George Henry - Bishop Ivan W Evans of the International Apostolic Ministries makes a point during the interview.

GEORGE HENRY, STAR Writer

In 1961, Bishop Ivan W. Evans was a lay reader in the Presbyterian Church. He was still drinking alcohol and puffing his cigarettes. His conscience got the better of him and it did not take long for him to realise that being in a leadership position, and still engaging in those 'worldly' acts, was not pleasing to God.

"As a church boy and a lay reader, I was still smoking and doing everything that's wrong out there. I worked on the estates, I made rum. I used to work at Sevens, Inswood and Apple-ton. I spent 17 years in the sugar industry," said Bishop Evans.

The Bishop for the International Apostolic Ministries, which has its headquarters at Waterloo in Santa Cruz, St Elizabeth, told THE STAR that God gave him a good conscience and when he realised that there is a Hell and a Heaven, he never took it lightly.

Bishop Evans, who has a religious programme on a number of radio stations in Jamaica, said his conscience told him that he should turn his back on his sinful ways and choose not just a better lifestyle but a lifestyle that pleased God.

"I did not know the difference of religion and was a lay reader in the church, but my conscience told me that I was not pleasing God. I asked the Lord to show me what to do and he showed me that the apostolic movement was the right place for me," explained Bishop Evans.

his conviction

Though there was some amount of resistance to change from being a Presbyterian to an apostolic member, Bishop Evans said it took a little time following his conviction, for him to move from his first denomination into what God said he should be involved in.

He explained that he was in a club one night, while in his early 20s, when God spoke to him and told him that his time was running out. Shortly after the Lord spoke to the young Evans, he said he was involved in a motor vehicle accident.

Evans explained that when he was involved in the collision, which comprised four vehicles, the unit he was driving, a brand new Ford Zephyr 6 motorcar, was written off along with the other vehicles. He said, at the time, he was under the influence of alcohol. From that day, Evans, who said he had no choice but to surrender his life to God, decided that the walk should start.

the lord said I warned you

"I was at sea at Port Henderson one Sunday morning, with a few of my colleagues from the sugar factory, when the Lord said to me, 'I warned you'. I came out of the water and said to them, if you not coming now you will have to walk to Spanish Town. I came to Spanish Town and I stopped to have a drink with my friends, and one friend said, 'Evans there is an accident down the road'. I jumped in the car to go and see, and when I reached I saw three cars that were not badly damaged but two men had died, and I said to myself that that was enough for me now. That ended the chapter. I dropped the men off and said goodbye and I have never had a drink in a bar since," said Bishop Evans.

It was the same night of that accident that Evans fully made up his mind to surrender his life to serve the Lord and he took a stroll to the All Saints Apostolic Church at Martin's Street in Spanish Town.

The veteran church leader stressed that if people knew Jesus they would start to serve him early. He added that man's body is the temple of God, and that man was created to receive the Spirit of the Lord. He begged persons not to play around with God, because it is a dangerous thing to do.

they should stay focused

Bishop Evans, in encouraging colleague ministers of the Gospel, said despite the hard times, they should stay focused and remember that the Bible says that the righteous has never been forsaken nor his seed seen begging bread.

"If a minister is going through hard times and he gets the revelation of Jesus Christ, hard time will only be a test. Job went through hard times, David went through hard times but it brought him deeper with God. Saul of Tarsus made himself hard times, accepted hard times, so that he got a better revelation of Jesus Christ. Moses chose hard times. So, hard times cannot kill Christians. Hard time is only to harden the Christian," explained Evans.

Bishop Evans noted that it is God's business to take care of him because God says we should seek ye first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness and all things will be added unto you.

Sharon Dennis, who has been associated with Bishop Evans for over three decades, described the church leader as a 'super Bishop', and added that Evans is a man who goes all out for God.

"He is a missionary, at heart, who is passionate about the whole matter of salvation. Bishop will leave here and go to Miami for one baptism and come back. He is that passionate. He has a passion for souls and for Christ. He loves people," noted Mrs. Dennis.