I shared in a blog at the start of this year that we would be looking for new some new, employed members of the Welcome Church team this year, and we’re excited to say thatour new Pastoral Lead is the first role we’re looking to fill.
We need to increase our ability and capacity to respond to the more urgent and immediate pastoral needs of the church, and we also need to prepare to support the increasing pastoral needs that will come both with further growth, and through our Welcome Works ministries, such as the upcoming community grocery.
Who are we looking for?
We’re looking for someone who can lead the planning and the practical delivery of pastoral care across the church. They will also bring leadership to our small group ministries – our ‘LifeGroups’ and ‘LearnGroups’. These small groups will become increasingly important for maintaining our family culture and ethos, as we become a larger church and are key to pastoral care too.
The right person will be someone who does some of the ‘doing’ – such as responding to urgent pastoral needs – but we’re also particularly looking for someone who can enable and support the skilled and dedicated leaders we already have operating in these areas; we are looking for a leader of leaders who’s able to think strategically about how we care well for those who God brings into our family, and who can build teams and work through others.
This is a key role in our church and a senior one.
We’ll be searching for the right person through a number of avenues, and one of those is through this blog. If you’re interested to know more, we’ve developed a job specification and details of how to apply which you can access via this link. Please don’t be shy in coming forward if you feel something stirring in your heart and think this may be something you’d like to explore further, and please don’t hesitate to get in touch for a confidential chat – we’d love to hear from you.
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I know it’s a bit late to say it, but this is my first Welcome Church blog post of 2025! Thanks for reading this far 🙂
We had a great Christmas and New Year season at Welcome Church. I talked about our Carol Services in a previous post, and this year we also introduced a Watchnight Celebration as a brand new event on New Year’s Eve. It was a lot of fun, and I’m looking forward to next year already. Put it in your diary now!
New Year’s Eve at Welcome Church
Staff Team Updates
We have some important changes happening within our church staff team this year.
As the church grows, so do the demands on our team, and we’ve certainly felt the strain of being understaffed in 2024. If you haven’t worked for a church I know it’s hard to imagine what people do all day, but believe me: we are incredibly busy.
For clarity, Welcome Church has more than doubled in size since I arrived 7 years ago, but the employed team is smaller now than it was back then. Everyone is running flat out, and we’ve only survived thanks to some very kind and committed office volunteers who we appreciate so much.
I’d like to share four updates:
First: Jonathan and Sabrina – Leadership Trainees
Jonathan and Sabrina’s time with us will come to an end in June this year, giving us roughly five more months to enjoy and appreciate their contribution. They’re currently praying about their next steps, which are complicated by some VISA challenges. Let’s support them in prayer as they seek God’s will for the future.
Second: Dean – Pastoral Care
Dean, one of our elders, has been working full-time on staff for more than 10 years now. Starting from January 20th, he’ll reduce his hours to three days a week, returning to his passion for architecture on the other two days. In time, he may step out of his staff role entirely. This creates a gap in pastoral care that we’ll need to address.
These first two changes further stretch an already understaffed team. Recruitment will be essential this year, and details on that will follow at the right time. Watch this space 😮
Third: Organisational Leadership
To help the church thrive into the future, we need to strengthen our organisational leadership, which is all about how we steward and align all of our resources to fulfil our vision effectively. This will require some big-picture thinking and also some adjustments to some of our policies, procedures, and ways of working.
To address this, after discussions with the Eldership Team and Trustees, I’ve invited Robin W to step into a new role on an interim basis. Starting immediately, Robin will work two days a week over the next year, focusing on reshaping our organisational leadership. His work will also help us define the future shape of the staff team and help to refine how we operate as a growing church. Part of Robin’s success will be that he replaces himself at the right time and steps back out of the role.
