Elim Conference Italy

The Elim Conference in Italy was hosted by Elim's President Giuseppe Piccolo (pictured here with his wife Antonietta) in Palermo, Sicily. This was the third occasion I had spoken at the Conference in recent years and it has become one of my favorite parts of Europe to minister in - not just because of the beauty of the landscape but because of the warmth of the people.

I spoke to the leaders and wives on five occasions during the time I was there and Marilyn spoke to to the women's meeting - a meeting that has such an impact it over-ran the time schedule as there were so many who requested personal ministry subsequently.

Phillip Niblett, who has ministered extensively throughout Italy in recent years, was present for the Conference and spoke with great effect at the Youth service.

On each of my visits my interpreter has been Luciana who is pictured here with me and her husband Giovani-baptiste. Apart from being police inspectors (Luciana is a chief inspector) they also joint pastor an Elim church in the north of Italy.

During the Conference there was a visit from a member of the Italian Government, the newly elected member of Parliament, Alessandro Pagano. He spoke eloquently and extensively about his Christian commitment and the need for a well articulated Christian voice and presence in the life of the country. I have heard many politicians speak during our services and he was by far the most impressive. My message during that service addressed the issue of integrity in church and State and we heard later that the text of it was to be added to his personal web site.

There is very much to be encouraged about in Elim Italy. They have fine leaders with a great hunger for God's best for their lives. I have just received an invitation to the the principle speaker at their Conference next year and am very much looking forward to being with them again.

West Street Baptist Church

"West Street Baptist" in Crewe has for several years been affiliated to Elim hence my visit to them. In the many years that their pastor, Geoff Willetts has been with them he has seen the church grow from a handful of people to the four hundred that attend their three Sunday services. I spoke at the two morning services. Geoff will retire in the next few years and the challenge will be to secure leadership that can continue to growth the church both in breadth and depth.

UCB

I have a very high regard for the work and ministry of United Christian Broadcasters based at Stoke on Trent. Its ministry is a great asset to the Church in the UK and it is led by a Board and Trustees that are of the highest caliber. My day with them was spent recording a series of fifty short messages to be broadcast over the next few weeks during their regular programming.

Salisbury - Oldest members

Whenever I visit long-established churches it is always a privilege to meet those who were founder members of the initial congregations.  Norman and Dorothea Coles have attended since the earliest days of the Salisbury Elim church and are still actively involved and rarely miss a meeting.  Norman is in his 97th year.  Elim owes a great debt  to such faithful people. 

Salisbury

The Salisbury Elim Church is pastored by Phil (pictured) and Sally Thompsett and Gordon and Jaquie Malcolm.  Prior to the morning service Phil took me on a tour of the adjacent building which had only been a shell on the last occasion I was there but now housed a coffee bar, youth lounge, sports hall and a number of offices from which community projects are launched throughout the week.

Holy Trinity - Weston

Its always a pleasure to visit our churches and spend time with our leaders and congregations. On this weekend however I was with one of my closest friends Claude Ellerington, who with his wife Sue, is pictured here. Both Claude's sons, Richard and Steve, are Elim ministers and part of the ministry team. Weston is a creative and innovative church.

Alloa

Colin and Laura Shreenan pastor one of Elim's smallest churches but through tenacity and commitment are beginning to see a breakthrough. Committed to the people and with the the belief that this fellowship can break out of its history they are faithfully planting for God in this small Scottish town. I enjoyed being with them and their church over my weekend with them.

UCB Partners Day

United Christian Broadcasters based in Hanchurch, Stoke on Trent is an organisation for which I have the highest regard. It was a privilege to minister to the senior staff, partners and supporters. There are several groups within the UK that are deserving of the financial and prayer support of local churches and UCB is most certainly one of them.

Liverpool leaders

I always appreciate the opportunity to speak to leaders across the Denominations. The Liverpool venue was Grace Family Church and the group to which I had been invited covered Pentecostal, Baptist, Anglican, Rhema and independent churches.

