WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:07.000 Great, well let me give you all a very warm welcome to our evening meeting. It's great to have you with us tonight. 00:00:07.000 --> 00:00:10.000 This is a slightly unusual meeting for us. 00:00:10.000 --> 00:00:21.000 And so if you're looking around and thinking, I don't really recognise very many people in this room, don't worry because the person sat next to you is also thinking exactly the same thing as they look around the room. 00:00:21.000 --> 00:00:24.000 It's great to have so many guests with us tonight. 00:00:24.000 --> 00:00:36.000 We have guests from the Christian Answer team. I have to apologise, I have been corrected today for calling it the Christian Answers team and have been corrected that there is only one Christian answer and it's the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:00:36.000 --> 00:00:39.000 So I apologise for getting that wrong. 00:00:39.000 --> 00:00:47.000 But the Christian Answer team have been coming to West Kilburn for a number of years, over 50 years I think, and have been at High Park Speaker's Corner. 00:00:47.000 --> 00:00:55.000 So if you're not sure in the room who's been on that team, you can look at the people who are red and sunburned and looking slightly exhausted. 00:00:55.000 --> 00:01:01.000 They've been down at High Park Speaker's Corner all day today. So we're thankful for you guys being with us this evening. 00:01:01.000 --> 00:01:09.000 And also a very warm welcome to friends from Nashville First Baptist Church and especially to Thomas and Elizabeth who are stood at the back. 00:01:09.000 --> 00:01:11.000 Welcome to you guys. It's great to have you with us. 00:01:11.000 --> 00:01:17.000 It's great to have you with us. If you don't know Thomas, Thomas was the founding pastor of Redeemer Queen's Park. 00:01:17.000 --> 00:01:20.000 And we're going to be hearing a bit more about that story a little bit later. 00:01:20.000 --> 00:01:25.000 It's also good to have Andrew Gordon with us. He is here somewhere, but I can't. 00:01:25.000 --> 00:01:27.000 Oh, there he is. See him? 00:01:27.000 --> 00:01:35.000 So I want to call Andrew a veteran Northwest London pastor, but I feel if I call him that he might be cross with me. 00:01:35.000 --> 00:01:44.000 But Andrew, we are very grateful for you being with us this evening. We're going to hear a little bit from Andrew about gospel ministry in the Northwest. 00:01:44.000 --> 00:01:47.000 So let me just tell you a little bit about the plan for our time together. 00:01:47.000 --> 00:01:54.000 This is not a normal Sunday evening service for us. Normally on a Sunday evening, there are about 30 of us or so. 00:01:54.000 --> 00:01:58.000 But with so many guests, we thought it would be good for us to do something a little bit unusual. 00:01:58.000 --> 00:02:03.000 And so what we're going to do tonight is we're going to tell a bit of the story about West Kilburn Baptist Church. 00:02:03.000 --> 00:02:08.000 We're going to talk a little bit about the merger that happened between West Kilburn and Redeemer Queen's Park. 00:02:08.000 --> 00:02:12.000 We're going to hear from Thomas. We're going to hear from Andrew. We're going to listen to God's word. 00:02:12.000 --> 00:02:18.000 We're going to sing God's praises together and we're going to have opportunity to pray together as well. 00:02:18.000 --> 00:02:25.000 So that's what's going on. I'm going to invite Louise, who's one of members of our joint leadership team to come and open our evening in prayer. 00:02:25.000 --> 00:02:27.000 So Louise, over to you. 00:02:27.000 --> 00:02:31.000 Amen. Let's bow our heads and pray. 00:02:31.000 --> 00:02:39.000 Father, we come before you today with grateful hearts, thanking you for your unfailing love and your faithfulness. 00:02:39.000 --> 00:02:47.000 Lord, we praise you for the way you work through ordinary people to accomplish your extraordinary purposes. 00:02:47.000 --> 00:02:52.000 You choose us, you guide us, you empower us to be instruments of your grace in this world. 00:02:52.000 --> 00:02:56.000 Lord, thank you for the ways you bring us together as one body. 00:02:56.000 --> 00:03:02.000 We are each different in our giftings, yet united in you. 00:03:02.000 --> 00:03:15.000 Help us, Father, to see how you are moving through one another, encouraging, serving, teaching, and loving, so that you may, your will may be done on earth as it is in heaven. 00:03:15.000 --> 00:03:24.000 Lord, as you work through us, shape our hearts, grow us in unity, that we may be bound together in peace and understanding. 00:03:24.000 --> 00:03:28.000 Strengthen our love for one another so that it reflects your perfect love. 00:03:28.000 --> 00:03:29.000 And that we may be able to serve selflessly. 00:03:29.000 --> 00:03:30.000 And that we may be able to serve selflessly. 00:03:30.000 --> 00:03:32.000 And that we may be able to serve selflessly. 00:03:32.000 --> 00:03:36.000 And to build each other up in faith. 00:03:36.000 --> 00:03:39.000 Father, thank you for your faithful. 00:03:39.000 --> 00:03:48.000 As we look back, we can see the many things that we've been able to witness being accomplished through the church, through the work of the church. 00:03:48.000 --> 00:03:52.000 But Father, let's not forget that you are the one building your church. 00:03:52.000 --> 00:03:53.000 We give you praise. 00:03:53.000 --> 00:03:54.000 We give you honor. 00:03:54.000 --> 00:03:56.000 In Jesus name, we pray. 00:03:56.000 --> 00:03:57.000 Amen. 00:03:57.000 --> 00:03:58.000 Amen. 00:03:58.000 --> 00:04:03.000 Well, I'm going to try and get various different people up at different points in the service. 00:04:03.000 --> 00:04:05.000 I should have introduced myself, by the way. 00:04:05.000 --> 00:04:06.000 So my name is Steve. 00:04:06.000 --> 00:04:10.000 I'm one of the leaders of the church here and the full time pastor. 00:04:10.000 --> 00:04:11.000 And so that's who I am. 00:04:11.000 --> 00:04:19.000 But Reece is one of the guys who was one of the original church members of Redeemer Queens Park. 00:04:19.000 --> 00:04:25.000 So Reece, I just want to tell us a little bit about where you're from, how you ended up in London and that kind of thing. 00:04:25.000 --> 00:04:26.000 That'd be great. 00:04:26.000 --> 00:04:27.000 Come and use this microphone. 00:04:27.000 --> 00:04:29.000 Yeah, thanks Steve. 00:04:29.000 --> 00:04:31.000 So I'm from South Carolina. 00:04:31.000 --> 00:04:33.000 That means something to some of you. 00:04:33.000 --> 00:04:35.000 Doesn't mean something to a lot of you. 00:04:35.000 --> 00:04:38.000 So in the southeastern part of the United States. 00:04:38.000 --> 00:04:39.000 So I grew up there. 00:04:39.000 --> 00:04:43.000 And my wife, Caitlin, and I got married at a university. 00:04:43.000 --> 00:04:47.000 And yeah, we were there kind of living life. 00:04:47.000 --> 00:04:53.000 And God really laid, I think, missions on our heart in a way that was really local. 00:04:53.000 --> 00:04:58.000 Just that, you know, he had given us coworkers and neighbors and people around us that he wanted us to love. 00:04:58.000 --> 00:05:03.000 And then he kind of began to transform that over time to thinking about maybe doing that same thing somewhere else. 00:05:03.000 --> 00:05:07.000 And so as we were praying through that, he put London on our hearts. 00:05:07.000 --> 00:05:10.000 And so long story short, that's kind of how we ended up here. 00:05:10.000 --> 00:05:12.000 And how's that been? 00:05:12.000 --> 00:05:14.000 So like what's been the best part of that? 00:05:14.000 --> 00:05:17.000 What's been the most challenging part of that? 00:05:17.000 --> 00:05:20.000 I thought these were going to be easy questions. 00:05:20.000 --> 00:05:21.000 Yeah, okay. 00:05:21.000 --> 00:05:23.000 Sorry, well, I don't know. 00:05:23.000 --> 00:05:25.000 I can go for it though. 00:05:25.000 --> 00:05:27.000 Yeah, yeah, yeah. 00:05:27.000 --> 00:05:31.000 There's a lot of both of those, to be honest with you. 00:05:31.000 --> 00:05:39.000 I mean, I think looking around this room, we see a lot of faces that we didn't know that some of them didn't know Jesus before we were here. 00:05:39.000 --> 00:05:42.000 And like some of them we had a hand in and helping introduce to Jesus. 