This is an unexpected but exciting step for Robin, and he feels God has been leading him to this role for a while now. I’m eager to make the most of this opportunity to prepare us for the future. It also means he’s stepping back from being a Trustee for the next season. In a business this role might get called Chief Administrative Office, but as a church we’re giving it the title ‘Executive Pastor’ – which leads into the fourth update…
Fourth: Christopher Hawes – New Job Title
Christopher has held the title Executive Pastor for a couple of years, although his role was very different from the one Robin will be taking on and we used the title in a completely different way. To better reflect his actual responsibilities, Christopher’s new job title will now be Teaching Pastor. While his job role remains unchanged, we feel this title better captures his primary focus, and he’s fully supportive of the change.
More changes to come
These are the first four changes for 2025, and several more will follow as we seek to grow and strengthen the staff team. Let’s all show our love and support to each of these individuals as they step into what God has both for them and for our church in this new season.
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Chris here – Steve has kindly allowed me to take the Christmas reins of his blog this week in order to follow up my talk on Sunday about Jesus as the Word of God. If you didn’t hear the message you can catch up here.
Colossians 3:16 says,“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God”. We want to be a church in which the word of Christ dwells in us richly, and I’m sure many of you individually would want to aim to make 2025 a year where God’s Word takes greater prominence in your life.
However, given that there are so many resources available, it can be difficult to know where to start, or difficult to know where to go next. So I’ve put some recommendations together to resource you in making plans for being in God’s Word more in 2025. This is in no way an exhaustive list, but hopefully a helpful starting place.
“But I’m not much of a reader…”
You’re in good company. Engaging with God’s Word and building your life upon it is not reliant on you being bookish, academic or studious. The Bible was predominantly heard, not read, for much of the church’s history. So if you’re not a big reader, don’t write yourself off, there are loads of resources that can help you, including an increasing number of audiobook versions of the Bible. It’s also important to remember that feeding on God’s Word is not all about the reading, just as eating involves more than just shoving food in your mouth! Memorising, reflecting, discussing with others, and most importantly, applying God’s Word to our lives are key to feeding on “every word that proceeds from the mouth of God” (Matt 4:4).
Something for everyone
Whether you’re someone who is new to reading the Bible, or you’ve never had a regular practice of reading the Bible, or you’re a seasoned reader looking for a restart or a fresh challenge, these resources might be a great place to start…
Bible-in-a-Year & other reading plans
A structured programme of reading can be an invaluable help to get going with the Bible. Reading the Bible in one year will take you roughly 10-15 minutes of reading per day, which is manageable for almost everyone. The most famous plan is the Robert Murray M’Cheyne reading plan, developed by the 19th Century Scottish Pastor. You can print the plan and use your own Bible, simples! You’ll read sections from the Old Testament, New Testament, Psalms and Proverbs, which helps when reading through trickier sections of the Bible (hello Leviticus!).
However, if you want a ‘one-stop-shop’ reading plan in a book, you can buy a Bible split up into the reading plan for each day of the year. The One Year Bible makes this very easy to follow, and it comes in various translations – more on that below!
However, my personal preference is for a 5-day reading plan, rather than a 7-day reading plan. I’ve found it helpful to have the weekends to catch up any readings I’ve missed without feeling guilty or worried that I am ‘getting behind’! Five-Day Bible Reading is a free resource that structures this for you, and is one of the most popular plans around.
If you know you can commit to reading for a bit longer, I thoroughly recommend a long-form reading plan. These lead you through the Bible in shorter timeframes, meaning you’ll read for between 30 mins – 1 hour a day. On a 5-day reading plan, 12 chapters a day will get you through the Old Testament in 90 days, and 6 chapters a day will get you through the New Testament in 60 days. The benefit with this approach is that you make rapid progress (which is encouraging!), but also that you read the Bible in bigger narrative units, enjoying the full scope of each book, and enabling you to pick up on the big picture themes of each book. You can find various plans online that take this approach, like this New Testament one here.
Finally, if you fancy reading in your own time at your own speed, but would really like to track your progress through the Bible, this is a great resource to print out and keep inside your Bible cover.
