Former addict Michael Holloway, here with wife Darla, is now a pastor at Dundee's Full Gospel Church.,,,
A former addict has told how the church he once stole from helped him find the faith that changed his life.
Michael Holloway, 45, was embroiled in a world of theft and drugs but went on to become a pastor, husband and father with help from the church’s retired pastor and Christian cafe.
Michael went off the rails after family turmoil in his teens. Affected by his ex-army dad’s drinking, his parents’ split and his tough estate in Kilmarnock, he began thieving.
“I was a one-man crime spree and brought a lot of trouble to my mother’s door,” he explained in a video with Lifestories Worldwide.
“At 15, grown men were coming to our door with weapons believing I’d stolen from them.”
At 16 he fled to Ayr and, in a flat in the heart of the town’s drug scene, drugs and alcohol took hold.
“By 25 I was living on floorboards because everything else had been sold.
“I watched four young men die from overdoses and thought I’d be next.”
The tide began to turn when New Life Prestwick church opened a Christian cafe under Michael’s flat.
“They had a vision to reach addicts. Every time I opened my door there were Christians telling people about Jesus.”
Michael began to talk to them.
“They’d tell me my life didn’t need to be like this, but I used to think, ‘what do you know about me and my life?’”
His doubts didn’t stop him from accepting their invitation to church, but the collection money proved too tempting.
Michael went back to steal more, but his second attempt was foiled. A retired pastor caught him and demanded he return the money. Michael threw it back and stormed out.
In the street, a voice spoke in his head.
“All they’ve done is show you love and all you’ve done is throw it right back,” it said.
Moved, Michael returned to the church and to a transformative encounter.
“The man who had caught me invited me in. I wept for about 30 minutes, then started praying when I got home. I said, ‘God, if you’re there, change my life. What I’ve got to offer isn’t much but it’s yours.’”
From there, his life was transformed. Back at the Christian cafe, Michael applied to join the two-year Teen Challenge rehabilitation programme.
This completed, and after volunteering in Argentina, he felt God calling him to ministry. He studied theology before going to Bible college in 2009, where he met his wife, Darla.
For the past eight years, Michael has worked as a pastor at Full Gospel Church in Dundee and as a chaplain to football managers. He and Darla now have three children.