Leyton

Mervyn and Edna Tilley have been in Leyton  over twenty years and have seen the church develop to become one of our key churches in the London area.  Like so many of our Elim churches it has a heart for the community and missions as well as concentrating on its own needs as a Fellowship.  Though retired as a member of the NLT and as a Regional leader, Mervyn has lost none of his energy for the local church.  It was a joy to be with a group of people that is so open to God's word and with such a desire for spiritual growth.

Metropolitan West Regional Day

There can be no Region in our Movement where travel is more difficult than the two metropolitan Regions covered by Regional Leader David Campbell.  Yet despite this each time I have spoken at a Regional day in one of these two areas the attendance levels have been among the highest in our Movement.  This  says a great deal about the leaders who attend and certainly is a reflection of the  leadership of David and his team.  The Saturday meeting held in St. Albans was attended by around three hundred from the Met West region.  A highlight for me was the worship time led by two of our Movement's top worship leaders.  Sam (Ealing Christian centre) and Joel (St Albans) flowed together perfectly.  It was a privilege to be part of this great day.

Sycamore Chapel

Marilyn and I live in a small Cotswold village.  Our close neighbours are Geoff and Liz Brown who, apart from owing a local farm, have been an incredible witness in the area for a long time. Geoff is an elder at the church his father founded and which recently became networked to Elim via ECI. I have  been conducting a series of mid-week meetings there on the subject "21st Century Church"

Fraserburgh

Fraserburgh is Elim's most northern church in the UK situated in the north-east of Scotland.  Neil and Pauline Passmore lead a great team and there is  a fabulous atmosphere in this growing church.

Though there are only 12,000 people in this picturesque fishing town no less than a thousand people pass through the doors every week via the church services, luncheon club, and children's ministry that is lead by David and Elizabeth Ritchie and which attracts over 200 children per week.

The latest incursion into the community is a top-of -the-range gym  that is open five days a week. There are no facilities to equal it for many miles around and it is just the latest expression of a church that has chosen to live without walls and embrace the environment in which it is situated.   I arrived on the Saturday and visited the back-to-back events for children and young people before having a meal with the pastors.  Sunday morning I was able to be with the main church and Sunday night saw the church packed for a baptismal service.

Blackburn

The Elim Church in Blackburn is in one of the most prominant positions in the town - adjacent to the main shopping area. Buts its not just location that has been the reason for its growth. A great team led by Bob Clarke for the past eleven years has brought the church to the place it is in today. The morning service was packed to capacity.

Ealing Christian Centre

My reason for being in Ealing was to speak that their training centre which is lead by Chris Ragg. After three hours with the students, senior pastors Richard and Rajindark Buxton (pictured) took me on a tour of the new extension to the building that has cost three quarters of a million pounds. The suites of offices and rooms make the facilities among the best of any church in London. However already they are looking for further expansion as the growing 1400 Sunday congregation needs increased space for the ministries run by the church on every day of the week.

Wrenthorpe

Peter and Julia Clothier came to Wrenthorpe just over two years ago. It is a long-established church and its style is perhaps a little more traditional than the average Elim church. I enjoyed my day with this warm and friendly congregation. This church will flourish in direct proportion to its ability to transition and change to become even more relevant to the culture in which it is placed. I look forward to visiting the church in the future and witnessing for myself the strides that it has taken towards an anticipated growth.

The Gathering

Around one thousand five hundred young people attended the 2008 Gathering from around the country.  A full report is in Direction magazine.  Tribute must again be given to the Mark Pugh and the Serious4God team whose months of planning went into make the weekend such a huge success.  I was there to take two seminars - one for the 18+ group and and the other for the 200 youth leaders who were present.

Mountain Ash

The past four years have been very difficult for the Mountain Ash church. At one point Glesni Cunningham (the pastor) and her husband Micha were simultaneously undergoing chemotherapy. Glesni recovered fully but in January of this year Micha passed away. The story is told in the March edition of Direction under the title of "How to say goodbye"

My visit to Mountain Ash was the first since the funeral and also the first time when Glesni participated fully in the meeting. It was a great service and I cannot pay a too high a tribute to Glesni for the courage and fortutude that she and her teenage daughter Leona have shown during this trying time. It also must be a great source of strength to them to be surrounded by such a caring church family.

