AN ex-police inspector who swapped the beat for the Bible is finding a new lease of life as a parish minister.

Rev Gary Noonan has taken charge of Houston and Killellan Kirk near Johnstone, Renfrewshire, where he hosted his first service on Sunday.

The 36-year-old, who spent 13 years in the police force, left his post as an inspector at Paisley Police Station in June 2015 to train to become a minister.

Gary, dad to Robbie, 12, and Gregor, six and married to wife Ruth didn’t grow up in a practicing Christian family but found his ‘calling’ in the church.

He said: "I was at a funeral when I got into going back to church.

"I just started getting more involved and although I hadn’t grown up in the church I found it a peaceful place to go each week.

"I helped with the youth groups at my hometown church in Troon and got involved in different areas of church life.

"As I got more involved in the church I think I found my calling. I felt a pull to do something else and chose to take a different direction."

Gary joined the police when he was 19-years-old, serving in Ayrshire and Glasgow before moving to Paisley.

He had a promising career in the force, having been promoted to an inspector in Paisley before departing the police for the parish.

Gary said: "To leave a job that’s well paid and with a good pension and go back to university was a big commitment.

"It’s always hard to leave something you’re familiar with.

"I had a lot of colleagues and people around me in the police, whereas as a minister you do a lot of work alone.

"But I had to believe and have conviction that my decision was the right one.

"Joining the parish is a fairly long process, it takes six years to become a parish minister, with an eight-month inquiry process.

"There’s some ministers who work part-time but for me it was clear my calling was the parish ministry."

Although uncertain before taking the decision - which he refers to as a "step of faith" - Gary hasn’t looked back since leaving the police.

He said: "Before you take that decision you’re fairly down the road, it’s their decision whether it’s right for you.

"Shortly after I left the police I went up to the Isle of Skye for six weeks in June and July 2015 to a parish in Dunvegan for six weeks’ placement.

"It was great being with the family up there during the summer.

"I think my family have really embraced it.

"I learnt from different ministers and during the placements I got to meet some brilliant people.

"I was very blessed with my supervisors as well as my friends that I learned from and had for support.

"It’s a really diverse group of people that go into ministry, from physicists to young people straight out of university."

People looking to serve their time before becoming a minister must complete three placements during a probation period, with 15 months of full-time work.

Gary graduated from the Highland Theological College, UHI, last year and went on to.

completed his training in Alloway in South Ayrshire.

Speaking of the move to Houston, which has just under 6,500 people, Gary said: "Coming here to Houston, the community have been brilliant and really welcoming - it really helped us settle in as a family.

"I think the opportunities in the church are fantastic and we need to create a place where people where people feel they belong and stick together.

"The congregation here is 650 members and there’s a real sense of community which is vitally important. The church should be at the heart of a community."

The keen cyclist and golfer's new parish supports a host of groups, from a pipe band and walking group to the Boys' and Girls' Brigades and a thriving Sunday school.

Gary was preached in on Sunday by Rev Roddy Hamilton, minister at New Kirkpatrick.

He said: "Sunday was great, it was the culmination of three years’ of hard work.

"There’s a lot of families and supportive people in the community and it’s good to finally get there and have my own parish.

"There are lots of things on at the church and we’re really active within the village and the surrounding area. It’s not just about Sunday but the whole week.

"For me it’s vital to make a connection with the community and also linking in with teenagers and see if we can explore working with young people more.

"There’s been a good foundation laid here by ministers before me and it’s important to build on this."