Weird7 min(s) read
Published 13:22 22 May 2026 GMT
A former gangster has revealed the exact moment his whole life changed, after setting out to kill a man who'd attacked him as a child.
From gangster and drug addict to an ordained bishop, Mick Flemming’s life is a story of radical redemption.
Major trauma in his childhood sparked three decades of addiction and violent crime, until he discovered his faith and got clean.
Now the pastor runs his own ministry, Church on the Street, which helps some of society’s most marginalized people, drug addicts, and the homeless.
Together, the father-of-four and his congregation transform people’s lives and provide a safe space for Britain's most vulnerable people.
At the age of eleven, Flemming’s life was turned upside down after he was raped on the way to school. Then, the very next day, he found out his sister had died of a heart attack.
Shortly after hearing the news, in an effort to block out the trauma, Flemming took some of his mother’s pain medication. He believes that the fateful moment is what led him to years of drug addiction.
The reformed gangster quickly spiralled into an addiction that took three decades to recover from and a criminal career that Scarface would be proud of.
Fleming told VT: “Drug addiction, sexual abuse, and grief because of things I experienced as a child led me to become a professional criminal, prolific addict, and end up in a psychiatric clinic."
Fifteen years ago, during his last stint in a psychiatric hospital, Flemming had an epiphany. He did not want to use anymore and, with the help of mental health professionals and nuns, he got clean and has stayed clean ever since.
Although his faith was a large reason Flemming stopped using drugs, it was an encounter that he views as a “divine intervention” only a few months into his recovery that accelerated his trust in God and pushed him to study Theology.
Just six months after getting clean for what he hoped would be the last time, Flemming saw the man who attacked him as a child in a McDonald’s. He approached his attacker, who did not recognise him, and arranged to meet up a few days later so he could finally get his revenge.
Flemming arrived at their meeting with two knives, one up his sleeve and one strapped to his ankle, with every intention to “do him in", but, in that moment, he reveals God spoke to him to steer him onto a different path.
He explained: "I heard a voice, not inside my head, it was outside of my head. And the voice simply said, ‘Why are you living in his sin?’”
Describing the moment, the pastor recalled how he felt, saying: “In that moment, I decided that I would not give in to what he'd done to me anymore. And so I was cutting him free, and I felt this real peace; the resentment went.
“I understood forgiveness in a completely new way. It completely changed my life.”
In stark contrast to his original plan, Flemming instead helped the man he described as “just an old alcoholic” to get sober.
The pastor said: “When he died two years later, he wasn't my best friend; he wasn't coming around to mine for tea, but I didn't hate him.”
Flemming believes that the encounter was not just a coincidence but a “divine intervention” that exceeded his trust in God and inspired him to help other people in a similar situation by studying theology, then helping others by sharing his faith.
After the encounter, Flemming stayed clean and sober, began his studies at the University of Manchester, and started his clerical journey sitting on the street listening to homeless people.
Teaching him forgiveness and stopping him from committing a heinous crime is not the only way that God has helped the pastor.
In the midst of his addiction, Flemming was diagnosed with COPD, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, a chronic lung condition caused by damage to the lungs, in his case from smoking crack cocaine, which can prove fatal if not treated properly.
According to the pastor, recently, people in his congregation have been praying for his recovery, and it seems to have worked. When he went for a check-up just two weeks ago, the nurse said to him: “You're blowing normal? Your lung damage is gone. It's not there anymore.”
Since he was ordained as a bishop in 2019, Flemming has set up Church on the Street, which began with him standing outside his local McDonald’s with a suitcase filled with sandwiches, coffee, and clothes, talking to people about Jesus.
The ministry now has locations across the UK, “tackling poverty head-on by providing a place for worship, clothing, food, conversation, prayer, love and support”.
Describing the Church on the Street facilities, Flemming said: “We have medical facilities in them that look after people whose legs are rotting because they've got DVTs because they've been injecting intravenously, so they have gangrene in the legs.
“We have nurses that bandage, and then we have counselors, and then we have hot food every day.
“We have our own drug and alcohol programs, mental health programs, and mental health teams.
“We have clothes, showers, washers, dryers, and of course, all of that is a way of expressing our faith.”
While it is for everyone, Church on the Street is most commonly attended by addicts or homeless people seeking help and support through “faith-based recovery”.
As Flemming's own story shows - making the right choice in the heat of the moment can completely change your life, for the better or worse.
If you would like to help Church on the Street help other people, consider donating here: Church on the Street