00:05:42.000 --> 00:05:44.000 Some of them we got to see other people do. 00:05:44.000 --> 00:05:48.000 We got to see Jesus change a lot of lives, I think, is kind of the best part. 00:05:48.000 --> 00:05:50.000 Maybe that's an easy question. 00:05:50.000 --> 00:06:03.000 I mean, the hardest part, there are certainly challenges of being away from family, of kind of trying to fit in, or learn to fit in somewhere that was new. 00:06:03.000 --> 00:06:07.000 You know, I think God has really even used those really difficult times. 00:06:07.000 --> 00:06:20.000 So, just as a reminder that actually nowhere here is our ultimate home, that everything that is here is temporary, and that he's actually kind of, I think, helped us realize that in a really sweet way. 00:06:20.000 --> 00:06:24.000 So, yeah, some practical challenges and some really good things he's done. 00:06:24.000 --> 00:06:25.000 That's great. 00:06:25.000 --> 00:06:28.000 Rhys is going to read God's word for us, and then I'm going to preach. 00:06:28.000 --> 00:06:29.000 So, go. 00:06:29.000 --> 00:06:34.000 Philippians chapter 1, verses 3 through 6. 00:06:34.000 --> 00:06:37.000 I thank my God every time I remember you. 00:06:37.000 --> 00:07:03.000 In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. 00:07:03.000 --> 00:07:06.000 Well, I wonder if you've got a Bible, you might want to hold that open. 00:07:06.000 --> 00:07:09.000 We are going to have a look at that together in a few moments. 00:07:09.000 --> 00:07:15.000 But I want, before we look at it, just to tell you a bit of a brief story about the church here. 00:07:15.000 --> 00:07:23.000 So, in 1864, Kilburn was on the sort of rural edge of an expanding city. 00:07:23.000 --> 00:07:27.000 So, London at the time was rapidly expanding out of the center. 00:07:27.000 --> 00:07:39.000 They were building railway stations, which were helping people move further away from the sort of smelly, dirty center into rural parts like Kilburn, which is hard to imagine. 00:07:39.000 --> 00:07:43.000 They had newly built the Kilburn and Maida Vale station. 00:07:43.000 --> 00:07:47.000 And so, Queen's Park in the Kilburn area was expanding rapidly. 00:07:47.000 --> 00:07:52.000 You can imagine that there was a real buzz of activity around the place at the time. 00:07:52.000 --> 00:07:55.000 So, developers were buying up land, laying out new streets. 00:07:55.000 --> 00:08:02.000 People had put together designs for a new park, Queen's Park, in this little corner of London. 00:08:02.000 --> 00:08:05.000 And they had planned a new London underground station as well. 00:08:05.000 --> 00:08:16.000 And in the midst of all of that, there were a group of local believers who constituted together to begin what they described as a Calvinistic Baptist church. 00:08:16.000 --> 00:08:22.000 After about three months of gathering, there were about 28 members of this young church. 00:08:22.000 --> 00:08:25.000 And a man called Thomas Hall was the pastor. 00:08:25.000 --> 00:08:32.000 They met, not in this building, which wasn't yet built, but in 29 Canterbury Road, which was his home. 00:08:32.000 --> 00:08:37.000 And as the church continued to grow, so did the need for a church building. 00:08:37.000 --> 00:08:47.000 And they acquired the site here on which we are sat and on a lease and drew up drawings for a building and laid a foundation stone. 00:08:47.000 --> 00:09:02.000 In June 1865, so less than a year after starting the church, Thomas Hall applied to what was called the Baptist Building Fund for £1,000 to complete the church building. 00:09:02.000 --> 00:09:05.000 It was an ambitious project. 00:09:05.000 --> 00:09:11.000 So, there was no other non-conformist church in this part of London. 00:09:11.000 --> 00:09:15.000 And there were about 5,000 people living in the area. 00:09:15.000 --> 00:09:21.000 And this church of 28 set about building a chapel with a seat, what they said was 400 people. 00:09:21.000 --> 00:09:22.000 Right? 00:09:22.000 --> 00:09:24.000 Maybe people were smaller back then. 00:09:24.000 --> 00:09:29.000 But if they thought they could fit 400 in here, I don't know what they were thinking. 00:09:29.000 --> 00:09:32.000 The money came through from the Baptist Building Fund. 00:09:32.000 --> 00:09:36.000 The £1,000 was given to the church to build the building. 00:09:36.000 --> 00:09:50.000 And the money was later paid off, mostly paid off at least, by a guy called Charles Haddon Spurgeon, who gave them some money in order to finish off paying the loan and add the back hall and the balcony that you are seated in this evening. 00:09:50.000 --> 00:09:52.000 The church grew by 1868. 00:09:52.000 --> 00:09:56.000 So, four years after starting, the church had 120 members. 00:09:56.000 --> 00:10:06.000 And in the years that followed, they were teaching about 300 children in their school classroom behind me, presumably on a revolving rotor rather than all at the same time. 00:10:06.000 --> 00:10:10.000 Now, a couple of things really strike me about the story. 00:10:10.000 --> 00:10:12.000 One is the mix of people involved. 00:10:12.000 --> 00:10:17.000 There's some of the paperwork, the original paperwork for the loan is in my office upstairs. 00:10:17.000 --> 00:10:26.000 And it tells you that it was secured by four local men who basically put their own assets against the loan in order to secure it. 00:10:26.000 --> 00:10:31.000 The first one was called Billius Bayswater, who was a retired local builder. 00:10:31.000 --> 00:10:38.000 Now, his social standing was so low that it didn't afford him the word Esquire after his name on the official document. 00:10:38.000 --> 00:10:42.000 As far as I can tell, you didn't really need very much to have Esquire after your name. 00:10:42.000 --> 00:10:44.000 Everybody else does, but not Billius. 00:10:44.000 --> 00:10:54.000 He was a man of no rank, no standing, but still he was willing to put all that he had to secure the loan to build this building that we're sitting in, sat in this evening. 00:10:54.000 --> 00:10:57.000 Isaac Hunt was the local greengrocer. 00:10:57.000 --> 00:10:59.000 He added his name to the list. 00:10:59.000 --> 00:11:01.000 Henry Peoples was the local plumber. 00:11:01.000 --> 00:11:05.000 He's perhaps the reason the baptistry still leaks to this day. 00:11:05.000 --> 00:11:09.000 And Stephen Moslin worked as an agent for the local gas company. 00:11:09.000 --> 00:11:12.000 At Thomas Hall, the pastor wrote of these men, he said, 00:11:12.000 --> 00:11:18.000 this was a mission church without prestige, patronage or wealthy support. 00:11:18.000 --> 00:11:25.000 He wrote that many chief of sinners became Christians through the ministry of the church in the early days. 00:11:25.000 --> 00:11:31.000 In other words, the church was started by ordinary, regular local people who loved Jesus, 00:11:31.000 --> 00:11:41.000 invested all that they had and put it on the line so that other people might hear about him in this building this evening. 00:11:41.000 --> 00:11:48.000 It was never going to be, and it was never intended to be, another metropolitan tabernacle or a Westminster chapel. 00:11:48.000 --> 00:11:55.000 It wasn't built as a flagship city centre church drawing Christians from across the city. 00:11:55.000 --> 00:11:59.000 Rather, it was born out of the sacrificial generosity of men and women. 00:11:59.000 --> 00:12:05.000 Men and women that most people would just walk past on the street, who had a passion for the people of London, 00:12:05.000 --> 00:12:15.000 and who were conscious that non-Christian people would not walk to the city centre or get a train to the city centre to find out about Jesus, who they weren't interested in. 00:12:15.000 --> 00:12:22.000 But the other striking thing is the ambition of churches at the time to work together to see other churches started. 00:12:22.000 --> 00:12:33.000 If you read the history of the time, Charles Spurgeon was really the kind of mastermind behind all of this, generating money and enthusiasm to see that churches were built in neighbourhoods all across the city, 00:12:33.000 --> 00:12:36.000 with a passion to reach people with the gospel. 