Month: April 2025

Big Weekend Away: discount ticket deals finish this evening!!

/ Steve Petch / Leave a comment

Our Welcome Church Big Weekend Away takes place on the Bank Holiday weekend in August – Friday 22nd to Monday 25th August 2025. You really won’t want to miss it!

Your last chance to book at a special discounted price is midnight tonight!

The weekend away will take place at Braggers Wood Camp Site in the New Forest. We have the whole place to ourselves and we’ll have a lot of fun. 

You’ll get to enjoy connecting with others from Welcome Church over delicious meals – all included in the price – along with fun activities, day trips, or simply relaxing in our massive marquee.

We will also be seeking God together as a church family, enjoying times of worship and teaching, and looking at what it means to belong to His family.

We’d love to see you there; there is something for everyone!

So far we’ve been offering tickets at a special price: a 25% discount has been available on all bookings made before 1st May. Most of the tickets have now gone, but we still have a few available, so don’t miss out. To book your place please use this link.

Don’t forget – any booking made after today, Wednesday 30th April, will be at full price (although full price is still a really good price for what you’ll get… 🙂)

I look forward to seeing you there!

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A Sabbatical Break for Dub, and Some Encouraging News For Us All

/ Steve Petch / Leave a comment

Some Encouragement

I hope you enjoyed our Easter Sunday services at Welcome Church. If so, you may be interested to know that it was the highest Sunday morning we’ve ever seen as a church, with 1355 people in attendance across the two meetings. We’ve only seen greater numbers than this at our Carol Services, where we have four services, that run into the afternoon and evening too.

Of course, we’re not concerned about numbers for numbers sake, but because each number is a person – and we care a lot about people meeting Jesus.

Here’s an even bigger encouragement though: this week I’ve been hearing that many churches, some from our Commission family and some from elsewhere, are also seeing lots of growth and have had their highest ever Sunday numbers too.

It seems that God is up to something in the UK but it’s happening further afield too. One church we know in Mongolia recently baptised four people, including the local Shaman who has now come to faith in Jesus. He publicly repented of leading people astray and is now wanting to tell everyone about Jesus instead.

I’ll post some links below that I’ve seen in the news this week for your encouragement – do check them out. In order they are an article from The Telegraph, an article from Premier Christianity, an Instagram post from Pete Gregg of 24/7 Prayer, a short YouTube interview that Justin Brierley (who lives in Woking) did for The Spectator, and lastly an article from The Independent.

I could have easily added another ten links on the same topic, from most of the major news outlets. It does seem that something is happening!

Dub’s Sabbatical

I’m sure we would all agree that Dub, our Outreach Pastor, is a huge gift to our church. We’re so thankful for his heart, his energy, his faithfulness, and for all he brings to our community.

This year marks Dub’s tenth year of full-time ministry with us, and as part of investing in his long-term health and calling, we’re giving him a three-month sabbatical—from the start of May to the end of July.

A sabbatical is a time of extended rest and spiritual refreshment, and it’s essential for sustaining the journey of pastoral ministry. During this time, Dub will be fully unplugged: no emails, no phone calls, no WhatsApp, and no church responsibilities. He and Tanya won’t be worshipping with us on Sundays either—they’re stepping back completely in order to rest deeply.

Dub has already been working hard to make sure that everything he leads is covered while he’s away. As a church, we want to honour this time by fully supporting that boundary. One of the best ways we can bless the whole family is by giving them space to rest well—and by holding them in prayer throughout this important season.

We love Dub and Tanya, and we’re excited for all that God has in store for them—and for us—over the next ten years.

“Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.”
— Mark 6:31

“Acknowledge those who work hard among you, who care for you in the Lord… Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work.”
— 1 Thessalonians 5:12–13

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For Your Prayers – April 2025

/ Steve Petch / Leave a comment

Hello Welcome Church!

Here are a few key things we would love you to be praying for this month. They are all key to the life of our church:

Go 9

We’ve talked several times about our Go 9 initiative, so I won’t repeat the details here – if you don’t know what Go 9 is, or are looking for more information please click here.

The deadline for people to let us know they’ll be moving to the 9am service is Easter Sunday, 20th April. Remember: this is all about our mission to Woking, and about making room for future growth

Please be praying for God to speak to people clearly about this move, maybe even to yourself!

Pastoral Lead Job

As you’ll be aware, we’re recruiting a new Pastoral Lead for Welcome Church – if you missed the information click here for details.

The deadline for applications was last Friday, and we’re now in a process of working through to the next stage. We’ll share more information when we’re ready to do that, but please be reassured that the process is ongoing.

Please be praying for wisdom and for God’s guidance for all who are involved in the process, and for all who have applied – we want to find God’s person for this role.

Church Gate

Our Church Gate project (click here for information) is continuing to move forward, and over the last two weeks a number of contractors have been on site as part of preparing their quotes for the work to be done. These quotes will be coming in over the month ahead.

Please be praying that we get some great quotes, and for wisdom to pick the best possible contractor so that the work is done well and delivered on/ahead of time and on/under budget.

Community Grocery Grants

The grant team are continuing to apply for various grants to help fund the Community Grocery set up, and also some to help with the ongoing running costs. There is a lot of excellent work being done by this team.

Please be praying for successful applications, and for the release of lots of finance.

Guest Speaker

This Sunday Natalie Williams, who leads Jubilee+, will be preaching for us. Jubilee+ is a UK-based Christian charity, dedicated to equipping churches to effectively support and transform the lives of those experiencing poverty in their local community. They provide resources and training to empower churches to integrate mercy, justice and community renewal into their outreach plans.

Natalie is a gifted speaker and author, and we’re blessed to have her with us – especially as we work towards the launch of our Community Grocery in the autumn.

Please be praying for a great meeting on Sunday and for God to speak to us powerfully as a church and as individuals, laying in a great foundation for the future of all we do.

Easter Services

We have two big moments over the Easter weekend:

Good Friday, 6pm to 7.30pm: We’ll have an evening of extended worship, with a short talk, and we’ll also take communion together. Kids are welcome, though please be aware that there won’t be any separate groups for them, so we’ll be worshipping together as families.

Easter Sunday, 9am and 11am: Easter is one of those great moments in the year: it’s joyful, meaningful, and accessible, and it’s a brilliant time to invite someone to church. I want to encourage you to think especially about people who perhaps used to be part of church life and have drifted away, although this is definitely an invitation suitable for everyone.

This coming week is a natural moment to extend that invitation – gently, thoughtfully – and we’ve got invitation cards available to help with that, if you’d like them – you can pick them up on Sunday.

Please be praying for many guests to join us on Easter Sunday and for God’s wisdom about who YOU could invite. Please also pray that the presence of God is all over everything we do.

Please Pray For All Of These Things!

We believe in a God who answers prayer, so please bring these requests before God. And lastly, here’s a quick reminder that we’ll be gathering in person to pray on Sunday 11th May at Welcome Church from 6pm to 7pm – please put that in your diary now.

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