Giving ourselves to the Lord and to each other
Jack’s Story
In the Summer of 2013, Rev. Dave Urwin retired from his role as minister at the Tab, and what followed was a frustrating time for the church, as we sought a new minister. For me, this was a challenging time. Several members of the church approached me privately asking if I had considered going into ministry. The truth was that I had, but was wrestling with God, having only just qualified as an architect, which had been a lifelong pursuit. I waited for a year, but rather than fading, the compulsion to enter ministry became stronger. So in 2014 I brought the idea of training for ministry to the leadership of the Tab, and in May of 2015 it was brought to the church membership in order to test my calling.
Alongside this, the Tab had been approached by Frontline Toxteth, a separate church group. Frontline Toxteth had been meeting in the Tab building, and the two groups were in conversation about how they might work more closely together. Initially, this began with shared mission events and prayer in March 2015. The idea had been raised of the two groups merging, with Dave Connolly, the pastor of Frontline Toxteth, becoming the pastor of a merged ‘Toxteth Tabernacle’. However, with the church considering my own calling to ministry, the thought came that perhaps Dave and myself could work as joint pastors.
To explore the right way forward, the two groups committed to developing relationship. Over the coming year shared mission events accompanied shared small groups, and on 1st May 2016 we had our first joint Sunday service. It was very happy day, and the following commitment was made by all present:
“This day we give ourselves to the Lord and to each other. To be bound together in fellowship, and to work together in the unity of the Spirit For the sake of God’s mission in Toxteth, we commit all we have and all we are to fulfilling God’s purposes of love.”
The children of the church then bound a ribbon around the entire congregation and spoke the following prayer: “Almighty God. We thank you for our church family, from the youngest to the oldest, all of us different. We dedicate ourselves to being your people. Please accept our worship and our prayers, our intentions and our gifts. Please help us to love you and to love each other. Please make us to be a faithful witness of you here in Toxteth. We dedicate our church family to live to the glory of God. Amen.”
On the 24th September 2016 an induction service was held, presided over by the Rev. Phil Jump. Dave Connolly was inducted as Minister, and I was inducted as Minister in Training. It marked the beginning of my ministerial training at Spurgeon’s College. It was a moment of wonder at God’s timing, as it drew together different callings and ideas, emotions and desires, people and groups. Looking back over the many strands that were drawn together that day, I see God’s faithfulness to us.