00:12:36.000 --> 00:12:43.000 Yet he knew and others knew that those local churches wouldn't start themselves, and that without local churches like that, the city wouldn't be reached. 00:12:43.000 --> 00:12:50.000 Thomas Hall himself was a well-connected Baptist minister. He had not long moved to London. 00:12:50.000 --> 00:12:56.000 He used to preach twice a week at Exhibition Hall to a thousand men at a time. 00:12:56.000 --> 00:13:04.000 And so coming here with a very small group of people to start a local mission church was a very humble thing for him to do. 00:13:04.000 --> 00:13:14.000 His references on the loan describe him as a self-deprecating, humble man who has started a church at considerable personal sacrifice. 00:13:14.000 --> 00:13:21.000 He didn't work on his own, though the men who vouched for him personally on the loan application are close associates with Spurgeon. 00:13:21.000 --> 00:13:27.000 He was obviously intimately involved in lots of different Baptist networks at the time. 00:13:27.000 --> 00:13:33.000 And the local roots of the church weren't to despise what was going on in the more famous churches in the city. 00:13:33.000 --> 00:13:38.000 In fact, they worked together, coming together to see the work of the gospel take hold in London, 00:13:38.000 --> 00:13:48.000 really realizing that you're never going to reach the city with hub churches and you're never going to start mission churches without the support of hub churches in the city center. 00:13:48.000 --> 00:13:52.000 Thomas Hall lists some of those who helped him. 00:13:52.000 --> 00:14:01.000 Lady Rowling, Lady Slay and her daughters, Mrs. Windham of Blanford Square, Miss Garden of Gloucester Terrace. 00:14:01.000 --> 00:14:04.000 They're all mentioned in his notes. I know nothing about them. 00:14:04.000 --> 00:14:08.000 You can Google them and find out later if you like. 00:14:08.000 --> 00:14:11.000 But it seems to me that these two things, right? 00:14:11.000 --> 00:14:20.000 Considerable personal sacrifice for the spread of the gospel and a willingness to partner with others for the sake of the gospel, 00:14:20.000 --> 00:14:23.000 mark this church right from the very beginning. 00:14:23.000 --> 00:14:29.000 And when you come to Paul's letter to the Philippian church, you find that's exactly what's going on here as well. 00:14:29.000 --> 00:14:35.000 In fact, it seems from just these three verses that were read to us that you cannot have one without the other. 00:14:35.000 --> 00:14:45.000 In other words, you cannot have this passion for sacrificial gospel ministry without also a desire and a hunger to work with other believers. 00:14:45.000 --> 00:14:51.000 So if you look down at the verses, you realize, don't you, that Paul could not be more thankful for the Philippian church. 00:14:51.000 --> 00:14:53.000 Look at what he says in verses three and four. 00:14:53.000 --> 00:15:00.000 I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy. 00:15:00.000 --> 00:15:04.000 If you look at all the every's, the all's and the always in those verses, it's incredible, isn't it? 00:15:04.000 --> 00:15:09.000 Every time I remember you, in all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy. 00:15:09.000 --> 00:15:15.000 I think it's hard to think, isn't it, how Paul could be any more enthusiastic about this group of Christians. 00:15:15.000 --> 00:15:18.000 He can't thank God enough for them. 00:15:18.000 --> 00:15:22.000 But just think with me, what is getting him so excited? 00:15:22.000 --> 00:15:25.000 What is it that means that he is so thankful for them? 00:15:25.000 --> 00:15:27.000 Well, look at verse five. It says, doesn't it? 00:15:27.000 --> 00:15:31.000 Because of your partnership in the gospel from this first day until now. 00:15:31.000 --> 00:15:35.000 Now, I think I thought I'd understood that, right? 00:15:35.000 --> 00:15:38.000 Because I think you read that and you go, OK, this makes sense, right? 00:15:38.000 --> 00:15:43.000 Paul is overwhelmingly thankful for the Philippian church because they've partnered with him in gospel ministry. 00:15:43.000 --> 00:15:44.000 That makes sense, doesn't it? 00:15:44.000 --> 00:15:47.000 Paul has this ministry that he wants to get on with. 00:15:47.000 --> 00:15:49.000 The Philippian church are partnering with him. 00:15:49.000 --> 00:15:50.000 He's thankful to them. 00:15:50.000 --> 00:15:57.000 So we assume that Paul is like, you know, those children who are writing thank you letters to their great aunt who sent them money. 00:15:57.000 --> 00:16:00.000 And it goes, you know, something like this, dear Aunt Betty. 00:16:00.000 --> 00:16:04.000 Thank you so much for the five pounds you gave me for Christmas. 00:16:04.000 --> 00:16:06.000 I spent it all on sweets. 00:16:06.000 --> 00:16:07.000 I stuffed my face. 00:16:07.000 --> 00:16:08.000 I had a great time. 00:16:08.000 --> 00:16:10.000 You are helping me live my dream. 00:16:10.000 --> 00:16:14.000 Please send me more money as soon as possible. 00:16:14.000 --> 00:16:16.000 Maybe ten pounds next time. 00:16:16.000 --> 00:16:18.000 And I will buy even more. 00:16:18.000 --> 00:16:21.000 And maybe you sort of think, well, that's perhaps what Paul is saying. 00:16:21.000 --> 00:16:24.000 These Philippian church have been sacrificially generous towards him. 00:16:24.000 --> 00:16:28.000 He's really thankful because they've let him get on with what he planned to do. 00:16:28.000 --> 00:16:30.000 I don't think that's what it means at all. 00:16:30.000 --> 00:16:35.000 Paul is not thankful for the Philippians because they got on board with his gospel project. 00:16:35.000 --> 00:16:43.000 In fact, as you read the rest of the book of Philippians, Paul seems fairly ambivalent, doesn't he, about the personal generosity towards him. 00:16:43.000 --> 00:16:55.000 Rather, it seems, if you look down at your Bible again, that the reason Paul is so excited is that their partnership with him in the gospel work is evidence that God is doing a good work in them. 00:16:55.000 --> 00:16:56.000 Verse six. 00:16:56.000 --> 00:17:03.000 In other words, their partnership with Paul means that Paul is confident that God is at work in them. 00:17:03.000 --> 00:17:06.000 Perhaps you could illustrate it this way. 00:17:06.000 --> 00:17:09.000 Imagine you have a friend who breaks their leg. 00:17:09.000 --> 00:17:12.000 And so they're on crutches and they can't walk. 00:17:12.000 --> 00:17:17.000 And a few months later, they send you a message and they say, would you like to go for a walk with me? 00:17:17.000 --> 00:17:20.000 Well, obviously, you're really excited, aren't you? 00:17:20.000 --> 00:17:22.000 Why are you really excited? 00:17:22.000 --> 00:17:26.000 Well, not just because it's miserable going for a walk by yourself and you want the company. 00:17:26.000 --> 00:17:33.000 No, you are excited because their desire to go for a walk is evidence that their leg is healed. 00:17:33.000 --> 00:17:35.000 And that's it here. 00:17:35.000 --> 00:17:41.000 Paul's excitement at their partnership in the gospel is evidence that God is at work in them. 00:17:41.000 --> 00:17:44.000 It's not that they're funding his pet mission project. 00:17:44.000 --> 00:17:47.000 I don't think that would elicit such an excited response from the apostle. 00:17:47.000 --> 00:17:51.000 Rather, it's as he looks at them, he goes, God's at work amongst you. 00:17:51.000 --> 00:17:53.000 Look at what God's doing in you. 00:17:53.000 --> 00:17:58.000 I know what God is doing in you because you are now partnering in the gospel with me and others. 00:17:58.000 --> 00:18:00.000 Here's the principle, right? 00:18:00.000 --> 00:18:04.000 Gospel partnership is evidence of gospel life. 00:18:04.000 --> 00:18:07.000 Gospel partnership is evidence of gospel life. 00:18:07.000 --> 00:18:09.000 And we know that. 00:18:09.000 --> 00:18:11.000 That's the Philippian story. 