At 22, Ben Rundell-Evans, Curate at St John’s, Devizes, is the youngest Rev in the Church of England. He needed a special faculty from Archbishop Justin to be made a deacon last June.

“It is a joy to live a life which feels right and fitting with God’s calling to me.”

“I didn’t grow up in a Christian home, but assemblies at my church primary school made a pattern of worship normal to me. We tend to undervalue assemblies; they can have a long lasting influence. That’s why I really enjoy doing assemblies and Open the Book.

“I started bell ringing and singing in my home church, St Peter’s in Petersfield. The Anglican choral tradition gave me a language of theology, and is still where my spirituality is still rooted. It’s the tradition of St John’s too.

“By the time I was sixteen, I was part of the young vocations group in the Diocese of Portsmouth. After A-Levels, I did a gap year in a range of parishes, rural and urban, from Anglo-Catholic to Evangelical. I then went to my selection panel and straight into training for ministry at Cuddesdon.

“St John’s is a diverse church with many young singers, including boy and girl trebles, yet our oldest parishioner is over a hundred. As a town centre church, it can’t avoid the real world and has a breadth of community.

“God calls people to all sorts of ministries at all stages of their life. If you think God is calling you to ordination, don’t tell him you’re too young. Speak to people who know you and your vicar.”

(First Published in Grapevine  – the Diocese of Salisbury’s Newsletter)

For more information on exploring a call to Christian ministry, contact our Vocations Coordinator – Benny Hazlehurst –  benny.hazlehurst@salisbury.anglican.org