Real lives

From TV Screen to Street Corner

WHAT MAKES a BBC journalist leave a successful career to become a street preacher in Covent Garden?

Until 2005 Ben worked as a reporter on the TV news programme Wales Today. "It was a great job," says Ben. "You never knew from one day to the next what story you would be covering. The pressure of deadlines and live broadcasting gave me a real buzz."

Ben wanted to read the national news from the age of twelve and worked hard to achieve his ambition. Born in a small town in the north of Wales, he learnt Welsh at school and studied French and Spanish at Cardiff University.

UNEXPECTED TWIST
When a job came up as a presenter on the Welsh-language version of Newsround, Ben leapt at the opportunity and spent six happy years reading the news to the children of Wales. His next move was to the evening news programme on BBC Wales. It seemed his ambition was being fulfilled. But someone else had a different ambition for Ben and his wife Bethan.

"I became a Christian when I was fourteen," explains Ben, "and realised then that if God had loved me enough to give Jesus to die in my place, I needed to put him first in every part of my life." And as any real Christian will tell you, when God is in the driving seat life's journey sometimes takes an unexpected twist.

During the summer of 2004 Ben's job became uncertain. At the same time, Bethan was expecting their first child and had given up teaching so there was already change in the air. As the couple asked God about their future an advert for a worker in a small church in Covent Garden came to their attention.

A DIFFERENT BUZZ
"Our first visit to Covent Garden was a real eye–opener!" laughs Ben. "London life felt like a real whirl. We knew we'd be giving up the relative security of our life in Cardiff for what was really quite unknown." But it was clear that God wanted them in London and in April 2005 they made the move.

"Leaving the BBC wasn't nearly as much of a wrench as I thought it would be," says Ben, "and moving to live in London has been made very easy." Working as part of a small church had its joys – and challenges. Ben ran a weekly club for teenagers, as well as preaching, visiting and a hundred and one other things.

In August 2008 the Thomas family took their experiences to Criccieth where they continue to trust God for the future. Ben says, "There's a different buzz to life now, but serving God is what really matters."