00:18:11.000 --> 00:18:16.000 Self-sacrifice for the extension of the kingdom driven by a work of God in the hearts of the people 00:18:16.000 --> 00:18:22.000 that empowers them to live in a way that is completely inexplicable outside of a work of God. 00:18:22.000 --> 00:18:27.000 I want you to notice this evening with me that that is not just the Philippian story. 00:18:27.000 --> 00:18:30.000 That's the story of West Kilwin Baptist Church. 00:18:30.000 --> 00:18:33.000 That's the story of how this church got here. 00:18:33.000 --> 00:18:37.000 It's actually the story of every gospel church around the world. 00:18:37.000 --> 00:18:38.000 You heard it in Reese's story. 00:18:38.000 --> 00:18:44.000 We're going to hear it some more in Thomas's story about traveling here from the States to start a gospel church in the community. 00:18:44.000 --> 00:18:50.000 Where men and women have rolled up their sleeves and unselfishly involved themselves in gospel ministry. 00:18:50.000 --> 00:18:55.000 Counting everything as a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Jesus Christ. 00:18:55.000 --> 00:19:00.000 Partnering together to see gospel churches started and people reach for Christ. 00:19:00.000 --> 00:19:05.000 And when you see that right when you see that going on and you think what God is at work. 00:19:05.000 --> 00:19:09.000 Look at that partnership in the gospel that is inexplicable outside of a work of God. 00:19:09.000 --> 00:19:11.000 What do you do when you see that? 00:19:11.000 --> 00:19:15.000 Well, I thank my God every time I remember it. 00:19:15.000 --> 00:19:17.000 In all my prayers for all of you. 00:19:17.000 --> 00:19:18.000 I always pray with joy. 00:19:18.000 --> 00:19:19.000 That's what you should do. 00:19:19.000 --> 00:19:21.000 You should thank God. 00:19:21.000 --> 00:19:24.000 And that's what we're trying to do this evening. 00:19:24.000 --> 00:19:31.000 On the 22nd of March, 2024, I received this WhatsApp message. 00:19:31.000 --> 00:19:32.000 Hi, Steve. 00:19:32.000 --> 00:19:35.000 Please forgive the unsolicited WhatsApp message. 00:19:35.000 --> 00:19:42.000 My name is David Brown, resident of Queens Park and interim pastor and elder of Redeemer Queens Park. 00:19:42.000 --> 00:19:46.000 I believe, you know, that our founding pastor, Thomas West, has now moved on. 00:19:46.000 --> 00:19:48.000 And so I'm leading for the time being. 00:19:48.000 --> 00:19:53.000 It would be great to connect and get to know each other as we endeavor to minister to our area. 00:19:53.000 --> 00:19:54.000 All the best. 00:19:54.000 --> 00:19:55.000 David. 00:19:55.000 --> 00:20:04.000 Following his message, the two of us began meeting together regularly and sharing what was going on in our churches and praying for one another. 00:20:04.000 --> 00:20:07.000 At that time, I'd been the pastor of West Kilburn for about 12 months. 00:20:07.000 --> 00:20:11.000 I'd arrived here to lead what we hoped would become a church revitalization. 00:20:11.000 --> 00:20:22.000 In the church, we'd seen some growth and encouragements, but we were just on the cusp of spending every penny that we had purchasing the freehold of this building. 00:20:22.000 --> 00:20:27.000 If you're an American brother or sister this evening, you don't understand freehold or leasehold. 00:20:27.000 --> 00:20:30.000 Thomas would gladly explain it to you later, I'm sure. 00:20:30.000 --> 00:20:31.000 Right. 00:20:31.000 --> 00:20:33.000 So basically we owned the building, but we didn't own the land. 00:20:33.000 --> 00:20:39.000 And we were 40 years off of being kicked off the building and out of the land so that we wouldn't be able to meet together. 00:20:39.000 --> 00:20:45.000 And so we were about to spend 500,000 pounds, which was money that had come from a legacy gift. 00:20:45.000 --> 00:20:48.000 And it was all the money we had in the bank to purchase the freehold here. 00:20:48.000 --> 00:20:52.000 At the same time, Redeemer was without a pastor. 00:20:52.000 --> 00:21:02.000 Thomas had returned to the US and the church didn't have a building or an office and would struggle sort of navigate the way forward and how it would be able to sustain long term ministry. 00:21:02.000 --> 00:21:04.000 So David and I just met. 00:21:04.000 --> 00:21:05.000 That's all we did. 00:21:05.000 --> 00:21:05.000 00:21:05.000 --> 00:21:06.000 We prayed about the challenges. 00:21:06.000 --> 00:21:10.000 We talked together, asking that God would help us to see a way forward. 00:21:10.000 --> 00:21:14.000 It struck us fairly early on that we could probably help each other out. 00:21:14.000 --> 00:21:16.000 We had a building. 00:21:16.000 --> 00:21:19.000 Redeemer Queen's Park needed a place to meet. 00:21:19.000 --> 00:21:23.000 Redeemer was spending money on rent and we were without any money. 00:21:23.000 --> 00:21:26.000 And so they could help us keep going. 00:21:26.000 --> 00:21:27.000 So that's what we did. 00:21:27.000 --> 00:21:29.000 Redeemer met here on a Saturday. 00:21:29.000 --> 00:21:34.000 West Kilburn met on a Sunday and they rented the building office and that helped us keep going. 00:21:34.000 --> 00:21:41.000 At the end of the summer, 2024, the idea of the merger of the two churches was first floated. 00:21:41.000 --> 00:21:43.000 And there was much to commend it, right? 00:21:43.000 --> 00:21:46.000 These two churches were theologically very similar. 00:21:46.000 --> 00:21:49.000 Our desire to reach the community was exactly the same. 00:21:49.000 --> 00:21:55.000 Neither church were really in a position to carry on with ministry in the manner in which they'd been doing it before. 00:21:55.000 --> 00:22:03.000 But we were conscious that if we were going to merge these churches, it would be considerable gospel sacrifice for everybody involved. 00:22:03.000 --> 00:22:06.000 Because they were so different to one another culturally. 00:22:06.000 --> 00:22:15.000 As someone pointed out to us in the very early days, merging two churches, what you get if you bring two churches together is a third church that nobody chose to go to. 00:22:15.000 --> 00:22:18.000 And so all of a sudden, everyone is unhappy. 00:22:18.000 --> 00:22:22.000 And they say, well, you really need to think very carefully if that's what you want to do. 00:22:22.000 --> 00:22:25.000 And so we put it to our churches. 00:22:25.000 --> 00:22:38.000 The leaders prayed about it and thought about it, saw the Lord over it and put it to our two churches that we we considered it worth the gospel sacrifice for the sake of local people hearing about Jesus. 00:22:38.000 --> 00:22:56.000 That we gave up some of our cultural preferences and perhaps the familiarity of our church or maybe the kind of youthful dynamic of our church in order to bring something healthy gospel shaped together where we could see new people reach for Christ because there was a sustainable gospel ministry in the area. 00:22:56.000 --> 00:23:03.000 And encouragingly and remarkably, that's exactly what both churches voted to do. 00:23:03.000 --> 00:23:20.000 Considering really that people hearing about Christ is more important than our personal comfort or personal preferences, that losing for the sake of others gaining Christ is worth it. 00:23:20.000 --> 00:23:33.000 In the language of Philippians one, people sacrificially partnered in the gospel, not because they were good people, but because verse six, God was at work in them in a way that he'd only just begun and he promised to complete. 00:23:33.000 --> 00:23:36.000 And what do you do when you see that? 00:23:36.000 --> 00:23:40.000 When you see sacrificial partnership like that, you thank God, don't you? 00:23:40.000 --> 00:23:45.000 Since the merger of the two churches, lots has kept changing. 00:23:45.000 --> 00:23:50.000 Since the church is merged, we've had six baptisms. 00:23:50.000 --> 00:24:01.000 We've welcomed 23 new church members and 16 church members have moved on to other churches, either in this city or another city in the UK or even in other countries. 00:24:01.000 --> 00:24:05.000 We've seen dozens of people come through the door to hear about Christ. 00:24:05.000 --> 00:24:09.000 We've got a Christianity Explore course going on at the moment, which is hugely encouraging. 00:24:09.000 --> 00:24:11.000 Is that our doing? 