Which Bible translation is the right one?
There is no one translation of the Bible that is ‘right’. The Bible was not written in English, and so we rely on Bible translators to be able to understand God’s Word in our mother tongue. However, translation is not straight forward, as anyone in our church who speaks multiple languages will tell you, especially when it comes to idioms, phrases, sayings, poetry and prophecy!!
So what’s the difference? Mainly it’s in the approach each translation takes and what they are hoping to achieve. Some Bibles aim translate the original text on a word-for-word basis, like the English Standard Version (ESV). These are better if you are doing a close reading of a passage or book, but do tend to be harder to read, as they are aiming for a literal translation rather than a text that reads intuitively.
Other Bibles aim to translate the meaning of the text on a thought-for-thought basis, like the New Living Translation (NLT). These sacrifice some accuracy on the individual words, but are much more fluent to read and are generally easier to understand, because the emphasis is on capturing the meaning of the text.
Right in the middle of these two approaches sits the New International Version (NIV), which is the version we tend to use on a Sunday, as if offers you the best of both worlds. If you don’t know which one to read, just read the NIV!
Everyone loves Eugene Peterson’s ‘The Message’, which I highly recommend, and consider a work of genius by a highly esteemed pastor and artist – but just remember that it’s not a ‘Bible translation’ in the strict sense, as Peterson allows himself a lot of freedom in communicating each text he transliterates.
Devotionals
A different way of engaging with the Bible is to use a devotional, which gives you a Bible verse each day, as well as a short reflection written by a pastor or author, that helps you reflect on the verse. A devotional resource is really a ‘jumping off point’, that helps you get going before the coffee has hit your bloodstream!
Me and Sarah have enjoyed dipping in and out of The Way of Wisdom by Tim & Kathy Keller, which is a highly insightful way to read, discuss and pray through the Wisdom writings. The Kellers also wrote a devotional called My Rock, My Refuge which walks through the Psalms. A classic devotional is My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers, as is The Promises of God by Charles Spurgeon, or you could look at Everyday Gospel, by Paul David Tripp, which tracks alongside a Bible-in-a-Year reading plan. The very talented and inspiring Jackie Hill Perry has recently published a 60-day devotional called Upon Waking. I’m sure there are hundreds more that others could recommend, so please don’t be offended that I haven’t mentioned them all!
A devotional is no substitute for reading the Bible yourself (don’t outsource – you can do it!), but it can be a really helpful tool for reflection and applying the Bible to your life. God wants us to live by his Word, and to grow closer to him through his Word, not just become more knowledgeable of his Word.
Bible Studies
If you’re looking go deeper into one book of the Bible (rather than further through the scope of the Bible), you’ll probably want to pick a book and read a more in-depth commentary on it, to help you see beneath the surface. We should not expect the Bible to be simple to understand all the time – it is the most profound book ever written! Many of its riches are buried beyond what first meets the eye and a skilled pastor or author can help you see what you’re not already seeing.
I’ve found these two series of study books enjoyable, readable and helpful in going deeper, as well as applying the Bible to everyday life.
If you’re looking for a different global perspective on the Bible, I would highly recommend Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes by Kenneth E. Bailey, who brings together Middle Eastern interpretation and insights that are eye-opening.
Memorisation, Q&A and AudioBibles
I have found memorising Scripture to be a game-changer for how God’s Word comes alive in me. I first came across the Topical Memory System many years ago, which I inherited from someone, somewhere, in a tatty old version of the book. The idea is simple: you are given 2 verses each week that are connected thematically (e.g. 2 Corinthians 5:17 and Galatians 2:20), and you are helped to memorise those verses with tear-out cue cards.
