Banbridge 29 Nov - 1st Dec 2019
The leaders of Banbridge Methodist Church invited a Lay Witness team to conduct a weekend mission in November 2019.
Tom and Louise Wilson led the team.
Tom and Louise Wilson led the team.
Weekend Reports and Photos
Andrew and Melanie Topley, Team Members, write....
We were invited to consider being part of a Lay Witness Team, led by Tom and Louise Wilson, going to Banbridge Methodist Church at the end of November 2019. Having been on teams before, we were aware of what the weekend would entail so we prayerfully considered the invitation and subsequently accepted. We met together as a team of eight on two occasions prior to the weekend to plan and pray. As the weekend got closer, we experienced a range of emotions from excitement to nervousness but we arrived at Banbridge Methodist with a real anticipation about what God was going to do. We were warmly welcomed to the church by Rev. Andrew Gibson, his wife Lindsay and the congregation. The weekend programme consisted of congregational meals, men’s breakfast, coffee mornings, home visits and the opportunity to spend quality time with host families. Each of these events were very well supported. Each member of the team shared their testimony at a different time during the weekend and God worked powerfully through the stories that were shared. The theme of the weekend, ‘Jesus, Our Living Hope’, was a common thread reflected in each of the testimonies and the times of worship. Reflecting on the weekend, God carried us through and equipped us with everything we needed. As part of a Lay Witness Team, we are called to serve the church we go to but it very much blew us away just how God used our different simple stories, opened opportunities in conversations with those we encountered and wove everything together to speak specifically into the lives of people in the congregation. We were truly blessed by the congregation! This was the first Lay Witness Team we had been part of as a couple, which in hindsight added to the experience. Being invited on a Lay Witness Team is such a privilege and we thank God we got to be a part of such an amazing team. Now the weekend is over, we continue to pray for Andrew, Lindsay and the congregation of Banbridge Methodist Church. |
Maurice Bailie, Banbridge Congregation Member,
In 2018 Rev Andrew Gibson planted the seed of having a Lay Witness Weekend in Banbridge with the Church Council and the Congregation. This suggestion was well received and it was decided to take this forward with a timescale of over one year to prepare. After a lot of prayer and consideration a Lay Witness team was established and a date set. Planning and preparations commenced at a very early stage with Mrs Lindsay Gibson acting as coordinator with the Lay Witness Team. A full weekend of events was planned including evening meals on Friday and Saturday in the Church Hall followed by praise and testimony. On Saturday there would be a Men’s Breakfast in a local Café with testimony. Four Coffee Mornings were to be held simultaneously in homes of members of the church with two of the team present at each to share their faith and lead in prayer followed by home visits by team members to those unable to attend Church. On Sunday morning, worship was to be led by the team followed by a soup lunch and the weekend events concluding with an evening service of Praise and Thanksgiving led by Rev Andrew Gibson. Throughout the preparations, prayers were said for the weekend and of course for the Rev Andrew, Lindsay and all the members of the Lay Witness team. Team Leaders met with the Church Council to explain the format of the weekend and subsequently a display board was prepared with photographs and a brief pen picture of each member. Some of the team came to morning worship in the run up to the weekend and the Team Leader gave the congregation an overview of the plans and asked for our prayers. A series of prayer meetings were held and information leaflets prepared for the congregation. Outside catering was arranged and folk from Donaghcloney Methodist also in our Circuit assisted with this. All the events were very well attended and we were blessed as we felt God’s presence with us. We enjoyed wonderful fellowship throughout the weekend as our spirits were lifted with beautiful music and singing. It was a very moving and powerful weekend listening to the personal testimonies of the team and how their faith has been their strength through some very challenging periods in their lives and what God had done and continues to do for them. The weekend concluded with a service of Praise and Thanksgiving led by Rev Gibson. A discussion followed on how we were affected by the weekend. Several members of the congregation spoke movingly about their feelings and there was a consensus that we were felt much closer as a congregation. Going forward we hope to build on the theme of the weekend: Jesus Christ my Living Hope – 1Peter 1:3 |