00:24:11.000 --> 00:24:13.000 That's not our doing, is it? 00:24:13.000 --> 00:24:14.000 It's God's doing. 00:24:14.000 --> 00:24:15.000 Praise him. 00:24:15.000 --> 00:24:19.000 Because gospel partnership is a sign that God is at work. 00:24:19.000 --> 00:24:22.000 And so we give him all the praise and all the glory. 00:24:22.000 --> 00:24:23.000 I'm going to pray. 00:24:23.000 --> 00:24:26.000 We're going to stand and sing together, but let me pray. 00:24:26.000 --> 00:24:38.000 Heavenly Father, how we thank you that you are at work in us and that we see that work in an eagerness to work together for the sake of the fact that we are at work in us. 00:24:38.000 --> 00:24:48.000 And that we thank you that we are at work in the moment of the sake of the fame of Jesus Christ, that many more might come to know him and find eternal salvation in him alone. 00:24:48.000 --> 00:24:55.000 How we thank you that we here stand on the shoulders of men and women down through the generations who have done just that. 00:24:55.000 --> 00:25:00.000 And we praise and thank you and give you all the glory in Jesus name. 00:25:00.000 --> 00:25:01.000 Amen. 00:25:01.000 --> 00:25:06.000 All right, Angie. 00:25:06.000 --> 00:25:13.000 So, Angie, since me arriving in Northwest London, Andrew has been a great friend. 00:25:13.000 --> 00:25:26.000 So I called you a veteran of gospel ministry in this part of London, which might be a bit unfair, but you did say to me once, Steve, you is well out your depth, man, is what you said to me, I think. 00:25:26.000 --> 00:25:30.000 Yeah, that's half of it. What I didn't tell you was, I'm out of my depth as well. 00:25:30.000 --> 00:25:31.000 Oh, okay. 00:25:31.000 --> 00:25:34.000 And I've been knocking around for a few decades. 00:25:34.000 --> 00:25:38.000 Right. Well, there you go. We're both out of our depth, but praise the Lord that he's gracious, right? 00:25:38.000 --> 00:25:39.000 Yeah, that's right. 00:25:39.000 --> 00:25:43.000 And just tell us a little bit, you've been working in this kind of corner of Northwest London for a long time. 00:25:43.000 --> 00:25:44.000 Yeah. 00:25:44.000 --> 00:25:48.000 And it's been quite a hard place to do gospel ministry, hasn't it? 00:25:48.000 --> 00:25:56.000 So can you just describe that, like over the years and why you think that's been the case and what's been the challenges of gospel work in this part of London? 00:25:56.000 --> 00:26:12.000 Yes, I think it's hard to put your finger on it precisely, but London Borough of Brent, where most of Northwest London is, is number one, number two, most ethnically diverse place in London. 00:26:12.000 --> 00:26:18.000 Okay, either number one or number two, says the Guardian newspaper, and they cannot be wrong. 00:26:18.000 --> 00:26:35.000 Okay, so what that means is there's lots of different religions. And I think as well, there's groups of people who the church has struggled to make contact with over many years. 00:26:35.000 --> 00:26:40.000 There's some people we've been able to touch, but others we've been unable to touch at all. 00:26:40.000 --> 00:26:54.000 Yeah. And so just as your kind of overview of churches in this part of London, what are the kind of sizes of those churches and how many are there of them, that kind of thing? What are your sort of take on that? 00:26:54.000 --> 00:27:03.000 I think about, say, 10 years ago, there were a number of congregations, they were very, very small, struggling fellowships. 00:27:03.000 --> 00:27:22.000 I went from here, having been a sort of West Kilburnite, to Wilsdon, and there was eight people. Okay, my family came, and we increased it by 50%. Yeah, revival. Yeah. 00:27:22.000 --> 00:27:35.000 So, many of them were struggling. There were one or two growing. But in the last few years, a number of things have happened, a number of people have come on board. 00:27:35.000 --> 00:27:46.000 There was a situation once where a London leader, a big London leader of, okay, I'll say it, FIC, our denomination, he had a map. 00:27:46.000 --> 00:27:58.000 I was at a meeting, he had a map of London, and he was telling us what he knew about these areas. And he came to our area, he pointed out and said, I know nothing about this area. 00:27:58.000 --> 00:28:07.000 I know nothing about Northwest London. Northwest London did not attract, or didn't seem to, the great gospel pastors or anything like that. 00:28:07.000 --> 00:28:12.000 Just you and me. And Thomas West, and he came as well for a bit. 00:28:12.000 --> 00:28:24.000 There you go. There you go. There you go. So, it's always been, up until recently, some brothers have come, the Lord has raised up some new gospel workers. 00:28:24.000 --> 00:28:30.000 And I can see there has been growth in a number of fellowships, here at Kilburn. I mean, most of the people I don't even recognize. 00:28:30.000 --> 00:28:38.000 Which is good. Actually, it's a good thing, isn't it? To come back, it's good to recognize one or two people. Yeah? It's good that you recognize Vidar, isn't it? 00:28:38.000 --> 00:28:47.000 Yeah? Good, yeah. Jane Vidar, yeah. Liz, where I can see her. Great. Yeah, it's good that I can recognize myself. But isn't it better, like, I don't know half of you? 00:28:47.000 --> 00:28:53.000 Yeah. Isn't that great? That means some growth is happening. Yeah. And a lot of us, the Lord has used yourself, Bob Kane. Yeah. 00:28:53.000 --> 00:28:58.000 Yeah. And also in other fellowships, like Stamble. Yeah. There's been some growth there as well. Yeah. Great. 00:28:58.000 --> 00:29:12.000 Yeah. Great. If you sort of had a wish list for how to support gospel ministry in Northwest London, what would be, what would be the things on the list that you think, this is the ways that, these are the things that people could pray for us? 00:29:12.000 --> 00:29:17.000 These are the ways that maybe people could consider supporting us. What would be the things that you would put on that list? 00:29:17.000 --> 00:29:42.000 I think number one would be come and see. Come and see. See what's going on. We can show you what's going on. The Northwest London, I think, is the most frustrating, yet fascinating place in all of London. One of the most. I think it's one of the historical mission fields. 00:29:42.000 --> 00:30:09.000 Because you've got people coming from every nation and you've got all sorts of views. For example, I used to be in contact with one of the main atheists on the South Kiliman estate. So much so that I said to him one day, you're like that Richard Dawkins, aren't you? And his answer was, who's he? Yeah. Certain things can bypass you. So come and find out what's going on. 00:30:09.000 --> 00:30:25.000 Can you give to what's going on? I think financial resources are a major thing. Because through that, workers can come. Yeah, you can develop workers who can take the work forward. 00:30:25.000 --> 00:30:38.000 I think one of the problems has been without the resources, people eventually get old, retire, and then the work just gets a reset back to normal. It needs people willing to also come and live. 00:30:38.000 --> 00:30:52.000 Come and live. Okay, Northwest London is a big thing, really. You've got urban Northwest London, which is here. You've got suburban Northwest London. You've got city centre, Northwest London as well, haven't you? 00:30:52.000 --> 00:31:07.000 Yeah. So actually, there's massive variety. Variety in people, variety in opportunity. You could be talking to someone who in their own country would never hear the good news. It's amazing. 00:31:07.000 --> 00:31:23.819 I was hearing about an East African country. I won't say what it is, which country, you'll guess. East African country dominated by Islam. And I was told by a mission expert, there's next to no converts in London. 