Castle Douglas

Ronnie and Irene did not commence their ministry in Elim. They worked for the late Bob Gordon's ministry prior to planting a church in the beautiful Scottish town of Castle Douglas.

I had the opportunity of meeting seventeen of his leaders/spouses over a fine meal prior to an evening of teaching and interaction.

Ronnie and Irene have worked sacrificially to bring this Elim church to the place it is in today with its own building in the centre of town. This, together with the acumen of the men and women that I met, gives me every confidence for the future of this great church.

Church of God, Kilsyth

It has been eight years since I was the minister of the Church of God, in Kilsyth Scotland and this was my first visit back. For the past two years Sandy McMeekin has been the senior pastor and it was good to spend time with him and his wife Elizabeth as well as renewing friendship with many good folk that I had not seen for some time.

Saturday morning consisted of a meeting with the wider leadership of the church and Saturday night was a joint celebration with a number of churches in the area. Sunday morning and evening was an opportunity to minister to the local congregation

New Chancellor for RTC

It was a delight to be present for the installation of my close friend, Lyndon Bowring as the first Chancellor of Regent's Theological College. The service was convened by Elim's Director of Training, Nigel Tween.

Two letters of commendation were read at the packed service. The first was from Dr. R.T. Kendall and the second from Rev. David Coffey OBE the current leader of the world Baptist Alliance. Lyndon, who is the Chairman of Care and an Elim minsiter for over thirty years, is one of the most influential Evangelicals in the UK. I have no doubt that his inauguration to this role will bring much added value to the life and ministry of the College.

Grace Gospel Church - India

Many will remember a recent report in Direction magazine about the first Elim Conference in India that was hosted by the 5000 strong Grace Gospel Church pastored by Dr Arthur Paul (pictured) and his four sons.

This week the church was attacked by an anti-Christian mob of many hundreds of people. One of the pastors, Samson Paul, was attacked for preaching the Gospel. Not only did the police not intervene but even refused to register the incident. Their only involvement was to arrest two women for giving out Christian literature and now face a three year prison sentence.

I had been invited to pray at the inauguration of the churches new Internet ministry that now streams their services live world wide via www.samsonpaul.com I was able to address the church via phone while linking visually via computer. This has been a critical week for the church and they very much need our continual prayers. One of my cousins. Herbert Glass from Northern Ireland flew into Bangalore to minister at the church a few days later. Paul Hallam (Manchester and Elim IMD coordinator for India) and Mike Robins (Elim Newquay) have close and supportive links with this great church

Harrow International Christian Centre

It was a joy to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of HICC with my good friends Michael and Pat Carr. Prior to planting the church, Michael Carr was on the pastoral staff of Kensington Temple in London. He was also one of the earliest Regional Superintendents in our Movement and had served with distinction in Elim for many years.

Starting with a small number of people the church eventually secured its own premises in the center of Harrow but before long these proved to be too small. The growing congregation vacated the site and moved to an adjacent cinema while the original facility was demolished and, on its footprint, a three story building was erected which now houses a sanctuary area that currently attracts up to 500 people.

The morning celebration service, in which African, Asian and West Indian groups took part was followed by a second service at which Michael Carr shared his vision for the coming years. This was followed by a time of prayer for the ongoing ministry of the church.

Northampton

Jason and Linda Heron have been in Northampton less than three years but in that time the church has grown by over a third to around three hundred and the building which is now too small for their present needs has undergone a major refurbishment. I was to be there for the Sunday morning but as the womens ministry was being linked to "Aspire" Marilyn was invited to be present for their Saturday Christmas outreach. It was an amazing event that exuded excellence and at the end of the evening at which Linda spoke powerfully, eleven people committed their lives to Christ. Sunday was a great day. Northampton Elim is a tremendous church that is perfectly poised for a great future.

