Real Deal Ministries
Real Deal Ministries exists to serve the local church and prisons across the UK, acting as a vehicle to carry the life transforming message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to those who are lost and broken.
We do this through our 'sponsor a book' prisons project, evangelistic events that Rod speaks at and the equipping of Christians to be more effective in their personal witness.
We believe that nobody is without hope and that God has a plan and purpose for everybody. We believe that there is freedom for the prisoner and those who are oppressed and that through Christ everybody can have a brand new start in life.
If you want to find out more about how Real Deal Ministries can support your churches outreach event or how you can help get Rod's book into prisons please get in touch.
Rod Williams
Rod Williams is a former addict and criminal who is now dedicated to reaching others with a message of hope and healing. Originally from South Wales, he now lives in West Yorkshire with his wife Kate and has 2 beautiful daughters. They worship at Life Church, Bradford.
Rod is an evangelist, speaker, author and professional magician who uses his story of transformation and sleight of hand skills to communicate the gospel message in a way that engages the audience.
Experimenting with cannabis was the gateway drug that took Rod into a dark world of drugs, crime, gambling and prison. Dealing drugs in clubs at 18 to smuggling drugs by his early 20’s, Rod was relentless in his pursuit to make money no matter what the cost. After becoming addicted to heroin at 23 Rod lost complete control and very quickly lost everything including his freedom. In June 2002 Rod was sentenced to 4 years for importing crack cocaine and heroin into the island of Guernsey.
During his prison sentence Rod had a supernatural encounter with Jesus Christ that began a radical journey of healing and restoration. Upon Rod’s release in 2004 he started a residential programme in a Christian rehab, The Lighthouse Foundation, based in Widnes, Cheshire. He was a student for 16 months before graduating and becoming a support worker at the project. Rod views his time spent at The Lighthouse as the most significant time in his life as it created a platform for him to rebuild his life with Jesus at the centre.
It was in 2009 that Rod recognised his calling as an evangelist, simply because of his persistent burning passion to tell others about Jesus. Around this time Rod started to work for Christians Against Poverty, an evangelistic charity that is committed to serving the poor and reaching the lost through the church in the UK. Rod has travelled all over the UK and abroad for CAP, speaking at outreach events that churches have put on for their clients. He has had the immense privilege of personally leading over 1,000 clients to the Lord and seeing their lives transformed. Rod is still involved with the work of CAP.
In 2014, Rod’s testimony book ‘The Real Deal’ was published by Authentic media and since sold over 29,000 copies. He also set up Real Deal Ministries to facilitate, through fundraising, free copies of his book being distributed to prisons in the UK. Over 7,000 copies of Rod’s book have been sent to over 80 prisons bringing hope to those who read it.
Due to the demand for Rod to share his story and bring his innovative evangelistic show to churches across the UK he is now able to increase his availability. Rod’s unique style and creative approach for outreach events have proven to be an effective way of reaching non-Christians with the greatest message ever told. Click here if you want to find out more about booking Rod for your event.
Rod Williams may not have fooled Penn & Teller but he fooled all of us! There was a good balance between entertaining magic and personal testimony and evangelism. In addition a pleasure to work with, and a great blessing to many. Well worth inviting to an appropriate event!
In 2015 Rod and his Dad were invited to Canada to be interviewed live on television to share their story. You can see the interview here: