Northampton Elim

The previous twelve months had not been the easiest in the Northampton church.  Apart from other things, a massive flood had damaged much of the facilities and created  huge challenges.

A year later, not only had the fabric of the building been restored but it was now exponentially in better shape than ever before.  I sensed that this was also paralleled in the spiritual life of the church as well.

In order to thank the church for the magnificent work that had been done in the past twelve months - a lavish celebratory meal was put on in appreciation of a number of key people who had a part in the restoration process.  Over ninety were in attendance.  Senior Pastor Jason Heron (pictured here with his wife Linda) compered the evening.

Other people from outside the local church were also present and who has been support to the church during that period including Regional Leader Gordon Neale and his wife Kay.

Marilyn and I were there as guests and, before I spoke at the close of the evening two of the best worship leaders in the UK took part in the celebration - Lara Martin (who is based at Elim Northampton) and Noel Robinson.

Cheltenham Elim

I have made a number of visits to the Cheltenham church in the thirty years since I was the pastor there.  It was great to find it at the strongest it has been during those years.

Three years ago Elim's Adminstrattive Centre, that was next door to the Elim Church, moved to Malvern and the offices were sold to the local church.

Between speaking at the two morning services Gareth Lewis, the current pastor (pictured here with his wife Janet) took me on the tour of our previous headquarters.  It was thrilling to see how the space had been utilised. 

The front of the premises is a charity shop that raises thousands of pounds annually for the work of International Missions.  Another part of the building is uses as a huge food bank for people in the community who are experiencing economic hardship (pictured with Gareth is Susan Sutton who runs the food bank).  Yet another part of the is used as a CAP centre (Christians Against Poverty)

The church has created the perfect balance of spiritual growth and community involvement.  I really appreciate all that Gareth and Janet are doing to make their dream a reality.

Widnes

Farnworth Christian Fellowship was pioneered by retired Elim minister, and former General Superintendent, Eldin Corsie who, with his wife Vivien continue to attend the church.

In recent years FCW has been excellently led by Rob Case (pictured here with his wife Margaret).  The church meets in an ideally located hotel and I very much enjoyed my first visit to this fine Elim Church.

Some of the most valuable leaders we have in our Movement are our bi-vocational pastors - people who work in a secular sphere, full or part time, in order that a church can be established.  Rob Case is such a leader and continues part time within the NHS as the church continues to grow and develop.

Ballyfermot, Dublin

When, several years ago, David and Sylvia Galvin (pictured) became Christians at Ballyfermot Elim Church they never could have imagined at that time that David would one day become the senior minister of the church.

But that is exactly what happened.  David worked closely with the previous minister, John Waller, as an Elder and then, when John and Trish Waller moved to Barking in London, David became the pastor of the church having earlier applied to become an Elim minister.  

The church has continued to grow over the years under his leadership.