You may ask the question what am I trying to achieve, why bother?
Growing up and being part of the Bible Pattern, Elim and United Apostolic Faith Church I have seen the positive and negative sides of Christian life within a family who have know personally Principle George Jeffreys and as the great great nephew of a great servant of God I have always been keen to know more of the wonderful stories of the mighty work of God.
Being taught the Biblical counsel of 1 Corinthians 14:40 “Let all things be done decently and in order”; I have set out to share this testimony of God’s goodness as encouragement, for the next generation to inspire them to embrace the full counsel of God’s word.
Today the Church that was established by Pastor Lewi Pethrus at Filadelfia Church in Stockholm now called Philadelphia church,continues to be a large congregation with over 6,000 members; it is also Europe's largest Pentecostal church. The Advisory Committee of The Bible pattern Church still exists, as do Bible Pattern Churches and several independent churches. Unfortunately, not all churches these days are blessed to have members to provide a website. This is one of the main reasons I put this site together. I hoped that I could provide a means to show Church locations, times of services etc. I have to put together pictures and information in a chronological list about these churches so that you may have the opportunity to visit them and discover a little about the history, present events and the future of God's Work in the UK and beyond.
It is important to keep in mind that the work which the Lord started by putting a desire in peoples hearts to hold some outstanding crusades in many towns across the United Kingdom which resulted in many thousands of people being saved from their sins and a great multitude of sick persons experiencing divine healing and mighty miracles. We are so blessed by the many that experienced the baptism in the Holy Spirit. We give God the glory for the desire of thousands of these saints of God desiring to start a local church in what is now almost every town and city across the United Kingdom and many counties around the world. To God be all the glory, the work still continues. Weather it be Bible Pattern, Elim, Assemblies of God or an independent Fellowship.
Already many hundreds of folk have been helped, informed and encouraged as I hope you have been? I have become aware that sadly some muddy water has gone under the bridge as to say, I believe the only way forward is found in Matthew 6:12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. Alternatively, a modern translation, and forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who have sinned against us.
You will notice that as I continue to add reports of the churches around the United Kingdom from past copies of the “Pattern” there used to be great Christian fellowship and support between the Churches and their Pastors.
My Father served as Pastor of a Church in Bournemouth and I know how encouraged he was when a genuine offer of help was made to further the work of God. Being honest there was not many! O for us to be like Ephesians 4:16 from whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.
In an article by Dale Roach (with grateful thanks)
He says, "When the Apostle Paul spoke to the early church he shared a design from the Lord regarding how people should work together. He referred to the early church as the body.”
For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. Romans 12:4-5
Can you imagine what it would be like to be a member of any sports team and someone on that team decided that they would “do their own thing.” That type of attitude would lead to the loss of the game and most likely injury to others on the team. I am afraid that this is what is happening to many congregations across the nation. Somewhere along the way, someone has convinced some churches that they do not need the church around the corner, the one across town, the one at the lower end of the county, or the one that approaches ministry in a different way.
The facts are, we need one another. One of the greatest accomplishments that any association of churches can ever achieve is to truly become “the body of Christ.” The term “association” according to the dictionary means,
1. a group of people organized for a joint purpose
2. a connection or cooperative link between people or organizations
3. a mental connection between ideas or things
Although churches differ in many ways and their approaches to ministry may not look the same, they still need each other. The power of a unified team cannot be underestimated and the weakness of a divided team cannot be overstated. Imagine what could happen if all Christian fellowships functioned as a unified, healthy body, with Jesus as the Head of the Church and word of God (the Bible) as the document that leads its structure and mission. It would be a healthy Body!
As I head up a dedicated evangelistic team in Belfast City centre and belong to a large Church who have been greatly blest of God, may I offer you my help if possible in these last days.
Could I make a request of you, as I have offered my help, would you consider making a phone call, writing a letter, inviting a pastor to speak or the whole congregation to visit as used to be done?
As I mentioned before I can remember as a young boy going from Ilford Bible pattern Church with a coach load of brothers and sisters in Christ to Newbury and Portsmouth Bible Pattern Churches for a wonderful time of fellowship. As you will read in the articles which I hope to include as I tell the story of each church. These meeting were wonderful days of working together with the body of Christ to either reach out to the local community to share the love of Christ and the Good News of the Gospel or a time to be built up in a greater knowledge of God’s word as we grow as children of God and brothers and sisters in the Lord.