Once memorised, you can then spend time reflecting on the verses, and gradually over the weeks you build up your own internal library of Bible verses. Here’s the irony: I’ve never got very far into the weekly plan! Maybe 2025 will be my year?! However, what I can confidently say is that all of the verses that I memorised years ago I can still remember now, and they are still benefitting my walk with God. Once you’ve really learnt a verse, you’ve got it for life. There are other versions of this book, and other books about the science of memorisation, but if you want to keep it simple, stick a verse on your fridge/bathroom mirror/child’s forehead, and try to memorise it through the week!
Alternatively… There is a different kind of memorisation approach that the church has used historically to teach Bible beliefs, (rather than Bible verses), called ‘catechesis’, an odd word which simply means ‘question and answer’ teaching. A ‘catechesis’ is a set of 50-150 questions and answers that cover the key teachings of the Bible as a whole. Here’s an example from the very famous Westminster Shorter Catechism:
Q:What is man’s chief end in life?
A:Man’s chief end is to glorify God and enjoy him forever
You learn the question, and the answer, and then reflect/discuss the content.
Because these catechisms come from a different era, their language can be an obstacle for a lot of people, but there has been a renaissance of this memorisation approach recently and this year I’ve dipped into the New City Catechism Devotional, which is highly accessible and superbly put together, with a Q&A for each day, and some devotional writings, ancient and modern, alongside. Lovely stuff!
Finally there are an increasing number of superbly produced audiobook versions of the Bible. The ESV online platform is truly impressive, offering not just one audiobook, but your choice of a range of different readers, including Michael Reeves, Ray Ortland, Kristyn Getty and Jackie Hill Perry. It’s like the old days of sat nav where you could choose your voice! David Suchet has done a version of the NIV on audio, which comes as both a whole bible, or in the Bible-in-a-Year format. You can access this on Audible, Spotify, Apple Music or buy it hard copy online.
Mobile-Bible or Phoning it in?
On Sunday I was a bit disparaging of Bible resources that are available on your smart phone! I’m aware that for some people they really enjoy and rely on excellent resources that they access on their phone. The YouVersion Bible App is completely free and has been downloaded by a bazillion people, and has all kinds of reading plans to help you make progress. Personally, I use the Logos Bible App, because it syncs well with other digital study resources that I use.
However, my pastoral concern about smart phone resources is a fairly obvious one. Smart Phones are distraction centres and highly addictive, and our society is gradually waking up to this reality, especially in managing young people’s use and access. Wisdom therefore should tell us that if we want to spend more quality time with God in his Word, we will put the phone out of reach and pick up a hard copy Bible that will not notify us of anything else that is going on in the world!
Research has shown that to stop your brain thinking about your phone it needs to be put away, in a drawer or a bag. It’s insights like this that make me highly skeptical of a Bible reading plan that relies on me using my phone a lot. I just don’t trust myself! That’s not to set any kind of rule for anyone else – perhaps you’re a commuter and you find using your phone the best way to remember your reading for the day – crack on I say! But let’s be wise and remember our aim is not simply convenience or ticking a box, it’s communing with the Living God!
Reading with Kids
Lastly, I just wanted to add a section here for those who are raising children and might want to think about doing something new as a family, or 1-on-1 with a child.
Kids Bibles come in different forms. Some are Bibles i.e. they are fully translated versions of the whole Bible. Others are Storybooks, where they tell the stories of the Bible in contemporary English that is child-friendly. Both of these approaches are excellent resource for young readers.
For a Kids Bible, I would highly recommend the NIrV version, where the ‘r’ stands for ‘readers’. It’s the NIV translation, but rendered in such a way for young readers or those for whom English is a second language. It’s highly readable for children, and comes in various forms. You can buy the plain text like this, or a far more exciting illustrated version like this.
For a Storybook Bible, I love the Jesus Storybook Bible, which is also available on audiobook, read by the marvellous David Suchet – a ‘classic’ in my house, find it on Spotify, Audible etc. Then there’s Kevin DeYoung & Don Clark’s The Biggest Story which is stunningly written and illustrated, and I’ve heard people enjoy the Action Storybook Bible which is laid out like a comic strip.