REACH Conference

Swanwick Conference Center was booked to capacity with four hundred Elim Pastors and wives for the fourth Vision Conference. Nigel Tween Elim's Director of Training organised the event and it was evident that a great team and months of planning had paid dividends. Top speakers from within and outside our denomination contributed to the event and subsequent response by letters and email revealed that many who attended felt it has been a time of input, inspiration and challenge

Derby

Derby City Church has always been a great church for as long as I can remember but the members tell me that it is now numerically larger than it has ever been in its history. The first thing that I noticed on my latest visit was not only the fact that the church was packed - extending well into the gallery area - but the atmosphere. A cultural change has taken place which has added an increased sense of warmth and vitality into the ambiance of the place. Dave and Julia Ayling head a great team. Its a fabulous church with extensive plans in place for a new facility to cope with the continual growth.

A special guest at the International Offices

Elim as a Denomination is ninety three years old and George Canty has been an minister for around eighty of them! It was great to have him visit our offices and hear his reminiscences of the early years of our Movement. He is anything but a man locked in 'yesterday'. He was known in the past as pastor and an evangelist who held many successful Divine Healing Crusades. He comtinues to be a prolific writer with his books still translated into many languages.

Bandon - Republic of Ireland

Bandon is evidence to the fact that not only large churches are effective. I was invited to speak, by Brian and Doris Synnott, at an Evangelistic event that was held in a hotel in the town center Around sixty people were present and it was wonderful to see three adults make a first time commitment to Christ at the close of the meeting. On the following Sunday morning I spoke at the regular church service and was able to meet the regular congregation

Irish Leaders Day

This was held as part of a leadership training program. It was hosted in the Hillsborough Elim church and Pastors, Elders and Deacons from Ulster and from the Republic were present. I always enjoy being in Ireland as there is always a great atmosphere, sense of rapport and attendance. This day-long Saturday event was no exception

Rugby

David and Sheila Crabb have been at Rugby for twenty-two years and this great church is a testimony to the value of long-term ministry.

Both of them have have a heart, not only for their congregation which is their first priority, but for other leaders.

I spoke at the Sunday morning service and in the evening many of the members were engaged in practical service to the neighborhood.

Yet another example of a warm and welcoming congregation with a desire to positively affect the community in which they have established a long and trusted relationship.

Glasgow Elim

Simon Foster is the senior pastor of this four hundred strong church. He and his wife Jane have been in Glasgow for the past six years in which they have seen a great deal of numerical and spiritual growth.

I was present for the Sunday morning service after which there was a fabulous meal to honour around fifty members who had been involved in various forms of service within the church during the past year.

This church is without doubt one of the finest Pentecostal churches in Scotland

First Elim Conference - India

Over eleven hundred church leaders were present for the first India Elim Conference. Paul Hallam Elim's coordinator for India has done a phenomenal job over the past few years in networking these churches together. The host church senior pastor Dr Arthur Paul was honored together with his wife and sons for the magnificent work that they had done behind the scenes. This 5000 strong church in Bangalore is a dynamic congregation. Elim's international missions director Chris Jones also spoke at the Conference attended by around twenty Elim leaders from the UK who are supporting missions in India. A fuller report will appear in Direction magazine.

Isle of Man

There are four Elim Churches on the Isle of Man which has a population of 84,000. On Sunday morning I spoke at Douglas and then, after a meal with Simon and Anita Ricketts (3rd and 4th from the left) and their family, spent the afternoon with all the pastors/wives. In the evening there was a joint service in an Anglican church for the four Fellowships to which members of other Denominations were invited.

Hamilton Elim NZ

I have known Bob and Margaret Lawson for longer than any of the New Zealand Elim leaders and, as with Luke and Marilyn Brough, they are great friends. It was great to be with them on the Sunday evening at their fabulous church in Hamilton.

Driving into the city one is immediately impressed by the imposing building that, when it it is fully developed will incorporate a thousand seater auditorium.

There is a great atmosphere in this church and there is little wonder why it is a growing congregation. I was due to fly home to the UK on the Monday but, before doing so, spent some time back at the church which was packed with children enjoying a vacation holiday club.

