Sparkbrook

The last time I spoke at Sparkbrook Elim was when Pastor JJ Morgan was the minister.  I was a teenager, and he had invited me to give my testimony.

Fifty years later I was a speaker, together with Nigel Tween, at a convention weekend entitled, "Embracing the Holy Spirit"

The church has gone through some difficult times in recent years but has seen a dramatic turn around under the ministry of the current pastor , Caleb Nyanni pictured here with his wife Angela who in the four years since he has been there has seen the church triple in size.

Calvary Chapel, Kings Heath

For many years Calvary Chapel was pastored by Colin and Francis Dyson (pictured fourth and fifth from left) and then four years ago their daughter, ordained Elim minister Claire Williams (pictured third from the left with her husband Tony), took over the leadership when her father retired.

Their eldest son Tim (pictured fourth from right with his wife) is a Minister in Training and now serving as the assistant minister at Elim Yeovil.  Their second son Jon (pictured second from right) is a second year student at RTC.  Their third son Joe (far left) is in the praise band in the local church.

It was great to witness first hand the growth and development of the church under Claire's ministry and especially good to for Marilyn and I to share a meal with all the leaders and their wives after the morning service.  A special mention should be made of the church elder Norman who has been a member of the church since  it was founded 55 years ago.

Com Church, Dunstable

My visit to Com church was part of their anniversary celebrations.  Thirty years ago the Dunstable congregation commenced with just a handful of people led by Doug and Helena Richards (pictured) and now is a large and vibrant church.  It was great to meet people who were part of the initial group and who are key leaders in the church today.

The last occasion I was in Dunstable was the the opening of their new premises where the church had taken over the largest night club in the town and converted it into a place of worship.  The previous week I had been at another Elim church that had taken over the town's casino.

Thank you Doug and Helena for your great welcome to Marilyn and myself and for the generous cheque you gave to Elim Missions for the suffering Christians in Iraq.

Church of Pentecost

Elim and the Church of Pentecost enjoy very close links.  It was therefore a privilege to be asked to be the speaker at the 25th Jubilee Anniversary celebrations that was held in Dagenham, London.  Other Elim representatives present apart from Marilyn and myself were John and Trish Waller, who had served for many years in Ghana, and Bruce and Heather Hunter.

The four and a half hour service included times for worship and reports of the growth of the church over the years.  It began in the UK as Elim church of Pentecost with just 30 people and now is 17,000 strong.  World-wide is numbers over two million.

River Camp

It was good to be back at River Camp on 2014 - an initiative commenced by David Campbell from small beginnings but now which attracts around 1800 annually to the large site situated in the Cotswolds near Evesham.  Other speakers were Che Ahn, David Campbell, Simon Foster, Ken Gott and Kevin Peat.