00:31:23.819 --> 00:31:49.720 I went to a church in Acton, and I saw a guy from that community. And he was sitting there. He was wearing a sort of Chelsea track suit, but I forgive him for that. Yeah, I forgive him for that, for wearing that. But I said to him, I said, I was so amazed to see him. I said, what are you doing here? Imagine saying that to someone. You come to church, what are you doing here? 00:31:49.720 --> 00:32:16.940 And then he pointed to a guy who helped him, who had been his spiritual father. It was a working class English white guy with tats up his sleeves, who was sitting there looking absolutely anonymous. Yeah. And this brother said, this is the guy who's helped me to faith. And this is the guy who helps me today. Yeah. 00:32:16.940 --> 00:32:39.460 It reminded me of a lesson that I've learned again and again at West Kilburn. There are no small people with regards to the kingdom of God. Francis Schaeffer said, there are no small people. It's the people you think are nothing. Yeah. And you may be a person who thinks, ah, I couldn't add nothing to anything going on. No, you are the kind of person who God can use. Yeah. Thanks, guys. 00:32:39.960 --> 00:32:43.420 Thanks, Andrew. I'd love to talk to you for longer, but we'll talk afterwards. 00:32:43.420 --> 00:32:45.600 Thanks, Andrew. 00:32:46.940 --> 00:32:48.940 Thank you. 00:32:51.220 --> 00:32:53.380 Thomas, will you come and join us? Thank you. 00:32:55.380 --> 00:32:57.660 Well, you almost got a round of applause before you'd started. 00:32:58.519 --> 00:32:59.799 It was really remarkable. 00:33:00.539 --> 00:33:05.259 Thomas, it's great to have you with us. Thank you so much for being here and bringing Elizabeth with you and your team of folks. 00:33:05.840 --> 00:33:10.279 I just wonder whether you could tell us a little bit, because you probably won't know most people in the room. 00:33:10.279 --> 00:33:16.960 Just introduce yourself and tell us when you came to London and what the kind of plan was behind Redeemer and that sort of thing. 00:33:17.039 --> 00:33:17.920 That would be really great. 00:33:18.720 --> 00:33:22.079 Thank you, Steve. Thanks for having us tonight as well. Thank you very much. 00:33:22.079 --> 00:33:29.099 Good to be with you all. Hello. Greetings from the church in Nashville as well. Nashville, Tennessee. That's in America. 00:33:29.939 --> 00:33:31.619 Glad to be with you all tonight. 00:33:32.939 --> 00:33:40.299 From the American South, from Montgomery, Alabama, went through a place called Auburn for university and Raleigh, North Carolina for seminary studies. 00:33:40.299 --> 00:33:45.940 And during that course of time, you know, we're reading the Bible. You read the book of Acts. 00:33:46.019 --> 00:33:51.559 There's this constant push, isn't it, from where the gospel is to where the gospel is not. 00:33:52.119 --> 00:33:55.759 And I was a university minister for seven years in the States. 00:33:56.279 --> 00:34:01.139 And I would sit with lots of college students on the university campus. 00:34:01.139 --> 00:34:06.619 And you're asking the question, you know, are you willing to go wherever Jesus says go and do whatever Jesus says do? 00:34:06.740 --> 00:34:08.500 I think this is pretty basic discipleship. 00:34:08.500 --> 00:34:14.340 And there came a day when the Lord started to impress that question on my wife Elizabeth and I's heart in a particular way. 00:34:14.780 --> 00:34:17.820 There's some other things that kind of put London on the map for us. 00:34:17.900 --> 00:34:22.099 My dissertation studies wrote on a recently dead English guy. 00:34:22.199 --> 00:34:24.239 And that kind of helped to bring it all into focus. 00:34:24.599 --> 00:34:29.519 And the vision was, let's go over to London and see if we could be of any help. 00:34:30.079 --> 00:34:33.320 Came over on a couple of different kind of research trips. 00:34:33.500 --> 00:34:38.300 Really just listening and praying and asking the Lord, is there anything for us to do here? 00:34:38.500 --> 00:34:44.780 And we landed in a church in the west end of London on a Sunday afternoon. 00:34:45.340 --> 00:34:48.639 And somebody turns to my wife Elizabeth and says, what are you doing here? 00:34:48.980 --> 00:34:53.280 And she just said, we're trusting the Lord has something for us. 00:34:53.360 --> 00:34:55.539 We sent a call to planting the church. 00:34:56.019 --> 00:34:57.820 And they said, oh, you need to go check out Queens Park. 00:34:58.519 --> 00:34:59.440 And we said, okay, like why? 00:34:59.579 --> 00:35:02.119 And they said, well, Green Leafy Park. 00:35:02.340 --> 00:35:03.840 It's a really great primary school there. 00:35:03.840 --> 00:35:06.720 And there's really no gospel churches. 00:35:07.519 --> 00:35:13.980 So we took the tube up, got off, and kind of turned left into the neighborhood and said, maybe this is it. 00:35:14.180 --> 00:35:17.260 And, you know, worked through other network leaders and such. 00:35:17.840 --> 00:35:23.000 And that really led to coming across with a small team of friends from the states. 00:35:23.000 --> 00:35:25.700 Really looking to plant a church in Queens Park. 00:35:25.699 --> 00:35:29.079 Trying to help out with the evangelization of Northwest London. 00:35:29.259 --> 00:35:35.319 So much of what Andrew brings to us so plainly and so clearly right here, we experience through just a little bit of research. 00:35:35.519 --> 00:35:42.919 So aspiring to come over and plant a multicultural evangelistic outpost to help out with Northwest London. 00:35:43.500 --> 00:35:45.480 And then kind of COVID happened, right? 00:35:45.719 --> 00:35:46.119 Yeah. 00:35:46.119 --> 00:35:48.000 Yeah, so that was hard. 00:35:48.000 --> 00:35:52.719 So we moved over in June of 2019, just in time for COVID to get ready. 00:35:54.159 --> 00:35:54.519 Yeah. 00:35:55.079 --> 00:35:58.980 And we were over here for just about five years. 00:35:59.920 --> 00:36:03.800 Tell us just, as you look back on that time, what are some of the highlights of that? 00:36:03.920 --> 00:36:05.619 What are some of the great encouragements? 00:36:05.940 --> 00:36:07.780 I don't know, lots of it was hard as well, wasn't it? 00:36:07.800 --> 00:36:08.800 Like you say, COVID and things. 00:36:08.920 --> 00:36:10.500 But there were some real encouragements. 00:36:10.719 --> 00:36:12.559 Some of them are sitting in the room as well, aren't they? 00:36:12.860 --> 00:36:13.440 So tell us that. 00:36:13.440 --> 00:36:14.400 I mean, we can name names. 00:36:14.559 --> 00:36:16.500 I mean, this is really encouraging. 00:36:16.500 --> 00:36:23.699 Getting to, yeah, I mean, we got very involved with Salisbury Primary School. 00:36:24.579 --> 00:36:32.119 And the sense of skepticism turning towards a little bit of intrigue to have an opportunity 00:36:32.119 --> 00:36:35.519 to share with different people at the school was really encouraging. 00:36:36.199 --> 00:36:40.739 Friends that we got to know, some of Shepard's Buddies and Shepard's Buddies' parents even 00:36:40.739 --> 00:36:41.639 being here today. 00:36:41.780 --> 00:36:43.139 Like this is just beautiful to see. 00:36:43.139 --> 00:36:48.000 Getting to know Eddie, a local barista in the community as well. 00:36:48.839 --> 00:36:53.699 Getting to live life in a community and being able to share with people across time was hugely 00:36:53.699 --> 00:36:54.199 encouraging. 00:36:55.019 --> 00:36:59.679 Some of the gatherings that people in this room helped come together and sacrifice their 00:36:59.679 --> 00:37:01.039 time and energy to put on. 00:37:02.039 --> 00:37:06.879 It seemed pretty impactful to some people like carol services and Easter egg hunts. 00:37:06.880 --> 00:37:12.260 Through the school, really trying to reach out into all the different nooks and crannies 00:37:12.260 --> 00:37:13.460 of this area. 00:37:14.000 --> 00:37:15.880 Some really encouraging things there. 00:37:16.000 --> 00:37:21.820 But nothing comes close to watching people who were far from Jesus come to learn about 00:37:21.820 --> 00:37:24.700 Jesus and put their faith in Jesus and start following Jesus. 00:37:24.840 --> 00:37:25.680 It's the best. 00:37:25.940 --> 00:37:26.059 Right. 00:37:26.059 --> 00:37:33.079 Now, maybe you could save yourself and Elizabeth having the same conversation several times. 00:37:33.219 --> 00:37:36.799 Just tell us a little update about where you are and what you're doing now and how it's 00:37:36.799 --> 00:37:36.980 going. 00:37:37.059 --> 00:37:37.719 That would be great to hear. 00:37:37.840 --> 00:37:38.639 Thank you very much. 00:37:39.420 --> 00:37:43.779 Received a call to ministry to a church in Nashville, Tennessee. 