Bob and Margaret will be the delegates to our 2008 Conference in Prestatyn

Auckland Elim

Luke and Marilyn Brough pioneered Auckland city church with just a handful of people. Today it is one of the largest congregations in New Zealand with Sunday attendance of over two and half thousand people. I preached to a different congregation in each of their three morning services. The complex sits on a seven acre site and incorporates a 500 strong school and a Bible College. The youth group of the church attracts 500 people every week. This church is the largest of the 45 Elim churches in the country. There are around 16,000 in Elim churches throughout New Zealand.

There are six Elim churches in the city of Auckland alone and it was great to meet with leaders (pictured) from some of these churches on the Sunday afternoon.

Elim New Zealand Conference

Elim New Zealand is a success story and their strength was certainly reflected in their largest Conference ever. I was one of two keynote speakers for the event - the other being Wayne Alcorn of the three thousand-strong Brisbane City Church in Australia. Conference business was minimal and, because my plane was delayed an hour I missed it! The primary consideration is teaching and worship which takes place throughout the entire day.

Luke Brough leads the National Leadership Team. Elim New Zealand has a wide spectrum of high caliber leadership.

The worship bands are as good as can be found anywhere in the world. The presentation of the Conference was hallmarked by excellence from start to finish.. The Auckland Elim hip hop dance group who took part in part of the worship time - recently came fifth in the entire country and are a great testimony to radically saved young people.

Elim New Zealand is linked closely to Elim UK in that at each of our Conferences we send and receive a delegate from each of our two nations.

Christian Life Centre - 25th Anniversary

It is 25 years since Christian Life Center in Selly Oak, Birmingham was first planted. To celebrate this, 250 people met for a banquet in the Botanical Gardens. Stuart and Amanda Blount have been at the church for the past 14 years and have taken the rapidly growing congregation through a major building program. Stuart, who also serves on Elim's National Leadership team, used the celebration to announce to the church, which has a prime position in the area, that it had now totally cleared its debt. Two morning services are necessary to house the burgeoning growth and it was my privilege to speak at these celebration services. Simon Foster, a previous associate minister and now senior minister of the Glasgow Elim Church, ministered at the evening celebration. CLC, while catering for all ages, has a high percentage of young couples. It's expanding leadership team is evidence of preparation for an even greater future

Pentecost Centenary Celebrations

The first modern outpouring of the Holy Spirit took place at an Anglican church in Sunderland one hundred years ago when Rev. A.A. Body was the minister. The building today houses an Elim Church pastored by Mark Drew who put in many months of work to highlight this very important event. Similar manifestations of the Holy Spirit took place in the USA and Norway a century ago and today there are around 600 million Pentecostals around the world. I had the privilege of speaking on the opening night to a packed church.

Chinese Church London

"Salvation for Chinese Church" is an exciting place to be. The five congregations based around London are led by people who, while working in their secular professions, are growing an amazing network of congregations. Those who hold Elim credentials are Joshua Chan, Aaron and Anna Chan and Tony Tsang. Periodically all the congregations come together at the Barbican Theater and it was to that group of around three hundred that I was the speaker. All the worship is in Mandarin or Cantonese and the message is translated into both those languages - either directly or via headsets. There will be a major feature of the church in a future edition of Direction.

Elim NW Region Residential Retreat

Kevin Peat is the Regional Leader for the NW Region and the Scottish Region. I had the privilege of being the speaker at the two-day residential retreat for the NW held in one of the largest hotels on the promenade in Blackpool. Around eighty pastors and spouses were present and there was a perfect balance of teaching and relaxation together. At the close, well-deserved appreciation was expressed to Kevin and Margaret for putting on the event. Spending quality time with Elim leaders in such a context was a tremendous pleasure.

Smethwick Elim 75th Anniversary

Fourteen ministers have pastored the Smethwick church in its seventy-five year history. For the past six years Joseph and Elizabeth Chinnalyan have led this growing congregation and have tapped into the multi-racial context in which the church is located. My message was translated into Tamil and the three girls pictured are the Tamil children's dance group who took part in the meeting.

