Preach Magazine Issue 5 - Preaching to the unconverted | Page 13

INTERVIEW

RJ You grew up in a Christian family.

Can you tell me a little about that?

Neither of my parents were Christians
when I was born. They were both
academics and my father was raised in
a very atheistic home where there was
strictly no Bible and no talking about
God. My grandfather was a scientist.
My father was dramatically converted
through a vision of Jesus, in his study – a
really amazing divine intervention into
our family. My mum became a Christian
about six months later. As a child I saw
them transition from the position that
God is totally irrelevant, to seeing them
completely change their lives to follow
Jesus. My dad gave up his job and became
a church planter and an evangelist.
As a child I experienced both the reality
of Jesus and his presence and the change
that he brings, and the involvement in
evangelism that was just a very natural
part of our whole family.
My childhood faith included both
the intellectual side of faith, and the
encouragement to ask and pursue
questions. When people talk about
growing up in a ‘Christian home’, I’ve come
to realise that mine wasn’t a standard
experience.

RJ When, how and why did you get

involved in defending the Christian faith?

Amy speaks and lectures on Christian
apologetics worldwide, at events such as
Keswick and Alpha International, and on
University campuses including Oxford,
Cambridge, Vienna, and Hong Kong. Amy
has been invited to speak in the White
House, and on Capitol Hill, as well as the
Speakers Rooms in the UK Parliament.
Amy and her husband Frog lead a church
in Buckinghamshire called Latimer
Minster, which they planted in 2010.

The first person I led to Christ was my
friend when we were six years old – we
are still friends now. That made two of us
who were Christians in our class. Even as
a child, I had to make a stand. Halloween
comes around and ‘No, we’re not going
to do witches’, or people are swearing,
and you’re different. There was definitely
a sense of defending the faith, even in
primary school. And then in secondary
school, my best friend became a Christian
on the bus on our way home from school
on the first day, and then she and I became
involved in helping to lead the Christian
Union in our school. So I don’t really
have any memory of a Christian faith
without there being both a defensive and a
proactive element to sharing it.

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