Crawley

It was good to be with our friends Phil and Elaine Johnston at Crawley Elim.  This was the first time Marilyn and I had seen their new building.

The church was very full for the morning service which overflowed into the gallery.  There was a great sense of the presence of God in the service.

Phil and Elaine have always brought added value to every church that they have led and Crawley is certainly no exception.

S4G Connect

Tim Alford who leads Serious4God has done a tremendous job in the short time since he took up the new role.  S4G Connect is a conference that draws on youth leaders from across our Movement and which is held annually in Malvern.

The speakers are drawn from people across the UK who, in one way or another, excel in youth ministry and this year, with attendance up 25% on last year, was no exception

The reason that I had been invited to speak, apart from being the GS, was to address the subject "Knowing what I know now, what would I do differently today than when I was a youth pastor.  

I very much enjoyed engaging with a great group of young leaders from throughout our Elim churches.

UCB Leaders Day

Over recent years I have made many good friends in the cross Denominational world beyond the borders of our own Movement and non better than David L'Herroux the Managing Director of United Christian Broadcasters.

UCB producers the highest quality TV and Radio Broadcasts and is responsible for the publishing of the daily reading booklet 'Word for Today'.

Apart from this wide ministry it also holds leaders day that attracts people from all over the Denominational spectrum and from all over the UK.  It was my privilege to speak at one of these important days led by UCB church coordinator Bill Partington.  The venue was packed for the event and it was a pleasure to spend quality time with quality people.

Brighton

The church in Brighton has not gone through the easiest of times in the past couple of years.  The situation has been reversed however through the leadership of Christy Smith (pictured here with his wife Lynda) and the members of the church.

As so often is the case, its always a pleasure to meet people who have been in the church for a generation or more (one lovely couple having attended Brighton Elim for seventy years) as well as those who have recently become part of the congregation.

An excellent Praise band led the worship.

Camborne

At one of the southernmost tips of the UK, our church in Camborne lies in the beautiful area of Cornwall.

It was great to be with senior pastors David and Liz Smyth who we have known since I was their pastor over thirty years ago.

We felt very much 'at home' in the church on the Sunday morning we were there.  There is a great sense of community and family about the congregation and the worship, led by Christian Ponsford was exceptional.

Dave Smyth is one of our Movements entrepreneurs and, because of his heart for the marginalised, those with learning difficulties and disabilities, has set up a program of care within the town that not only reach many hundreds of people every week but has a turnover of almost a million pounds annually.  It was a joy for Marilyn and I to be with them.

Ealing Christian Centre

By any standards ECC is an exceptional church. Marilyn and I were present to speak at the Watchnight service as the church and the Movement moved from 2014 into our centenary.

One thousand people were in the congregation that commenced at 8:30 pm and concluded at 4 pm the following morning.  Most of us would find a 7.5 hour service daunting but not the members of ECC who do this not just annually but every month of the year.

Apart from my ministry the meeting was packed with worship, intercession, musical ministry and powerful testimonies of the year that had gone past and which included the story of a remarkable creative miracle of which their was full medical documented evidence.  

Two days later I was able to spend time with the senior ministers, Richard and Rajindark Buxton (pictured) and all of the leaders in one of their monthly leaders meeting