00:37:44.940 --> 00:37:45.960 Legacy Church. 00:37:45.960 --> 00:37:52.420 A church, 205 years old, in need of revitalization and a fresh wave of life. 00:37:52.780 --> 00:37:55.860 My wife Elizabeth and I would go around saying it's going to take something pretty special 00:37:55.860 --> 00:37:58.119 to pull us out of London one day. 00:37:58.820 --> 00:38:05.179 And it was with great tear to the heart to leave one community you love and go to another 00:38:05.179 --> 00:38:07.920 community that you learn to love and get on with. 00:38:07.980 --> 00:38:10.480 And some beautiful people from that church are here today. 00:38:10.480 --> 00:38:17.500 Getting to move across back to the American South was actually so helpful. 00:38:17.760 --> 00:38:20.059 And we have so much to give God thanks for. 00:38:20.119 --> 00:38:22.360 And we do when it comes to the church in London. 00:38:22.599 --> 00:38:24.420 And then when it comes to the city of London. 00:38:25.179 --> 00:38:30.420 London is a place for teaching us about what it means to be a true follower of Jesus. 00:38:31.019 --> 00:38:35.240 And getting to know some wonderful brothers and sisters in the church here, like the other 00:38:35.240 --> 00:38:36.500 elders we got to run with. 00:38:36.559 --> 00:38:38.019 They're now part of the joint leadership team. 00:38:38.019 --> 00:38:40.519 Brothers like Andrew Barnett, Luis Lopez, and their families. 00:38:41.239 --> 00:38:43.900 Getting to learn from other kingdom leaders. 00:38:44.679 --> 00:38:48.539 Getting to see people from all different backgrounds and walks of life coming through. 00:38:48.759 --> 00:38:53.199 And you learn a lot about what it is to be a follower of Jesus when you get to follow 00:38:53.199 --> 00:38:57.259 Jesus with people from all different sorts of backgrounds and cultures and walks of life. 00:38:57.860 --> 00:39:02.179 And that's really been a great blessing to us that we've taken over to the church there 00:39:02.179 --> 00:39:03.039 in Nashville. 00:39:03.039 --> 00:39:08.099 So we're in year two and a half of pastoring Nashville First Baptist Church. 00:39:08.659 --> 00:39:13.619 It was a place that probably peaked in about 1970 and in different ways kind of over the 00:39:13.619 --> 00:39:13.940 years. 00:39:14.500 --> 00:39:18.259 And the Lord's reviving us and turning us into a new season. 00:39:18.340 --> 00:39:19.420 And we're very grateful about that. 00:39:19.519 --> 00:39:19.699 Great. 00:39:19.840 --> 00:39:20.719 And how are the family? 00:39:21.159 --> 00:39:21.360 Yeah. 00:39:21.960 --> 00:39:24.619 Our daughter, Perry Elizabeth, is 12. 00:39:24.840 --> 00:39:25.779 She's doing really well. 00:39:25.980 --> 00:39:27.519 Our son, Shepherd, is 10. 00:39:28.039 --> 00:39:29.880 And both of them are enjoying Nashville. 00:39:29.980 --> 00:39:30.119 Right. 00:39:30.840 --> 00:39:32.460 And how can we pray for you? 00:39:32.679 --> 00:39:33.340 And for the... 00:39:33.340 --> 00:39:36.079 Because obviously we're in a kind of church revitalization here as well. 00:39:37.099 --> 00:39:39.119 Two and a half years, you've probably fixed every problem. 00:39:39.219 --> 00:39:39.380 Yeah. 00:39:39.519 --> 00:39:40.179 I would have thought by now. 00:39:40.199 --> 00:39:40.820 Just like you. 00:39:40.960 --> 00:39:41.599 Everything's fine. 00:39:41.800 --> 00:39:41.920 Right? 00:39:42.280 --> 00:39:43.679 So nothing to worry about here. 00:39:43.759 --> 00:39:44.940 Everything is fine right now. 00:39:45.019 --> 00:39:45.059 Yeah. 00:39:45.119 --> 00:39:45.259 Right. 00:39:45.259 --> 00:39:47.619 So tell us how we can be praying for you. 00:39:47.619 --> 00:39:53.259 The ways that you would imagine that you need prayer, you need support, and you need care 00:39:53.259 --> 00:39:54.759 right here, we need it as well. 00:39:55.059 --> 00:39:56.059 We're... 00:39:56.059 --> 00:39:59.019 For all the differences, we're pretty much pretty similar. 00:40:00.099 --> 00:40:02.719 You could pray for our congregation. 00:40:03.219 --> 00:40:07.880 We're located right downtown, as they say, or city center. 00:40:08.460 --> 00:40:14.059 We're trying to be an evangelistic outpost to a community that's rapidly changing. 00:40:14.059 --> 00:40:15.920 The high rises are coming in. 00:40:16.059 --> 00:40:17.219 The rent's very expensive. 00:40:17.960 --> 00:40:20.679 And we're trying to reach out to our city in a fresh way. 00:40:21.539 --> 00:40:22.940 Everything's changing around us. 00:40:23.199 --> 00:40:25.659 And, you know, we don't want to change for change's sake. 00:40:25.739 --> 00:40:29.139 But we need to get on with it to reach our neighbors in a fresh way. 00:40:29.239 --> 00:40:30.239 So you could pray. 00:40:30.859 --> 00:40:35.859 You could pray for our evangelism, that the Lord would give us both wisdom and favor for 00:40:35.859 --> 00:40:40.019 how to reach out to our neighbors and to share the love of Jesus with them. 00:40:41.159 --> 00:40:42.099 Thanks so much, Thomas. 00:40:42.159 --> 00:40:42.619 That's great. 00:40:42.719 --> 00:40:43.119 Thank you. 00:40:43.119 --> 00:40:43.139 Thank you. 00:40:43.219 --> 00:40:43.559 That's great. 00:40:43.699 --> 00:40:44.159 I appreciate it. 00:40:44.440 --> 00:40:44.719 Thank you. 00:40:44.719 --> 00:40:45.119 Thank you. 00:40:45.119 --> 00:40:45.619 Thank you. 00:40:45.619 --> 00:40:46.119 Thank you. 00:40:46.119 --> 00:40:46.619 Thank you. 00:40:46.619 --> 00:40:47.119 Thank you. 00:40:47.119 --> 00:40:47.119 00:40:47.119 --> 00:40:47.119 00:40:47.119 --> 00:40:47.119 00:40:47.119 --> 00:40:47.119 00:40:47.119 --> 00:40:47.119 00:40:47.119 --> 00:40:47.119 00:40:47.119 --> 00:40:47.119 00:40:47.119 --> 00:40:47.119 00:40:47.119 --> 00:40:48.119 Thank you. 00:40:50.739 --> 00:40:55.279 So I'm going to introduce you to Martina, who is going to come and join me at the front 00:40:55.279 --> 00:40:55.659 here. 00:40:58.460 --> 00:41:02.839 Martina said to me today, she said, are you just going to ask me questions or you're not 00:41:02.839 --> 00:41:04.159 going to prepare my answers for me? 00:41:04.559 --> 00:41:05.859 Are you sure you're ready for that? 00:41:06.699 --> 00:41:07.719 So come on, Martina. 00:41:09.079 --> 00:41:11.339 Martina is one of our newest church members. 00:41:11.340 --> 00:41:12.800 Baptized. 00:41:12.800 --> 00:41:13.240 Yeah. 00:41:18.300 --> 00:41:19.940 And you were baptized earlier this month. 00:41:20.500 --> 00:41:24.240 Martina, I just wonder whether you could just tell us a little bit about the story about 00:41:24.240 --> 00:41:27.320 how you became a Christian and how you found your way to this church. 00:41:27.320 --> 00:41:32.600 listen and everybody has to leave before half past seven so we've got we've not got to launch 00:41:32.600 --> 00:41:38.840 so how did tell us just a story about okay how you came to west kilman baptist church 00:41:38.840 --> 00:41:46.860 how you ended up here um just use the microphone so shepherd and i'm saying it like that because 00:41:46.860 --> 00:41:52.780 that's how i heard his name the first time shepherd um was friend his friends was friends with 00:41:52.780 --> 00:41:57.680 ramona's son he was friends with my son this is how god is amazing and anyway but all here because 00:41:57.680 --> 00:42:05.100 the kids um so ezekiel was coming to know that my sister told me about the friday club and i was like 00:42:05.100 --> 00:42:09.180 oh my god there's a church that's doing stuff for kids how cool right because no way does that these 00:42:09.180 --> 00:42:14.640 days apart from on a sunday and then um i was at home with matthew we were going to our old church 00:42:14.640 --> 00:42:18.340 and then we were supposed to leave the house and then all of a sudden matthew was like oh my back's 00:42:18.340 --> 00:42:24.600 hurting i'm not taking all these kids to church on my own i'm not doing it and then i remember 00:42:24.600 --> 00:42:29.820 tear and i was like oh they come on fridays and every baptist church i've been to they like kids 00:42:29.820 --> 00:42:38.039 so if i go and it's a bad vibe we're just gonna leave in it and then we came