Set FREE

Young Jimmy Rice seemed destined to spend his life behind bars. His parents split up and his mother took him and his sister to live near the Liverpool docks. Here Jimmy was determined to become king of the concrete jungle. "I lived in the fast lane with everything done for kicks, stealing, clubbing and partying daily. To the authorities I was a heartless unpredictable thug, yet inside I felt lost, afraid and desperately lonely."

During a four year prison sentence a prison officer gave Jimmy a book about a gang leader who ended up believing in God. Jim thought, "If this guy's so tough, why does He need God? I don't need God!" But soon after this he had a vision. He saw himself clutching filthy things and falling into the blackness from where they had come from. In terror he cried out, "God please help me!" Immediately like a parachute opening and arresting his fall, his horror was replaced with a massive sense of relief. "It was as if a dam inside me broke and memories of past wrongs and many despicable things I'd done came flooding out." After sleeping peacefully Jimmy awoke with a freshness he'd never experienced before. He delighted a Christian prison officer by saying, "I want to be a Christian, what do I do?" He was given a Bible and couldn't wait for lock-up time, to begin reading it! "Through the Bible I came to realise that Jesus had died on the cross so that miserable people like me could be forgiven and set free."

Today, Jimmy is married to Joanne and they have three daughters. He is a qualified youth instructor and now 21 years after his conversion is leading others to Christ.