Image: Soldiers on exercise during night trench clearance. UK MOD © Crown copyright 2025
One of our newest Scripture Readers shares how God brought him from a background of conflict to a gospel calling.
By Johnny Crawford, starting as a part-time Scripture Reader at Catterick Garrison in September.
I was brought up in West Belfast in the height of the Troubles; violence, division, hatred and fear became part of my daily life. I was being bullied at school and facing turmoil in my home which all drove me, aged fourteen, to turn to drinking and hanging around street corners. By sixteen, I was no stranger to riots, the Police or the courtroom and I was filled with fear and loneliness.
I was filled with fear and loneliness.
Riots on the street between the Army, Police and people in my community were a regular occurrence; people were fuelled with hatred towards each other. There were regular foot patrols of the Army alongside the Police on the streets.
A Parachute Regiment soldier took cover in the porch of my house.
On one of these patrols, a Parachute Regiment soldier took cover in the porch of my house. I started to talk with him. He was friendly and from time to time, I would see him on patrol and would chat with him.
I soon realised this guy didn’t hate me as I thought he would. He was a regular man, just trying to make a living for his family.
Inspired, I decided to join the British Army, but this would come at a cost. I could no longer go back home and some of my family members turned their backs on me.
After completing basic training, I was attached to my unit, but the challenges didn’t end there. Some soldiers who had served in Belfast and lived on the opposite divide from me, made it clear I was not welcome. It seemed the old divisions had followed me straight into uniform.
It seemed the old divisions had followed me straight into uniform.
I found Army life very challenging; it came with plenty of problems and alcoholism took a massive grip on my life. It wasn’t much longer before I was thrown out of the Army.
In the darkest hour of my life, a friend handed me a small Bible.
Alcohol turned to heavy drugs and life became a trail of arrests, shelters, homelessness, hospitals and rehabs. I lost family, friends, jobs, my home – everything. I had come to the end of my road.
In the darkest hour of my life, a friend handed me a small Bible. At first, I was angry that there could be a God amid so much suffering, but I threw it in my drawer anyway, never thinking I would use it.
One morning I opened the Bible at Matthew 8 and read of the cost of following Jesus. As I read, warmth poured into my heart, it was pure love.
I was at peace for the first time in my life.
I carried on reading and saw how Jesus calmed the storm and restored two demon-possessed men. The whole room turned into a brilliant white light, and I was at peace for the first time in my life.
Love and peace were poured into me, and I gave my life to Jesus.
Today I am free. I am surrounded by the love of my beautiful wife and children, and I have dedicated my life to sharing the gospel message that saved me.
I will share the love of God with all who will have an ear to hear.
Whether in churches, open air on the street, or over a quiet cup of tea, I will share the love of God with all who will have an ear to hear. Now, I can do that on the mission field of the Armed Forces.
Image: Johnny is looking forward to sharing the love of God in a new mission field.
PRAY WITH US
- Give thanks that the Lord is with us always, even in our darkest hour.
- Praise God for His hand upon Johnny’s life, and that Johnny is a living testimony of the transformative difference the gospel can make in our lives.
- Pray for Johnny as he looks to begin his training to be a Scripture Reader in September. May the Lord go before Johnny to soften hearts and prepare ears to hear the saving power of the gospel.
