Prisoner Paul 'set free' by Jesus

For years Paul Algeo chased money, status and survival in Scotland’s drug underworld. Today, the former dealer and prisoner is preaching the grace that set him free.

Raised in Paisley’s Ferguslie Park, Paul grew up around violence, addiction and organised crime.

“Those with wealth and power and influence were all dealers,” he recalled.

As a boy, chapel with his gran felt different – “a place of peace and safety” – but school bullying pushed him towards cannabis, then harder drugs and dealing.

By 17, Paul was in prison.

More jail terms followed, along with fear, paranoia and shame.

In 2006, after yet another arrest, he found himself on the way to Saughton Prison.

He says he had “an awareness of sin”, though he did not yet know the word.

Thinking of his partner and children, he prayed: “Get me out of here and I’ll change.”

That desperate cry became the beginning of a long rescue.

Years later, clean and sober, Paul started reading the Bible. The story of the prodigal son hit home.

Invited to church, he encountered God’s love in a way that changed everything.

“I knew right there and then that I was changed and transformed, never to be the same again,” he said.

There were tears, confession and forgiveness. Paul says Jesus healed the shame he had carried for years and gave him a new purpose.

Now married, Paul is a deacon at New Prestwick Baptist Church.

He is also a member of the Scottish Baptist Lay Preachers Association and Christian charity Blythswood’s church engagement officer for south and central Scotland.

Paul now tells churches what he has learned the hard way: no one is beyond the reach of Christ.

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