This website represents many different styles of church - which in turn represent many different people who are Christians. The church styles and the way the individuals express their Christianity will be different because everyone is unique - but they are all united in certain beliefs.

Christians believe in God. They believe he made the world and the people in it and that the Bible is true. They also believe that God sent His son, Jesus, to bridge the gap between God and man and that, as a result of Jesus coming to earth and dying on the cross, we, humans, can have a real relationship with God. A relationship that involves talking to God (praying), learning about God, being part of God's family (the church) and behaving in ways that are in line with what the Bible says.

Every person who has made a decision to be a Christian will have a different story to tell. Different ways in which knowing God has influenced and changed their lives. Check out some of these stories on this page.

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I had no idea what it meant but I did notice some fairly major changes in her behaviour - she stopped swearing for a start. It was from this point that I started looking into what "being a Christian" meant and then, at the age of 14 decided that I too wanted God and Jesus to be part of my life. My lack of a Christian upbringing meant that I spent the first few years of being a Christian just learning about God and the Bible.

I wasn't unhappy before I came to know God but my life lacked purpose. I didn't know why I was on the earth. Since asking God into my life I can categorically say, I live "on purpose". My life is full, it's exciting (at times) and, even in the tough times, I know that God is with me.

I know that I wouldn't be here now if I hadn't had God guiding, helping and healing me and, 20 years on, I'm still discovering new and exciting challenges of knowing God - and it's just great!

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I joined an Alpha course and obviously you go there with a million questions about dinosaurs and this and that ..... I needed to know the real facts and figures. But I still wanted to be who I was, I didn't want to become a Christian and wear sandals and become a dull person. So it took me a long time to actually try and get my head around it, but there were certain books that I'd read that actually gave me the facts and figures and doing the Alpha course really crystallized everything. Once I believed that Jesus had died and was resurrected for me the questions really became irrelevant.

Once becoming a Christian you still have the full essence of you, you can still have fun and laughter and live an even stronger life as a Christian than you ever did before. Having my past I can now reflect on that and see where I went wrong and if I didn't have those experiences then I wouldn't see how blessed I am now. I used to be a very selfish person but now I know God and feel that my eyes have got opened to the real world around me.

Now, if you rip me in half it doesn't say Paul ..... it says Jesus!

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Each course lasts about 12 weeks and usually runs in an evening, starting with a meal, then a short talk and an opportunity to chat, discuss and ask questions.

For more information, or if you would like to chat with someone about Christianity, please see our Alpha group.

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After a long debate, he persuaded me to go along to a meeting of his church youth group. I prepared myself really well for this - I summoned all the arguments I could muster about why God wasn't real. I was going to show them how illogical they were!

But, when I got there, I saw something that blew away my arguments; something that made me reconsider my position. For I saw people who could relate to each other in ways that I hadn't imagined possible. I saw friendship.

This was enough to make me start questioning whether there could be anything in what they were saying. I started to read the Bible and found that it was a lot different than I imagined - it was starting to make sense.

Over a long period, I decided that I too wanted to become a Christian. Since that time, I've discovered more and more that it's real.

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Christianity is first and foremost about having a relationship with Jesus Christ. It's about Jesus Christ being the number one priority in your life. It's not about wearing your Sunday best and trooping off to church every week.

HOWEVER, the church IS the primary way in which God chooses to work on this earth. God tells Christians to meet together. He promises that he'll be there when they do and he encourages them that actually the church is our Christian family. If we choose to follow God, part of the package is to be part of a church.

Church is great! It's a place where we can learn about God. A place where we can sing to and thank God (worship). It's a place where we can meet with like minded people to support them and be supported. It's a place where we can love others and be loved. It's a place that God uses to demonstrate His love - both for the people within the church and also those outside it.

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Check out our interactive map for details of the many different styles of church in Burton.

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Research by the Diocese of Lichfield after last year's Back to Church Sunday showed that, six months after the event, between 12 and 15 per cent of 'returners' had become regular members.

Canon Paul Bayes, the Archbishop of Canterbury's adviser on church growth, welcomed the news and said: "What happened on Back to Church Sunday? More than 37,000 people invited someone they know to something they love. That's how Christianity has spread over the centuries, and it still works. What's new is this: when churches everywhere unite to invite on one special moment in the year, something really good is added. It feels like one big church with one big welcome. And that strengthens the resolve of the inviter to invite and the returner to return."

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I then heard about Alpha. I read about it and spoke to several people. I asked if I would gain a new perspective on faith and Christianity if I did the Alpha course.

A few years later (I've never been a pushover) I completed the Alpa course. It was a revelation, a pivotal point in my life. I am now a born-again Christian. I was baptised in May 2008. Jesus Christ is my Saviour. God is my loving Father. I feel the Holy Spirit influencing my life.

Being a Christian is the most important facet of my life, it dominates my choices in my daily life.

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It got to the stage where it was getting deceitful, I was hiding cans. My wife Gill couldn't see it to start with but it got gradually worse and she noticed that my eyes were drowsy and glazed. I didn't take a lot of notice to start with but it came to the stage where I had got to either finish it or it would cause problems in the marriage. Gill says it came to a head when I actually raised my hand to her and she looked at me and thought "this isn't the man I married".

So one night at Cell (our small church group) I made a decision that I would be open and honest about it and have prayer. I said there and then that was it, it was finished and from that night onwards the Lord said to me "enough's enough" and I have never touched a drop of alcohol since.

For 12 months afterwards I didn't want to have a drink but we went out one evening to a wedding and alcohol was there, which didn't bother me, but at the end of the night they asked us to go back to their house and I said no I don't want to, I didn't want temptation getting in the way.

It's not been easy, it's not been hard, it just doesn't bother me one bit at all now. I had no withdrawals or anything like that ..... and that's because of the Lord, there's no two ways about it.

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Three other strangers all with a story to tell were also in this room, but I was the latest addition. All wanted to question why had I made the decision to have my baby terminated.

I silently nursed my stomach and held my little unborn as we shared these final moments together. Tears started to trickle down my cheeks; I was here, ultimately, because I had made the decision not to disobey the baby's father.

A lady in a nurse's uniform led me away down another corridor, where I was asked to lay on a couch and after an injection was told to count backwards from 100. 97, 96, 93, ... I was out. But not for long!

The wrenching in my stomach woke me and my whole body was shaking, semi-conscious now, I realised where I was. I cried out for them to stop. Looking around this large room, I saw other women who would also be going home with empty wombs. I drifted off into unconsciousness again. I was not sure how long I was out, but the next thing I knew I was being helped into a wheelchair, still dressed in the same lilac gown. A voice echoed somewhere in the distance "you'll have to keep your eye on this one, she came round".

Now conscious, I realised fully what had happened. My baby had gone. I sobbed uncontrollably. We 'the mothers' were rounded up and taken from the sumptuous furnishings of the grand house, down to what seemed to be like servants quarters in the old period dramas on TV. We were told to eat up the grey soup mixture to regain our strength. The sound of sobbing filled the room, no-one spoke; and the pain in our throats prevented us from swallowing, we were all alone with our grief.

It was 2 years later that I met a Christian woman who counselled me through the grief and the guilt I was still feeling following the abortion. The biggest need in my life at that time was to feel forgiven for what I'd done. Although friends told me I had made the right decision, I could not escape the heaviness and sadness that followed me.

The woman seemed to understand exactly what I needed and told me that Jesus had died so that I could be forgiven and feel that forgiveness. At first I wouldn't believe that was possible, but several weeks later, I made a decision to follow Christ.

That was the best decision I have ever made. From that day on it felt as if God was taking the tangled mess of hurts and regrets going on inside of me and gently restoring my life.

A few years later, I became a counsellor to women with unwanted pregnancies. I was able to listen and comfort those who, for what ever reason had decided to terminate their pregnancy, but I was also very privileged to be able to help those who decided to continue with their pregnancy. A lady approached me one day whilst I was shopping with a beautiful little daughter. She thanked me for being there for her when she was considering abortion. "I would never want to be without her she's my best friend" she said.

Jesus was able to take the hurt and mess I'd made of my life and use it to help others, knowing Him has completely changed my life for the better!

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We have projects to provide supported accommodation for single people aged 16-25. Good quality second-hand furniture, other household goods and emergency food are also available. For further details, please see our YMCA page.

Good quality second-hand clothing is available from our Newstart shops. For more details, please see our Newstart page.

If your need isn't met by these, please contact us and we'll see what we can do.

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For more information on Christian healing, or if you have an illness you would like prayer for, please see our Healing Rooms group.

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I had been crossing a busy road when a car hit me, leaving me with many injuries, the most serious being a fractured skull with swelling and bleeding on the brain. My parents were told that things were not looking hopeful for me and faced with seeing their daughter fighting for her life, unconscious and engulfed in wires surrounded by machines their response was to pray for a miracle. And so they did, as did our church throughout the night. The following morning I woke, what had happened unfolded and, each day, I believe God helped every detail of my recovery.

The only lasting physical consequences I live with now are scars on my body from the glass that shattered as I hit the windscreen. I am extremely thankful for this and cherish the scar on my arm that reminds me of what God did that day, he cares and loves me deeply and has a plan and purpose for my life.

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I didn't think "why me?" so much, cos "why not me?". I remember thinking "How do I get through this?" I remember the feeling of it not really happening to me. It's almost like you get onto a treadmill of going from appointment to appointment, it wasn't until I was at home that I'd actually think "I've got breast cancer".

Before I was diagnosed I was going through a really good phase with me and God, and I'd got the cancer and I remember thinking "Actually those things are still good with me and God". There's a verse in the Bible that talks about the peace of God that transcends all understanding. I never understood that verse until I went through breast cancer and I've never felt closer to God than I have since going through it.

I never doubted that I wouldn't get through. I didn't know if I'd live or die, but I never felt abandoned. Even on my darkest chemo days and all my hair was gone, I was being sick and I'm feeling on my own ..... times when it was very black ..... I never felt abandoned.

I had people pray that I would be completely healed but I never believed that that would happen to me, not because I didn't believe God could do it, but I had a real sense that I wouldn't be healed like that, that God would just be with me and He'd heal me in different ways.

Now I'm the most whole I've ever been, emotionally I feel stronger and more secure in who I am as a woman and as a member of Gods family. I'm at the place in my life where I believe if breast cancer came back I'd be okay with God and I'd be able to get through.

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The aim of the course is to help improve your money management skills no matter what level you're at. At each session, there will be a meal followed by a talk on a particular money management topic with time for discussion afterwards. The three sessions will look at:

1: Taking control of your finances

2: Balancing your finances

3: Running your finances in the future

This is a new initiative and courses are just starting to be run. Details of dates and venues will be available on the website in the near future.

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