Baptist Minister Graham McBain has found an unusual way of reaching out to men in his local community, becoming a travelling barber.
He hit upon the idea, made possible by a Baptist Insurance grant, while training to cut hair after Covid.
"Initially, I was learning for fun," said Graham, a community pastor in Hartlepool. "But I was chatting to the course lecturer, and he asked me about faith, and I realised that he knew nothing whatsoever about church; it wasn’t that he was anti, he literally had never experienced it. It was a road to Damascus experience, I suddenly noticed I was having in-depth discussions with men that you don’t normally get. There’s something about being in the barber’s chair which lends itself to conversation; you’re sitting there for ten or twenty minutes, so you just end up talking."
Graham’s unconventional ministry was enhanced by a £2,300 grant from Baptist Insurance, which enabled him to buy a hairdressers' portable chair and other equipment. The haircuts he offers are free, with customers only paying if they wish to.
"A lot of my clients are lonely, single men who can’t afford to go to a salon," said Graham, whose wife Mairi is also a Baptist minister. "Many can’t leave the house because of physical disabilities or mental health issues."
"So I turn up with my chair, and we just start talking about the challenges they’re facing. One chap said I was not only the first person he had spoken to in days, but also the first physical contact he’d had with another human being – just my hand on his shoulder, and the scissors and comb, made him feel a bit less alone. It’s an amazing tool for evangelism, though if someone doesn’t want to talk, that’s fine, we’ll just natter on about the weather or the football. But other times it will turn to spirituality and God, and many are genuinely interested."
More than once, Graham has seen the power of prayer work through his unusual ministry.
"One guy had gone through a horrible split with his partner," he said. "We started talking about prayer, and I asked if I could pray for him, and he liked the idea. Later, he invited me back for another visit just to talk about prayer, and from that, he went to find his local church."
"I feel I’m making a real difference to people’s lives, and it was all made possible by the grant from Baptist Insurance."
‘Graham’s work goes to show that God really does move in mysterious ways. It’s so important to take the message of faith to the community, and this is a great example of out-of-the-box thinking that we were delighted to support.’