CHILDREN'S laughter and the clatter of running feet rang around the playground; football, tag, "you're it!" Teachers are in pairs, keeping an eye out for trouble. But when trouble came they failed to see it.

Joseph stood in the corner, by the wall, with a few others. Two boys ran up and violently shoved Joseph against the wall. They didn't let go. His friends watched as they pinned Joseph against the wall then start to yell and cheer.

Joseph remembers it vividly: "Two guys, who used to bully me a lot, grabbed me, pinning me against the wall. They got loads of people to punch me. Some of them were meant to be my friends."

"We've got 'im! Who wants a free punch? Anyone for a free punch?" The crowd's chanting seemed to catch hold of Joe's 'friends' and they started to yell and cheer, too. Sucked in, they left Joseph on his own.

Joseph was the quiet kid who sat on his own. Perhaps it was his lack of confidence that made him a target. It instilled in Joseph a lasting fear of almost anyone with a confident, plucky nature; it reminded him of the bullies. Getting abuse hurled at him by other boys in his year was the flavour of Joseph's daily life. Over time, isolation, rejection and anger crept in.

Joel lay in the hospital bed; the car accident now felt just like a bad dream. Coming to the UK from Portugal with his mum may not have been a good idea after all. A few years later, Joel was diagnosed with severe ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) - caused, it was believed, by the long-term after-effects of injections he'd been given in the hospital. ADHD took Joel's social life into a downward spiral. At school he became a victim of bullying.

"I remember a group of kids at my school chased me and I ran to a fence, threw my bag over and tried to climb it, I was really scared. They caught me, dragged me down and started hitting me. I was crying and yelling at them to get off."

Unlike introverted Joseph, Joel knew that his ADHD meant he would sometimes "go too far" and say the wrong thing. This is what got him into trouble with other lads - and he felt powerless do anything about it.

Trying to fit in was not easy. Joel and his mum, Christine, are both committed Christians. When Christine met someone at work who lived in the Jesus Fellowship's Christian community house in Norwich, "Saving Faith", Christine visited; she encouraged Joel to come and see what it was like. Joel, outwardly extrovert (due partly to his ADHD), but inwardly insecure, found friendship and acceptance at "Saving Faith". He also found Joseph.

Joseph's family had been friends with people at "Saving Faith" for some time. Joseph started going there after he finished school. He got involved with their youth group and starting showing up more and more regularly, finding healing and friends, like Joel, who had been through similar things. Joel was loud and outgoing - just the kind of person Joseph had learned to fear - but he, too, had suffered from bullying.

As well as Joel and Joseph, many other young people were going round to "Saving Faith". One of them was Brandon. Brandon is one of the boys who used to bully Joel at school.

He had decided to tag along to "Saving Faith" with his brother who had some friends there. It was 7 o'clock in the evening. Dozens of conversations were buzzing in the packed dining room at "Saving Faith". One was taking place at the far corner on one of the tables:

"Hey Joel, you ok? Joel, this is Brandon."
"Yeah, I know who he is... He used to bully me in school."

But by the end of the evening Brandon, Joseph and Joel were in full flow. Laughter and jokes were being thrown around (not fists). If you had been sitting there, in the warm atmosphere of friendship, you would never have known that these three lads would probably never have spoken to each other before - unless it was in argument, fear and aggression. They're still friends, and finding more of Jesus together to this day.

The world can be a cold place. It turns people against each other, makes our culture tribal and splintered. Think of the youth culture labels: Chav, Indie, Goth and so on. And it can be worse: Pikey... Paki. It's about separation and division. How many times do we make assumptions about people when we walk down the street? See a young person wearing tracksuit bottoms and a top with their hood pulled up - what do you think? Keep your distance? Separation and division.

Jesus sacrificed Himself on the cross for reconciliation. God with us - and us with each other. Jesus died so that lads like Joseph, Joel and Brandon could share a brotherhood bond that obliterates all the separation and division.

And yet - and this is the scary thing - people like these three lads won't just suddenly come together, unless someone makes sacrifices to bring them together. The sacrifice of Jesus won't reach them unless Christians show that they are ready and willing to give them time and believe in them.

Like in Jesus' story of the Good Samaritan, we Christians must show that we are different from the world and its sad ways. We have what the whole world can't offer - and we're ready to sacrifice to share it with people who need it. No matter who they are.

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