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Johnny and Amy Winkle recently served for one year in Oxford, England. Amy earned a degree in Hebrew and Jewish studies at Oxford University while Johnny served in St. Aldates, a spiritually vibrant local church in Oxford, which stands in contrast to this nation’s many dying churches.

Christianity is reported to be significantly “losing ground” in England, which was once a leading influence in Christian missions. The number of non-believers is growing, and many Brits are not familiar with the gospel message.

Here Johnny shares his experience helping to lead an Alpha Course, which is a study introducing people to the Christian faith.

While we were in Oxford, I helped lead an Alpha Course with St. Aldates. One woman, Jen, came with her friend each week and were part of my break-out group. She was married with a family, and was not a believer. She had a lot of questions and doubts about Christianity, but was curious and wanted to explore the faith.

Over the course of the study, God really began to work in Jen’s life. As we met each week, she became more open to the Bible and to Jesus. We had an all-day retreat one Saturday with extended times of prayer, worship and conversation and the Lord met Jen that day and she became a follower of Christ.

Although she had been a delightful person before, we could all see a real change in her as she exuded a new joy. God helped her to work through some stuff from her past and we prayed with her for freedom that day.

Since then, Jen and her family have become involved in the church. She and her husband are attending a marriage course there and their son is involved in the children’s ministry.

It was incredible to see the transformation in Jen’s life and to watch her become a new creation in Christ. We pray that God’s Spirit would continue to draw men, women, and children across Europe to the abundant life found only in Jesus.