I would not know what the average length of a time a minister commits to one single congregation but forty years is outstanding by any standard. And that is the period of ministry that Paul and Evelyn Epton have accomplished in Birkenhead.
Starting from a handful of people in the most modest of accommodation the three hundred strong church now exists at multiple sites in the town. It is a tribute to a long and faithful ministry.
However, Paul's ministry has not been limited to any geographical area - though the Wirral has always been where his heart lies. As one of Elim's foremost evangelists over the years his ministry has taken him all over the world and, at the special service to mark the occasion at which I was the speaker, there folk who had come from as far away as Nigeria - for the event.
Apart from a very from a very full church, there was a strong representation of ministers who had been assistants during Paul's tenure and who now were pastoring significant churches of their own. One of them Simon Foster, lead pastor of Elim at Bristol and NLT member, preached at the Sunday services as the anniversary continued over the weekend.
The service was ably convened by Greg Epton, Paul and Evelyn's son, who will be continuing to lead the congregation after Paul's retirement as senior pastor
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