Weird4 min(s) read
Published 14:04 22 May 2026 GMT
Pastor Mick Flemming spent nearly three decades as a drug addict and criminal until he had a moment of “divine intervention” that led him to become a pastor and help other vulnerable people.
In one of the most remarkable stories of redemption and recovery, he claims he brought a man he formally described as “one of the most prolific alcoholics and drug addicts” back to life after he was declared dead by medical professionals.
After beating an addiction that spanned almost three decades, Flemming, 60, was ordained as a bishop in 2019, then 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.
Seven years since it was set up, the ministry now has several locations across the UK, “tackling poverty head-on by providing a place for worship, clothing, food, conversation, prayer, love and support”.
Of the hundreds, if not thousands, of people the pastor and his congregation have helped over the years, there is one moment that will stay with Flemming forever: he witnessed a man come back to life which he accredits to God’s intervention.
Explaining the most moving miracle he has ever witnessed, Flemming said: “A member of our church, probably one of the most prolific alcoholics and drug addicts I’ve ever seen, he was one of the hopeless, fell over and didn’t have a pulse.
“When the paramedics arrived, they did everything they could to bring him back, but nothing was working.
“One of them saw my collar and said, ‘If you want to say a prayer or a few words, we're just going to go and get the bag to put him in.'”
The pastor, describing how God gave the man a second chance using him as a messenger, said: “I just put my hands on him, and said, Lord, just give him one more chance.
“Just give him a chance, Lord, and bring him back. And he did. And he came back, and he coughed and spluttered.
“When the paramedic came back with the bag to put him in, he said, ‘I'll tell you what that's f**king witchcraft. He were dead. We don't make mistakes.’"
In response, the bishop just said: “That's not f**king witchcraft. That's Jesus Christ, mate.”
While the man did not get clean or sober for another two years, he went to church regularly and prayed, believing it could only be God that brought him back.
He has now been clean and sober for a year, and encourages other people who attend the church to start rehab.
After he was raped at 11-years-old and told his sister had died the next day, Flemming quickly spiralled into a drug addiction and a life of crime.
Almost 30 years later, shortly after checking out of a psychiatric hospital and getting clean, Flemming saw the man that attacked him as a child in a McDonald’s and planned to kill him to get his revenge.
In the moments before his plotted attack, Flemming heard a voice he believed to be God, asking: “Why are you living in his sin?” and decided to help the “old alcoholic” get sober instead of killing him.
Flemming believes that the encounter was not just a coincidence but a “divine intervention” that accelerated his trust in God and pushed him to help other people in a similar situation by studying theology, then helping others by sharing his faith.
Following the encounter, Flemming stayed clean, began his studies at the University of Manchester, and started his clerical journey sitting on the street listening to homeless people.
Flemming’s frontline work during the pandemic gained international acclaim, drawing praise from the Royal Family for providing a vital lifeline to Britain's most vulnerable.
If you would like to help Church on the Street help other people, consider donating here: Church on the Street
