‘I swapped leading a gang for running a church in Walthamstow'

Pastor Onyeka Power became involved with a gang while growing up in Brixton

An ex-gang leader has swapped crime for mentoring teenagers at church.

Sweat dribbles down Onyeka Power's face as he fiercely preaches to his congregation.

Dozens of young people are gathered inside a converted warehouse space, draped with white curtains and fitted with a high-tech sound system.

They're following his Sunday service by scrolling through the Bible on their mobile phones.

"God was bringing a message out of a mess in my life," Pastor Onyeka, as he's known at the church, shouts while throwing his hands towards the ceiling.

He's describing what he says was the harrowing life he once led, before joining the church.

Pastor Onyeka Power runs Eternal Life Ministries UK

As a teenager growing up in Brixton, he became involved with a gang.

"I had a group of friends, we were hanging around and then, before you realise, we started doing things that were not right," he recalls.

He says his life was often at risk, constantly having to watch his back as well as be aware of police movements.

"I had to walk with a knife just to make sure I and the people around me were safe," he says.

'There's no point dying for a postcode'

The 15-year-old Onyeka witnessed his friend being stabbed in the chest.

"A fight broke out and there were knives involved. I saw him dying before my eyes."

As he turned into a "well known" leader, he also became a target. Once, he was shot at four times by men from a rival gang. But "by the grace of God", the bullets missed him.

At 18, he realised that gang lifestyle "either leads to death or prison", he says.

"When you fight for a postcode and die, your friends will say RIP but then go on. There's no point dying for a postcode. Your family has to bear the pain forever. It's not worth it."

He says he decided to transform his life and start a fresh chapter.

"When I found Jesus, my life changed. I found purpose, more joy, more peace, more happiness," he says.

But it wasn't always easy to escape the violence. Within the first few months of his new life, he says a man threatened him with a knife on his way to a church programme.

"I don't think he knew I had changed. And, even if he did, he wanted to test me," he says.

"I wasn't scared. He realised I wasn't retaliating and put the knife away," he adds.

Pastor Onyeka, now aged 27, has begun his own church with his wife in Walthamstow called Eternal Life Ministries UK.

"God always gave me those leadership skills, but the devil wanted me to use them in a bad way. But thank God I'm using them in a good way now where a lot of people say I'm their role model for good reasons."

He roars in a sermon: "What do you see happen in your life that you call affliction, that God can't turn it for your lifting?" with enthusiastic replies of "amen" from the group, which is mostly formed of young people from across London.

David says Pastor Onyeka "made me the man I am today"

David, a 21-year-old estate agent, says he hasn't missed church since he started going because of how much Pastor Onyeka has impacted his life.

"Me and him, we've shared the same sort of past, but he's helped me come out of that situation and enter a better version of myself," he says.

"I can relate to the pastor, especially the fact he's close to my age as a young black man," he adds.

The pastor says it is important to provide spaces for young people to spend time and have role models in the community.

He has been phoning football clubs to get trials for aspiring players, started a monthly food bank, and aspires to open a games room as a 'safe space' where young people could play video games, table tennis and snooker.

Pastor Onyeka helped Adanna 'through dark times'

Adanna cheerfully sings along to the loud and upbeat gospel music from the front row of the congregation.

"I've dealt with mental health issues in the past. Coming to church is like my refuge, my safe space. I love it," the 21-year-old describes.

Pastor Onyeka hopes his work will mean others won't go through what he did.

"They're saying if Pastor Onyeka can become such a man that he is today, then we can now move from that lifestyle and have a life full of fulfilment, peace, joy and satisfaction."

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