Chris Rolfe

Novel idea helps church reach community

Longton Elim needed to adapt during lockdown – and a classic book proved to be an inspiration.

Aslan, Lucy and the White Witch have long entertained families with their adventures in Narnia. But they captivated a whole new audience from one church during the pandemic.

As lockdown hit, Longton Elim was getting to grips with live-streaming Sunday services through YouTube and Facebook.

Its pastor, Paul Dunne, quickly recognised that launching new activities and taking other weekday ministries online would also be vital to keep the church connected.

So he teamed up with ex-headmaster Gareth Davies to launch a novel idea.

“Gareth loves CS Lewis and reading stories, so I said to him, ‘how about bringing something a bit different to our church family online?’” says Paul.

“He had already switched to leading our Costa Bible study online, so he agreed and suggested he could read stories too, starting with The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe as a breakfast appetiser.

“It was a different ministry to what we’d had at church before, but it was something our church family – particularly those who couldn’t get out – really enjoyed.”

So successful were Gareth’s stories that he went on to read a selection of other books. With the popularity of connecting online, more new ideas launched, while other ministries adapted too.

Paul started a weekday daily devotional reading through John’s Gospel, then moved on to explore famous people in the Bible and link them to well-known historical figures or Christians.

Another lady launched an online craft group, posting out craft kits ahead of her sessions, then tapping into her inner Blue Peter presenter to demonstrate making them to her audience.

Paul’s wife Lynne, meanwhile, chose a song of the day and explored the lyrics for her online viewers, while the church’s youth leader linked in virtually with the youth and children throughout the week.

“About 70 per cent of our folk went online from a good spread of ages,” Paul says of the response these activities attracted.

“We were thrilled to get overseas visitors too. One family in Canada who have family connections in our church came back to Jesus as a result of joining us, and their children come to our stuff all the time. They said the ministry is really blessing them.”

Activities to nurture faith were a priority too. Before the pandemic, the church already encouraged people to follow a journey of discipleship courses, water baptism and baptism in the Holy Spirit. So Paul leapt at the chance to join Elim’s national Alpha course when it launched this summer during lockdown.

“We had a small group of four people come on the course, and we had one young man give his life to Jesus and he is now attending church,” he says.

Zoom prayer meetings also proved popular, as did breakfast and virtual dinners. Paul is pleased that Longton’s online activities supported church members during lockdown, but he is also excited about the opportunities his online activities continue to create post-pandemic.

“We started off with three technicians who were learning as they went with the guys who installed our equipment. Now they’re mentoring three other guys and we’re seeing real fruitfulness.

“There’s no doubt we can feed our live conferences out in the future, and there is broader scope to use the equipment we’ve invested in too.”

While the frequency of online groups has reduced post-lockdown to allow for live activities, Paul and his team continue to broadcast several times a week to connect with people who still value the contact and support this offers. Paul is excited about the opportunity to expand the church’s community work too.

Local prayer walks were organised in the summer to connect with and pray for local people individually, and ‘meals on the move’ supported vulnerable locals.

But with group activities possible again, new events are being planned, including a popular carvery for Longton’s men’s ministry which relaunched last month. The church also has good links with a local councillor and is joining forces with her to host a community Christmas event.

“We invited her to open a summer event we held on the lawn at the back of our church in July. We had a mix of Christian and secular music to draw the community in and she asked if we could do a joint church and community event to link our communities back together in December.

“It’s not just churches that have been disconnected from their communities – councillors and agencies have as well – so we’re working on a plan for Christmas. We’ll have a variety of stalls, then we’ll provide the worship and Christmas message. Hopefully we’ll get a bunch of people from the community along.

“For us, everything we do is about seeing people growing in Jesus and giving them the opportunity to do that.”

How Gareth became the voice behind a successful story      

“Our creative God has given gifts to edify his church. The pandemic challenged me to focus not on what I can’t do, but rather on what I can do to continue serving the body of Christ.

“With some reluctance I’d signed up to continue the long-standing weekly Costa Bible study I led online.

“Then God gave me another idea – why not read a book to our church, enabling the isolated and anxious to connect together?

“This presented a wonderful opportunity to share books I loved that were classics of Christian literature, and that would bless, inspire, encourage and also challenge.

“The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe went down so well that the audience increased to become a regular community of believers and family members who were waiting expectantly for me to go live each day.

“I prayerfully chose books and learned to adopt various accents and voices, much to the amusement of the listeners. As I reflect on that chaotic time, it gave me a sense of purpose, consistency and reassurance to know I was blessing others.

“My advice is to be creative with the gifts God has given you, be open to new ideas and ways of doing things. You never know where it will take you.”

First published in the December 2021/January 2022 issue of Direction, Elim’s monthly magazine. Subscribe now to get Direction delivered to your home.

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