Jamie Parnell is the pastor of Enfield Vineyard Church, leading a passionate congregation in their mission to make Jesus known. His ministry is flourishing, his leadership is impactful, and his heart for evangelism drives everything he does.
But Jamie’s journey to pastoring a church was far from straightforward. Without the influence of the Pioneer Programme, Jamie’s path could have looked very different.
Before he met Jesus, faith wasn’t a central part of Jamie’s life. Growing up in a large family of fourteen children, Jamie wasn’t surrounded by religious practices or churchgoing parents.
His father was an atheist, and although his mother was open to the idea of faith, she wasn’t actively involved in church.
“When I was about eight, I stopped believing in God altogether,” he says. “I thought, ‘Well, faith isn’t real. People use it as a crutch.’”
As a teenager, Jamie immersed himself in books about human evolution. By the time he was 16, he was convinced that science had all the answers and that belief in God wasn’t for him. He says he took pride in his scepticism, thinking he had everything figured out.
But something began to stir within him, a sense that maybe there was more to life than what he could see and explain.
That questioning spirit led Jamie to a lifechanging encounter. One day, after spending time at a friend’s house, Jamie saw a group of Christians worshipping in the street.
Curious, he watched them, and one of the men approached him. They had a nearly hour‑long conversation that challenged Jamie’s assumptions about God.
“I thought I was really clever,” Jamie laughs, “but I left that conversation realising
this guy really believes what he’s saying.”
That moment sparked a hunger in Jamie to explore faith further, though it would take a nine-month journey of ups and downs before he made any decisions.
When Jamie finally gave his life to Christ, it wasn’t because of a debate or theological argument. It was through a quiet, personal encounter with God.
One evening, Jamie knelt by his bed and prayed, “Lord, if you’re real, I don’t need you to prove yourself anymore. I just want to know you.”
In that moment, he felt the presence of the Holy Spirit in a powerful way.
“I just knew two things: God was real, and Jesus loved me,” Jamie remembers. From that day on, his life was transformed. After becoming a Christian, Jamie joined a local church, where he was blown away by their vibrant faith and energy.
“It was so different from my expectation,” he says. The church became a formative part of Jamie’s early Christian life, but he began to sense a deeper calling toward mission.
Even then, he wasn’t sure what that would look like.
The Pioneer Programme was an important step in unlocking Jamie’s ministry potential. His mother‑in‑law suggested that his heart for mission sounded like something that London City Mission was involved in.
The programme equipped him with the practical skills and spiritual foundation he needed to step into full‑time ministry.
As a Pioneer, Jamie was involved in outreach, evangelism, and leadership within a local Anglican church near where he grew up. It was his training ground.
One of his key projects during this time was continuing to lead a group of young adults between the ages of 18 and 24.
“We met in a pub to try and reach people of that age group with the gospel,” Jamie recalls. “We met and hung out, built relationships with the staff, and opened our Bibles to study them.”
The Pioneer Programme wasn’t just about giving Jamie tools; it was about transforming his understanding of sharing Jesus with his community.
“It is really important to be around people with the same passions and desires as you. So rubbing shoulders with people who are exploring what evangelism means and being trained in it was just encouraging in and of itself,” recalls Jamie.
“Formal academic theological study is good. I’ve done some myself, but on the ground practical training that goes with it is invaluable. To do that with people from all walks of life was formative. And the teaching was good.”
The practical element of coming alongside experienced missionaries to observe how they work was also invaluable.
Today, Jamie is grateful for everything he learned from the Pioneer Programme. The church he leads in Enfield is committed to reaching the community with the gospel, and Jamie is training others to step into evangelism, just as he was trained.
“You can’t talk people into the kingdom,” Jamie says, referring to his own testimony. “God does the work.” However, through the Pioneer Programme, Jamie has learnt to become an effective partner in that work, making Jesus known in Enfield and beyond.
Jamie is now pioneering a way to reach his community called Grow Baby. Run by Enfield Vineyard Church, it is a baby bank, where essential items are given to families in need with children under five.
“It is the ministry where we get the most diverse groups of people. We get a lot of Muslim Turkish-speaking and Kurdish speaking people. These are people who we probably wouldn’t come across at church. It’s always busy. It’s always overbooked,” Jamie explains.
For Jamie, finding an intentional way to share the gospel is crucial.
“Sometimes we can be very good at showing the love of God, but not the gospel. The gospel needs to be proclaimed,” says Jamie.
“We can get caught up in doing good works and get overwhelmed by the need. But the greatest need we have is Jesus. We must prioritise praying for people and providing opportunities to hear that good news.”
From a young sceptic to a passionate pastor, Jamie’s journey shows how God transforms lives, equips his people, and uses them for his glory.
You are invited you to an exclusive online premiere of the Pioneer documentary at 8pm on Sunday, 17 November 2024. Visit lcm.org.uk/documentary to find out more.
LCM shares the gospel alongside the local church of London, equipping everyday Christians to lovingly bring a message of hope in Christ to those least likely to hear it.
Registered Charity No. 247186
