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`We
are in this together to fulfil our responsibilities as God's people in
the town.'
Last
June, the Revd Peter Lynch, pastor of Worle Baptist Church, was welcomed
in as the new chairman of Churches Together in Weston super Mare &
District (CTWD). It as evident from our conversation that he
comes to the office with enthusiasm for the role that the CTWD already has
in local church life.
After a year of watching from the wings, he talks of there being a very
positive attitude among churches and ministers for working together. He
speaks of how they endorse each other's work and in so doing allow the
gifts that have been put in the churches to be used in the right place.
`That is the great benefit of it, honouring and respecting each other and
helping to allow God's people to do what they are called to do within the
town'.
Peter comes originally from Cheadle Hume in Cheshire and became a
Christian at the age of eleven through Crusaders. Prior to his call to
full-time ministry, Peter - a qualified geologist with a BSc in geology
and an MSc in petroleum geology - had been working in the oil industry
doing exploratory work on rigs in the North Sea and the Middle East.
His
experience in the Middle East proved of some value later on by giving him
an insight into working in a Muslim country. This was because during one
of the oil industry's cyclical downturns he decided to take a year out to
go to Pakistan. Here he worked with a small church called the Logos
Fellowship in Karachi, formed as a result of a visit by the OM Logos ship.
`And
while I was there I was weighing up whether this was the time God was
calling me into ministry or whether I should go back to the job that had
been kept open for me. It was then I felt strongly God was saying now is
the time.'
For
several years prior to this trip he had become convinced that one day he
would be called to the full-time ministry. He decided that God was
calling him at this time even though, he now confides, it was earlier than
he had expected. He was just 25.
During his time in the oil industry he had made his home in Aberdeen.
`My church there were supporting me in Pakistan, through prayer and so
on. So when I came back I suggested to them that God was directing me to
go into the ministry. They offered to employ me as the assistant pastor
in preparation for whatever God would open up in the future.'
He
stayed there in that job for nearly seven years, mainly doing outreach
work and youth work, during which time he began studying again, this time
for a Cambridge diploma in religious studies. This led the way
eventually to him spending a year at the London Bible College studying for
an MA in theology.
There followed seven years as the pastor of an independent evangelical
church in Stafford. During this time he felt the need to be part of
ministerial setup that had a national structure, accountability and
ongoing training. That took him to Bristol Baptist College for yet more
training, to become a baptist minister. That in turn brought him and his
family to Worle.
Of
his family Peter says: `I have a fantastic wife, Louise, and two gorgeous
boys, Calum and Jonah. Louise was a social worker when I first got to
know her in Aberdeen and now trains social workers. She did her theology
training long before I did. With her training in both theology and
social work and the way she is as a person she is a great strength.'
Because of his experience and contacts within different churches both in
his upbringing and in working in churches he says he has a positive
feeling towards the diversity there is within God's church. Hence his
commitment to Churches Together.
`I
see the glory of God expressed in a whole diversity of ways within the
Christian Church. God's primary purpose for us all is to think about our
responsibilities and opportunities to serve one another and the town.
And if I can do anything over the next couple of years to encourage us
all in this then it will have contributed something.'
Brian Kellock. |
