

Would you mind if I asked you to let him spend a week or so with us?

Would you mind doing that?

-You don't mind?

-I don't mind.

I see a smile on your face, Kai.

You want to come spend a week with us? Yeah? Good.

It's all right.

SHE CRIES

(It's all right, it's all right.)

Yeah, she wants the very best for you, OK?

Oh, God.

Sorry, Kai.

Wow.

-You don't mind him coming?

-I don't mind at all.

(Everything is going to be all right.)

You just need a little break from all of the...

all of the pressure.

-Please behave yourself.

-No, you don't have to tell him that.

You'll be all right. He's going to be all right.

You don't have to tell him anything.

I'm going to get on with some work.

You're going to be all right, everything is going to be all right.

He has great potential, there's no doubt about that.

I bet you don't know this one.

I'll teach you this one. This one.

This one.

This one. And then shoot.

-I don't want nothing to happen to him.

-Listen, anything can flip.

In these streets of London, anything can flip.

-I don't want nothing to happen.

-You have the gun crime,

you have the knife, you have everything. Anything can happen,

so this is why we have to build some kind of support.

And don't feel any way about it. We have to build support around him.

And, Father, we ask you this evening, hallelujah,

to have mercy on the people who lives in Brixton.

Father God, you know those, oh, God, who give the troubles.

You know the gunmen, you know the knife carriers,

you know the druggers, you know them, God, who rapes,

you know those who steal.

Father God, you knows them, hallelujah!

Remember the police that police the streets, God, in Brixton.

I pray God that you build a fence around them and you will give them

love, peace and understanding of the people, that they can work together.

Hallelujah!

Hallelujah!

Have you ever been in a situation where you've felt out of place?

Have you ever been in a situation

where you feel that you didn't matter?

Way back in the '50s,

the generation, the Windrush generation...

..they were not literally told that they don't belong.

All they were told, "That we don't want no Irish,

"we don't want no blacks,

"and we don't want no dogs."

Rejection.

I won't tell you this morning, God...

..that...

..before...

..that boy gets into a gang,

and before he took the first spliff...

..and before he plunged that knife or pulled that trigger,

you can go back and discover the word that overrides,

and that is at the core of it, is the word rejection.

Some of them were rejected in the school system.

Marked down and expelled. Rejection.

And I have to confess and admit that sometimes, even in the church,

people are living with rejection.

The church is not absent. We have a way of just rejecting people,

because they don't look like us,

because they don't talk like us, because they don't behave like us.

They don't conduct themselves like us. We have a way of rejecting them.

Give me your handbag.

Because you know sometimes...

..we are in church...

..and we're sitting down...

..so our handbag is beside us. But there comes a prostitute.

And as soon as they come...

..to sit beside you...

LAUGHTER

You know, you just grab a hold of your bag.

You're sending out a message...

that they don't belong here.

And at least, you don't belong and qualify to sit on the seat

where I sit.

And in that very action,

we are demonstrating...

..rejection.

Let me say to you, when you feel rejected, and you feel

that you can't do it, God will send for you.

Hallelujah!

Your rejection

and your disadvantage

have a way of bringing out the best in you.

Never allow your memories...

..to destroy your dreams.

The pain. The hurt.

The abuse. The rejection.

Don't let them destroy your dreams.

'When did you write these?'

Just about two and a half weeks ago, three weeks.

And my personal goals is to do with myself,

which means I set discipline for myself, respect myself.

Love myself, put myself first.

Stop putting myself down.

And, also,

between now and the future, you know,

I really would like to meet someone who, you know,

loves me for me and would love Isaiah.

And love God as well.

And will treat me how I deserve to be treated.

You've got to have dreams, at the end of the day,

no-one should tell you that you shouldn't.

It's the day of Shaniqua's dedication ceremony

for her baby boy, Isaiah.

Hey. Hey, handsome.

Hey.

One of the most precious gifts we have a normal life is our family.

And your family might not be all that you want it to be.

Maybe it is made up of different bits and pieces.

But nevertheless, it is your family.

Invest in them love.

And instil in them that they can be whatever they want to be in life.

Will you pray for your children's future, so they will develop in an

environment of prayer and support.

-If you do, say we will.

-We will.

'If I can be that support for him being young,

'and be there consistently without it being, you know, here one minute,

'gone the next minute, here one minute, gone the next minute...

'..I would rather be there consistently through his life,

'so he knows that I'm there.

'And he knows that he trusts me, that I'm his mum.

'That's how a family home should be.'

This is Isaiah Jonah Campbell,

and we lift him up in the presence of the Lord.

And pronounce him duly dedicated in the name of the Father,

and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

Tonight is one of the biggest events of the year for the church.

It's the evening of baptism

that Hannah and Jordan have been preparing for for weeks.

Anyone can read the Bible, come to church every Sunday,

read the Bible every day, pray every day,

but if there is no repentance, there is no salvation.

You must repent of your sins.

I always say this - if you haven't repented,

that water does nothing whatsoever.

Cos that water

is the same water that is going into every household on this road.

There is no salvation in that water,

it is just Thames water.

So you can go in that pool...

without repenting,

and what happens is you go in as a dry sinner,

and you come out as a wet one.

After you emerge, when you get up, they'll wipe your face.

I got loads of cream on.

That's what we're going to do.

We're going to wrap it like this as we take you out.

-So you're not exposed the back, yeah?

-Yeah.

'It's like I'm going through a door I'm never going to go back out of.'

I know that this is a really big step,

and I'm just really happy to be taking it now that I'm ready

and I'm not anxious or, like, "Am I doing the right thing?"

Everything just feels right.

Like, everything just feels in place, how it should be.

"I want to further my relationship with Christ.

-"Also, I want to be a disciple of Christ..."

-Ah!

THEY LAUGH

Good.

"And this next step..."

Ooh, I need to...

-Just say it.

-Does anyone have a pen?

Everyone getting baptised today has to make a public declaration or

testimony to explain why they've made this choice.

It's for that. "Finally, I want to get baptised for my 16th birthday,

"as I turned 16 last month, I'm getting baptised today."

That's it.

It's one thing to get saved in secret, but some point,

you've got to go public with your faith.

And Hannah, our dear Hannah, has been here for a long,

long time and wants to be baptised.

But tonight she made the decision, "I'm going to be baptised."

You have to go public with your faith.

It gives you, kind of, butterflies.

Make you feel a bit, oh, elated, that kind of thing,

to see the last child get baptised.

In Hannah's baptism,

she actually asked for me to be in the pool with her.

That's quite touching.

That's quite touching, and something like that I'll remember.

I'll remember for the rest of my life, I think.

And tonight, it gives me great pleasure to be able take part

-in her baptism in this...

-APPLAUSE

It's a great pleasure tonight for us to join in baptising you.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

Amen.

I did it!

"I've chosen to get baptised today

"because I want to further my relationship with Christ.

"I also want to be a disciple of Christ

"and I know that this next step is for life.

"As I turned 16 last month, I'm going to get baptised today

"as I have come to more of an understanding

"of the meaning of baptism."

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

This is our brother, Jordan.

You all know him.

Ever since I came here, my heart has been linked with his.

And I'm so pleased that he's made this decision follow the Lord

in obedience and to be baptised today.

And we know that God has a bright future for him.

This is a part of his destiny.

And it's a pleasure tonight to baptise him.

We now baptise you in the name of the Father,

and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

EXCITED CHATTER

I'm so happy.