Dunstable

Doug and Helena Richards planted Dunstable Christian Centre twenty two years ago and today it has a thriving congregation located in excellent premises in the centre of the town. For may years Doug worked for GMAC the American company that finances General Motors. He joined it in the early Seventies three years after I left the same company to enter Bible college in 1968. Though it was the hight of the holiday season with may members away, the church was very full for the morning service at which I had the privilege of preaching.

City Gates - mens weekend

City Gates, Ilford, is one of the largest churches in our Movement with a regular Sunday attendance of around a thousand people. The senior Pastor, Stephen Derbyshire has seen remarkable growth in the church in the fourteen years that he and his wife Julia have been there. The mens weekend was held at the Kings Park Conference Centre in Northampton. It was great to spend a couple of days with a group of amazing guys who are open to all that God wants to do in their lives.

Apostolic Conference

I considered it to be an honour to be invited to speak at the final night of the Apostolic Conference. Over a thousand people packed the marquee. in the grounds of Swansea university. Elim rejoices in what we have witnessed happening in our sister Denomination under the excellent leadership of Warren Jones and his team. Warren is shortly to retire from office and we wish him well as he itinerates around the UK and abroad.

Clacton on sea

It was great to be at Clacton for their 70th anniversary. Over the past year the church had encountered a number of difficulties so it was especially thrilling to see what a great sense of faith and excitement there was for the future. Stephen and Elizabeth Smith (pictured here with Mark, Sarah and Annie) have only been at the church for a few months and it is very clear that they are delighted to be in this new pastorate and the people have very evidently taken them to their hearts. Pastor and Mrs Rose who successfully ministered in the church for over thirty years were present at the meeting. This is now a church so full that they need to be urgently considering an extension. This is an example of church set to flourish through good leadership and a faithful congregation

Llanelli

The Elim Church in Llanelli is a remarkable success story. When Bill and Ellen Chapman came eleven years ago there were less than twenty people in the congregation. Today more than that number are employed by the two-hundred strong church that is housed in a complex that sees a thousand people pass through its doors every week. Care for the elderly and a well-managed nursery is just part of the churches involvement in the local community. I spoke at the church in the morning and at a baptismal service in the evening at which the Elim jchurch oined with the local Apostolic church which is also enjoying a season of growth.

Dowlais

It was thirty five years since I last preached in the Dowlais (South Wales) church. Since those day many things have changed not least their occupancy of a fine building. Phil and Babara Gray (pictured here with two of their four sons) had been missionaries in Belgium before taking up the pastorate here. In the evening David and Jan Holdaway who pastor the Elim church in Merthyr attended with a number of their congregation

MIT Conference

Every twelve months Nigel Tween and I co-host the three-day Conference for 'ministers in training' held at RTC. Other speakers this year included Stuart Blount, David Campbell, Clive Corfield, Eric McComb, Robert Millar. Mark Ryan and Ben Oliver. The excellent quality of emerging leaders within our Movement augers well for the future.

Redditch

Robin and Esther Baker (pictured here with Lydia and Joshua) have built an excellent team around them. The only problem that the church faces is accommodation. The building was packed to capacity on the morning of my visit and it was great to see the plans for the new complex displayed as a reminder of the provision this excellent congregation is making in anticipation of even further growth.

St Combs Community Church

St Combs is a remarkable success. Commenced four years ago with 18 people it now has a Sunday attendance of over 100 - and that in a village with a population of only 800. I spoke at a midweek meeting at which 120 were present due to additional support from the Fraserburgh Elim church from which St Combs was planted. Forbes was a deep sea fisherman with his own boat before selling up and, with his wife Audrey, investing their lives in this new ministry. Though all age groups are present, the 18-35 range is the most predominant. Through focused outreach and good pastoring, this church has acheived what many people may have thought impossible in such a short space of time.

Nuneaton

David and Jan Evaniew have spent much of their life in Canada and are now pastoring the Elim Church in Nuneaton. It is five years since I last visited the church and its growth and development is evident. I met members who had been there for fifty years and others who had only recently joined the fellowship. Nuneaton is a warm and welcoming congregation led by a couple with strong pastoral gifts

MetroChurch International

Ken and Lois Gott, who have been close friends for many years, lead Metrochurch that is located in Newcastle Sunderland and Durham. It was great to be with them and to witness firsthand how God is blessing their ministry. Friday night was spent in at their Prayer Centre that is open 24/7 365 days of the year. The occasion at which I spoke was the Fire School that attracts many young people. Saturday morning was spent with twenty of their core leaders and Sunday morning I preached to over 500 people at their prime location in Newcastle.

