Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Livingston - Scotland

Our visit to Livingston was a nostalgic event as this was the first of three churches I had the opportunity to plant during the time I was Regional Leader for Scotland. Since those initial days the church has had a series of able leaders who have pastored the church to the point that it now has a fine facility that has now achieved two stages of building.

John Henson, pictured here with his wife Claire, is the present pastor of the church and their long and mature ministry experience makes them ideally place to take the congregation to their best days yet. Marilyn spoke at the women's banquet on the Saturday evening and I spoke at the two Sunday services the second of which other local churches had been invited.

Friday, April 17, 2009

E@B

Elim@Bristol is an excellent church in the heart of the City. Originally called the City Temple when pastored for over thirty years by former General Superintendent Ron Jones, it underwent a change in name and culture when Peter Davies assumed the leadership around ten years ago. Peter had previously been the pastor of New Life Bristol and ably presided of the coming together of the two congregations.

There were a total of around five hundred present in the two morning services and anyone who visits this warm and welcoming church encounters a vibrant community of worshipping people.

Beacon Community Church

David Langton, pictured here with his wife Ann, leads the Beacon Community Church and is ably assisted by retired minister Derek Lambelle.

The church, based in Burntwood, has outgrown the original building and holds its Sunday morning service in a local school. One of the features of this fine church is its links with the local community. After an excellent lunch with the core team I had the opportunity to minister around thirty of the extended leadership.