Emmanuel Baptist Church, Netherton
-
Home Mission funding has enabled the church to achieve some incredible things
-
Eden Netherton has seen people come to faith and be baptised through an Alpha course
-
God has been moving in people's lives during the course
God places the lonely in families (Psalm 68:6)
Emmanuel Baptist is located in the heart of the Netherton estate in Liverpool. The church has been supported by Home Mission for the last nine years and minister Allan Finnegan comments "Home Mission funding has enabled us to achieve some incredible things. Without your generosity, mission would be even more challenging than it is".
Part of the funding we receive goes towards resourcing our Eden Team. Eden Netherton have recently seen several people come to faith and be baptised through an Alpha course that the team have been running on the estate. This course came about all because of one convert.
Last summer, Danny became a Christian at CVM’s Gathering event. This had been as a result of getting to know people in the Eden team and attending Emmanuel Baptist. Team Leaders, Tom and Emma Grant, invited Danny and his girlfriend to do an Alpha course at their house to follow up on his decision. As the course was coming to an end, they didn’t want to stop meeting! So, they decided they would carry on and start Alpha again inviting some other people along from the community. They were amazed when 26 people turned up - the majority of whom had had little or no experience of church.
"It’s been amazing to see how God has been moving during the course", explains Tom. "A real sense of community has been created and people have often remarked that there is a special atmosphere when we meet. People have loved building relationships and chatting about faith. During the Holy Spirit day many people experienced God’s love for them. One woman remarked how before she started coming along she had felt lonely but that in the church she has now found a family to belong to. Another person was healed of tinnitus when we prayed with her. Recently, we celebrated as three people who are attending the course were baptised with more planning to be in the coming months".
Thank you for your continued support, it is literally changing lives.
Allan Finnegan - minister
March 2019
Reflective Questions:
What opportunities does your church provide for those who want to explore faith?
How easy would you find it to open your home up to people who aren’t part of ‘the church’ but are keen to learn?
Home Mission: Supporting, equipping and enabling churches in God’s Mission
Click here to read more stories about how the money you give to Home Mission is being used to bring the love of God to communities around the country.