Lockdown unlocked
God had already planted the idea of community outreach at Antrim Elim when the pandemic hit.
John Lindsay is very grateful that God gave his church plenty of new ideas to mull over before the pandemic struck.
The pastor of Antrim Elim says that already having a heart for developing the church’s community outreach meant work was birthed during Covid-19 that is blossoming today.
“During lockdown the capacity to come up with new ideas was pretty restricted – we were just trying to survive. But the hand of God was at work,” says John.
When John and his wife Hannah arrived at Antrim Elim in October 2018, they had inherited an established food bank at the church.
They were sad to see demand for its services growing as the pandemic tightened its grip, but renovations to their building during lockdown allowed them to expand its reach.
“We’d been planning to have a gift day before Covid and decided not just to put everything on hold, but to run it in October 2020,” says John.
“We thought why not raise funds to redo the building so it would be ready for when we reopened after lockdown. The church was incredibly generous and we were able to renovate the back of the building while no one was in it.
“One of the main reasons we did that was because we didn’t just want people to call into the food bank, collect their food and go.
“We wanted them to be able to sit down, have coffee, talk, and if conversations opened up to pray with them, share about Jesus or invite them to things in church.
“Now people are coming in, having drinks after they collect their parcels and sitting and chatting. There’s a great atmosphere and relationships are being built.”
Pre-Covid, John had also been planning to launch an eight-week Christians Against Poverty life skills course – teaching things like how to live and cook on a budget, cooking healthily and managing relationships.
During lockdown, CAP launched a series of videos to make the course more accessible and the Antrim team were able to train and launch their own course as society opened back up.
“We had ten people come to the first course, four of whom were from the food bank. It’s an answer to prayer going back years to see that connection happening.
“One girl, whose grandma attends our church, had had a baby two weeks before the course started, but was determined to come. She was there with her baby and her grand-mother.
“We’re hoping this will be an ongoing thing and are looking at doing it at different times of day to suit different people. It’s been an encouraging start.”
The church has also focused on developing its children’s and youth work. With five estates in Antrim and many new houses being built, John is keen to grow connections with children in the community beyond the church’s Sunday school.
Before the pandemic, Hannah had run a summer club with the idea of launching monthly activities for local kids.
Lockdown put paid to that, but with the newly renovated building the church was able to gather a team and start a weekly kids club last October.
“Hannah asked the church who was up for helping out. We have ladies in their 70s and 80s who have hearts of lions who are helping us run it, as well as a younger girl and my son Joel.”
The club is attracting around 25 kids from the community.
“We had no contact with the vast majority of them before so it’s been really encouraging, and we’re trying to develop friendships with their parents and grandparents too,” says John.
Through songs, games, talks, crafts and discussion groups the church is telling the children about Jesus and building relationships with them.
John and the team suspect some children in cash-strapped families may have little food to eat, so they also provide snacks.
“The other week we were talking with them about fears, and some of the things they shared in their groups around anxiety and bullying were very sad. But it was good that they could do that and that we could care for them.
“The thing that stands out for me with the kids is the sense of belonging we can see growing in them, and watching the pennies dropping as they hear certain stories.
“Kids just need to hear about Jesus, the love he has for them and the fact he is the hope for their lives.”
Joining forces with Limitless helps fuel youth work growth.
At the same time as launching its kids work, Antrim Elim also decided to join forces with LIMITLESS to grow its youth work.
Again, this was something the church had already been working on.
Hannah had started a Friday night youth club when she and John first arrived at the church to provide something for the handful of teenagers there, but they longed to do more.
“We did a youth Alpha course and were just there for them, but it was only ever a temporary thing,” says John.
“Our two sons were going but they didn’t need to hear their mum and dad preaching on a Friday night, so our prayer was that the Lord would provide a couple to come and take things on.
“Ryan, the LIMITLESS Ireland coordinator, told me how LIMITLESS were pioneering youth work and asked if I’d be interested in seeing what could happen in Antrim.
“Through that, our youth worker Adam and his fiancé Lucy came and we relaunched our youth work last October.
“The fantastic thing is we’re hoping to connect some of the kids in the oldest group in our kids club to this so they have somewhere to go as they get older.”
John says it is God’s hand in all these activities that is helping these new community connections to grow.
“He’s in charge and knows everything that’s happening. The fact he put all those things in our hearts before the pandemic meant that even during lockdown we were able to continue with them.
“We thought, ‘Let’s go ahead with CAP, let’s do the kids’ work, and then the youth work came about too.
“The past few months have been pretty busy but we’re very thankful for God’s provision.
“We just want to do all we can to serve the community and bring Jesus to as many people as possible.”
First published in the July 2022 issue of Direction, Elim’s monthly magazine. Subscribe now to get Direction delivered to your home.
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