Commitment for Life, the United Reformed Church’s partnership with Christian Aid and Global Justice Now, has raised £13m for projects in Zimbabwe, Bangladesh and Israel-Palestine. But is money the answer? Kevin Snyman, Programme Officer for Global Justice and Partnerships, talks to Stephen Tomkins

Were you brought up in the Christian faith?
It was important for my mum that I was christened, but there was no real faith in the family. We were Anglican – the Church of the Province of Southern Africa – but we didn’t go to church.

I had a sense of God’s presence from very young, though, so I used to take myself off to church, on my own. Six years old with my little backpack and off I’d go to the Sunday school.

I was sent off to Methodist boarding school, and, at 16, I had a very charismatic evangelical conversion experience, after a friend invited me to his church. I loved it and I was really committed and I’m very grateful for that time. It got me into a genuine relationship with Jesus and reading my Bible. The theological framework broke down very quickly as I grew in my faith, because I was also a thinker.

At 18 or 19 I went to the gently charismatic local Presbyterian church and played the bass guitar in the worship group. The theology was Reformed, a lot deeper, but still very limited. And I have ADHD, so 45-minute sermons were murder…

___

This is an extract from an article published in the Issue 2 – 2025 edition of Reform

Subscribe to Reform