Letchworth Garden City Church

Letchworth is a success story.. I can remember when this church had a congregation of thirty and was meeting in a small hall. Today it has a congregation of over over 400 and meets in one of the most state-of-the-art facilities in our Movement. This thriving congregation, which for the past ten years has been pastored by Mark and Kathy Ryan, spans all age groups but most are young families. Its vibrant services and innovative and creative style is attracting ever-increasing numbers. My time with them was spent at the morning service followed by a meeting with twenty of the core leaders in the afternoon. This church is is a tribute to a faithful congregation and excellent leadership at every level.

Eastbourne

The church in Eastbourne, pastored by Keith and Barbie Jackson (right), currently worship in a school. This is not because they do not have a building of their own but due to the fact that their current site is under development. The three million pound project will be completed in around twelve months time. In the two years that they have been there they have seen the relatively small congregation grow and the average age decrease. Among those who worship in Eastbourne are the families of some of Elim's pioneers. One former Elim minister, now in his 89th year is Bill Plowright (left). He is not only known for being one of our finest pastors but also an accomplished soloist in the formative years of our Movement.

Portadown - Ireland

Portadown has long been one of Elim's finest churches. Edwin Michael (pictured here with his wife Margaret, daughter Laura and son Ryan) leads a great ministry team. Around 600 people were present for the morning service. It is a church bursting at the seams. A major feature on Portadown will appear in a forthcoming issue of Direction. On Saturday, shortly after flying in, I visited the Y Zone drop-in centre in the town. It is not unusual for a church to cater for young people who are vulnerable to drugs and other addictive lifestyles. What is immediately striking about this outreach is that there are no threadbare carpets or old setees. Everything is of the highest quality - top multi media, IT, internet access, big screen Xbox gaming etc. The lounge area with is sumptuous leather sofas would not look out of place in a corporate HQ. By showing respect and value to the young peopole who attend they, in turn, treat the facilities with respect. The members of Portadown Elim have invested heavily in reaching their community in a spirit of excellence.

Keynsham - Bristol

Though my Sundays remain booked until 2009, midweek services are still possible in 2007. I have enjoyed therefore being at Keynsham to take a series of the three Thursday Bible Studies. It was good to be with my good friend Des Morton and this excellent church.

Palmers Green -London

I enjoyed an excellent time with Bediako and Caroline Bosque-Hamilton who lead the church in Palmers Green. This creative and innovative church, which is part of the KT network, was packed for the morning service which was conducted cafe style. The service began with a short time of worship which was followed by a meal after which I was invited to preach. It was a delight to spend time with this warm and welcoming congregation. The congregation presented me with a very generous financial contribution to Elim's relief work in Mozambique.

Crawley Leaders Day

It was great to spend Saturday morning with around 40 key leaders from three churches and which began with a breakfast in a local Hotel. Elim Crawley- led by James Glass, Mid Sussex Christian Centre - led by Christy Smith and Aldershot Elim- led by Mike Keeping joined together for a time of teaching. Few things are more enjoyable than being with men and women of this calibre who are open to be their very best for God and sharpen the gifts they already possess

Kilsyth Community Church

My last pastorate, before taking on the role of GS, was at the Church of God Kilsyth. During that period I had considered inviting Mark Fleming to be my associate pastor. However it occurred that at that time Kilsyth Community Church was looking for a pastor and, as I knew that Mark had a great track reacord of growing a successful church, I suggested to their leadership that he might be the man for them. Subsequent to the interview he became their pastor and in the years the followed now leads a great church with an excellent future.

It was a delight to spend time with his leaders on the Saturday and preach at both services on Sunday. His wife Aileen, herself an accomplished speaker, have become great friends and I have a high regard for them both..