When God works quickly

We easily overestimate what can be achieved in a year and under-estimate what can be achieved in five but when God works such assessments are often turned on their head!

In 1993 my wife and I took over the leadership of the Criccieth Scripture Union Beach Mission which in 2003 celebrates its centenary.

As we lived relatively close, in Manchester, we began to make two or three weekend visits to Criccieth each year, with some of our summer team, to keep contact with local children and young people. However, as most of them had little or no church or chapel connection, we found ourselves summer by summer back at square one, and we began to think about the possibility of moving and starting a regular kids work in the town.

As the 1997 mission ended, we saw a property for sale in the area and fell for it. We moved to Criccieth in April 1998 with the intention of starting regular groups in September.

Year by year the Beach Mission team had rented a house on the sea front, but we knew that the owners had put it on the market and potentially we would have real problems in accommodating a team of 30 plus! In addition, we had earlier lost one of our venues when a chapel closed and we were shortly to lose another, as a church hall had also been put up for sale.

Moving fast!

When we heard of the sale of the church hall we began negotiations (from Manchester) to purchase, and with the imminent loss of our team house we sought planning permission to add a first floor with 34 residential places. This was a complex application and ran into all sorts of problems which were not easy to solve from a distance, and so our move to Criccieth had the potential to iron out some of these. In practice they got more difficult but God had a better plan!

Shortly after moving house we realised an hotel on the sea front was for sale and viewed it immediately. It was perfect! It had all the room we needed for team accommodation, was fully equipped and on the sea front! But how could we find £100,000 on top of the money already spent on the hall project and how could we do without the hall?

Now, just a couple of months after arriving in Criccieth things began to accelerate. We wrote to our supporters and asked them for advice and money pledges.

We prayed and waited. Five days after the letter was sent we received three emails promising us in gifts and loans £33,000! This convinced us to go ahead with the hotel and purchase of the hall, but without the expensive alterations. In eight weeks we had the £100,000 for the hotel purchase and following the establishment of a Trust to own the building and handle the money, took possession two days before the team arrived for the summer fortnight. Overestimating what can be achieved in one year? This was three months!

At this point we took a lease on the hall committing ourselves to raise the purchase price of £32,000 within 12 months as we saw it as an essential venue, although at that point could not or did not dream of any different future use.

In September we established a 7-10s mid-week group and a Sunday evening group for 14+ and began to teach the Bible to both groups week by week.

This work continued through the 98/99 academic year during which Alison and I worshipped at the local church but following the 1999 Beach Mission a question from two local Mums set in train a whole new and exciting development.

'Would it be possible to run family services like we have during the Mission, through the year?' The possibility was exciting, as we saw that it could have great potential for drawing in non-church families and Mission contacts. As we were members of St. Catherine's where I was a Lay Reader, we took the idea to them in the first instance and proposed that we might run an 'alternative' morning service aimed at attracting a whole new clientele alongside the bilingual Eucharist that was the norm. Sadly, this was too radical an idea at this point and was rejected so, sure that God was leading in this, we ran three family services in the hall which was now ours (God's provision again), in October, November and December. The December one, with a Nativity Play from the children of our new 4-6s mid-week group, drew over 60 proud mums, dads, grandparents, etc. (Never underestimate the power of such an event to draw unlikely people under the sound of the gospel.)

In January 2000 those who had come to the three services indicated that they would like to meet more often and so we started to meet fortnightly, while continuing to worship at St Catherine's - our service times did not at that time overlap. We met at 9.30 am and St Catherine's at 10.30, but 9.30 proved to be too early for our embryo congregation and not without some concern expressed by friends at St. Catherine's, we moved to 10.30 am and started to meet weekly from the beginning of June.

We began with no preconceived ideas except that we would seek to faithfully expound God's Word. We had and have no full time pastor but the leadership of the church rests in the hands of four of us who in God's goodness complement each other in ministry. We meet weekly to pray and plan and deal with the pastoral needs of the congregation and although we have recently adopted a constitution and Basis of Faith we are not currently formally linked with any other group or fellowship which is some cause for concern in terms of accountability, oversight and fellowship.

Growing

We currently have a congregation of around 50 including children. We are in touch with some 50-60 children and young people and have access into the local Primary School. We also have visitors rejoicing to find a Bible witness in Criccieth.

Criccieth Family Church is a church plant with a difference. It has not been planted by another local church, but grew out of the SU work in the town at God's prompting. This SU work has also spawned a Christian Bookshop and Internet Coffee Bar - 'Roots' - which has now been open for two and a half years. This 'church on the High Street' has been a great meeting place.

The hotel has been through a number of metamorphoses and experience has brought us to the point of marketing it as a great venue for group bookings on a self catering basis, with the hall available for group activities and a church fellowship to join on a Sunday. All this and we are not yet quite at the five year point.

In May 1998 we could not have imagined what God would do but he has confounded us in both the first year and at five years, and we look forward with eager anticipation to the next five years, excited at what God has in store for the work in which we have been so privileged with others in person or in prayer, to be involved.

Further details of any part of this ministry may be obtained from Andrew Bradley on 01766 530209 or andrewbrad@aol.com

How the church plant in Criccieth began

Moving fast!

Growing

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