and then steve was like 00:42:38.039 --> 00:42:43.019 oh sorry there's no children's church and i'm like oh my god he's actually apologizing for it and then 00:42:43.019 --> 00:42:47.680 he had these little um clipboard stuff and i was like they came in for kids and my children weren't 00:42:47.679 --> 00:42:55.879 complaining if you lot have met my younger four so i went home and i was like oh matt i went to a 00:42:55.879 --> 00:43:00.619 nice church you know you should come and he's like oh babe he just took membership he had just taken 00:43:00.619 --> 00:43:04.799 membership at our other church in it and he was like oh i don't know about that and i was like well 00:43:04.799 --> 00:43:11.480 the kids don't like going to the other church at all and he was all right in it at the very least 00:43:11.480 --> 00:43:15.579 that it'd be for the kids oh prior to that we weren't actually saved so that's another thing in it 00:43:15.579 --> 00:43:21.159 our oldest is 22 and then because you know you grew up in church i don't think i paid attention 00:43:21.159 --> 00:43:26.340 to the fact that my mom had actually taken effort to raise me that way i thought it was natural so i 00:43:26.340 --> 00:43:30.819 kind of missed that bit and so we were like oh we definitely want the kids to have it and then matt 00:43:30.819 --> 00:43:36.340 came and he's like yeah we're going there and i was like oh what are we going to tell the old church 00:43:36.340 --> 00:43:39.960 he's like oh we'll just keep going for a bit and see anyway we weren't going to that bit and here we are 00:43:39.960 --> 00:43:47.000 anyway then um oh i found the gospel because i thought i knew it but i didn't shout out abby 00:43:47.000 --> 00:43:52.619 because he actually we went to one of those mid group um things and then they were like what you 00:43:52.619 --> 00:43:55.460 want to pray for and i'm like i don't know these people to be telling them my business let me just 00:43:55.460 --> 00:44:01.280 pray for health because you know and then abs was like oh do you have unforgiveness in your heart 00:44:01.280 --> 00:44:07.340 and i'm like what who's this brother to be asked anyway i was like no i don't i'm a well i am a very 00:44:07.340 --> 00:44:11.660 forgiving person and then he was like and i could see everyone was looking at him like you're gonna 00:44:11.660 --> 00:44:17.200 run this girl from the group she just came and then you know if you know abs this man is yeah he's 00:44:17.200 --> 00:44:21.160 fierce for the lord in it you can't put him off anything he was like okay but what about yourself 00:44:21.160 --> 00:44:26.780 have you forgiven yourself and i'm like i'm a new creation i'm a christian now of course i have 00:44:26.780 --> 00:44:31.260 um actually i went away and i really thought about it and i realized there was a lot i was actually 00:44:31.260 --> 00:44:36.640 still carrying and then matthew was like well you're kind of denying the work of the cross if you're 00:44:36.639 --> 00:44:41.839 still feeling guilt and shame and that kind of was my actual real introduction to the gospel and then 00:44:42.319 --> 00:44:46.639 i don't know if you'll have heard steve in it but for me he really through god in it i'm not going 00:44:46.639 --> 00:44:51.759 to give him the glory but through god yeah no free working through romans i didn't even know you could 00:44:51.759 --> 00:44:58.000 stay in a book for so long but i really found the gospel through that and um yeah i love was 00:44:58.000 --> 00:45:10.400 gilvan in it i'm here so great um i'm afraid to ask you another question but i get him anyway but i 00:45:10.400 --> 00:45:17.760 i think just tell us um what are your hopes and desires for the community around here so if you 00:45:17.760 --> 00:45:24.000 i mean you're you've been here a long time like tell us like you know you look at your kids friends 00:45:24.000 --> 00:45:28.400 at school and you look at your neighbors and the people that you've grown up around 00:45:29.280 --> 00:45:36.639 how what do you what do you want us to be praying for for for kilburn um what was your name again 00:45:37.199 --> 00:45:43.440 and andrew yeah as andrew said in it like northwest london is an amazing place i've grown up here i've 00:45:43.440 --> 00:45:49.599 always loved my area i want people to understand like being a christian is not probably what most of them 00:45:49.599 --> 00:45:55.199 grew up in um and i think there's a lot of church hurt with a lot of young people they feel like 00:45:55.199 --> 00:46:00.400 christians are hypocrites they're fake they say one thing they do another and i feel like coming here 00:46:00.400 --> 00:46:06.400 you just realize that's not the gospel um and i think it's just really important that we're pushing 00:46:06.400 --> 00:46:10.799 things like we've got a mosque there right there it's like that god thought he could really come and 00:46:10.799 --> 00:46:16.319 challenge our way we've got to be doing stuff in the community like it's very real the threat is real 00:46:16.320 --> 00:46:22.400 we're losing a lot of our young people and i love young people very much so i would love to see 00:46:23.120 --> 00:46:29.280 west kilburn spread out more and actually give people i got um and that you guys want to set up 00:46:29.280 --> 00:46:34.960 the social media don't give me a job list okay wait wait wait yeah so i feel like yeah that's what i 00:46:34.960 --> 00:46:38.720 want to see i just want to see more people actually understand what it is to be a christian and how 00:46:38.720 --> 00:46:43.360 easy well it's not easy but it's easy it's not as hard as the weight of doing a tick box 00:46:43.360 --> 00:46:50.160 that's great thank you martina thank you that's great 00:46:53.519 --> 00:46:57.360 so what we'd love you to do now is just turn to the people around you and pray for some of those 00:46:57.360 --> 00:47:01.920 things that you've heard so you could pray for northwest london you could pray give thanks for 00:47:01.920 --> 00:47:07.519 martina's new life that she's found in the lord jesus and for others like her you could pray for thomas 00:47:07.519 --> 00:47:12.000 and for the ministry of national first you can pray for the christian answer team who are also 00:47:12.559 --> 00:47:17.920 down at high park speakers corner tomorrow um so just turn to those around you you may not know who 00:47:17.920 --> 00:47:22.559 they are don't worry and don't spend ages giving them your life story just pray and pray for those 00:47:22.559 --> 00:47:28.559 things for about five minutes and then we'll sing together as we close well it just remains for me to 00:47:28.559 --> 00:47:38.159 say on behalf of west kilburn baptist church which is redeemer and the old west kilburn um thank you all 00:47:38.159 --> 00:47:44.960 for coming uh some of you have come a very long way and some of you come not quite so far and we represent 00:47:44.960 --> 00:47:53.039 many many churches here tonight so thank you for coming joining in our uh our worship our celebration 00:47:53.039 --> 00:47:57.199 to god for what he is doing let me just close in prayer for you 00:48:01.279 --> 00:48:09.920 we do give you the glory father we do recognize that the power of the gospel the work of the gospel 00:48:09.920 --> 00:48:17.119 the salvation of souls the building of the church is your work and your work alone because of your son 00:48:17.119 --> 00:48:23.759 jesus and through your holy spirit thank you father for each person in this room and the 00:48:24.319 --> 00:48:31.839 parts in our various churches we've been able to see you working see you moving by your spirit see you 00:48:31.839 --> 00:48:39.440 building your church lord jesus we thank you that when you said i will build my church and the gates of 00:48:39.440 --> 00:48:46.000 hell will not prevail against it we're testing me tonight lord that you spoke the truth and we thank you 00:48:46.000 --> 00:48:56.000 you that you are doing that go with us now lord make us fruitful make us uh holy make us walk after you 00:48:57.119 --> 00:49:14.000 make us be true disciples as we hold out the word of life to those around us in jesus name amen