For memorisation and Q&A, there is the Topical Memory System for Kids, and there is also a New City Catechism for Kids, which comes in a tiny little book and is about £2! These would definitely require more parental involvement, but that can be a great source of fun and a challenge to do together.
May God bless you as you read his Word in 2025, and remember that God really wants to speak to you – you don’t need to twist his arm! God has spoken to us through Jesus, let’s be eager to listen to him this year.
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As part of our Autumn programme this year, we’re inviting everyone in Welcome Church to attend one of our ‘Taste Of Alpha’ evenings.
I attended the first one last night 🙂
These evenings are a chance for us all to experience what the first evening of an Alpha course is like, building our confidence to make invitations to our Autumn Alpha course which starts with ‘Try Alpha’ on October 16th. (In case anyone is unsure, Alpha is an 8 week course that we run, and is intended for people who want to explore what the Christian faith is all about)
What I experienced
On arrival the front hall was packed with people from Welcome Church who’d signed up for the first Taste of Alpha experience. We were greeted with ‘Mocktails’, before being seated on pre-arranged tables, finding our name on a wedding style seating plan. Dub then welcomed us all and introduced Nnamdi, who led us through the full experience of the first night of an Alpha course.
The evening consisted of:
A excellent two course meal, with every table hosted by friendly table leaders who quickly got us chatting (my thanks to Edward and NG on my table)
A game of ‘Kahoot!’ – an interactive quiz, which our table sadly didn’t win
Some contemporary live music from Steve B on guitar and vocals
A screening of the new style week 1 Alpha video
Some table discussions built around two thought provoking questions
We then finished with a short chat from Dub about what we’d just experienced, and the chance to pray together on our tables and to provide feedback on the evening.
My observations
As someone who’s been very familiar with Alpha over a number of years, and who’s even spoken on several past courses, I wondered if I really needed to be there – after all, I already know all about Alpha, right???
Wrong!
I came away with three key observations:
First: I’m incredibly proud of our team. The evening was well run and brilliantly organised in every aspect. There was high quality food, the seating had been well thought through and the whole ‘production’ was great. Everything was designed to put you at ease. I want to say well done to everyone involved in making it happen. If you’d brought a friend along, you really would be proud to say that this was your church.
Second: The Alpha videos have changed A LOT, and all for the better. They were always good, but no longer is it Nicky Gumble preaching at you for 30 minutes. The videos are bright, clear and well put together with a variety of people (including Nicky) communicating the message in different ways, with regular pauses for discussion on key questions. I found myself quickly drawn in and would have been comfortable for any friend I’d invited to watch them. This change of the style to the Alpha course’s content is the biggest thing I spotted, and it’s very positive change.
Third: It actually made we want to do Alpha again! It made me feel like, if I wasn’t a Christian already, I’d definitely have wanted to book in for the actual course. I even found the questions and discussion times to be personally thought provoking again, and I went home with a few things to think about – I really didn’t expect that!
In summary, any friends that we bring along to the ‘Try Alpha’ evening on October 16th are almost certainly going to want to sign up for the whole course. In fact, the biggest takeaway for me was this:
we can safely invite people to our church’s Alpha Course with confidence that they will have a positive experience and we won’t regret bringing them
To be honest, I think I knew that anyway, but now I’ve seen it and experienced it for myself.
What’s next?
There are 3 more chances to experience A Taste Of Alpha, on each of the next three Wednesdays. If you haven’t signed up yet, please follow this link to do so. One quick warning, the final evening is almost full.
And let’s keep on praying for our friends so that we’re ready to make lots of invitations to the actual Alpha course which starts with ‘Try Alpha’ on Wednesday 16th October.
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The new term is well under way, our prayer week is almost over and the summer holidays are starting to feel like a distant memory, especially with this recent cold snap. Before I forget I wanted to mention three books I read this summer that I would recommend to us all:
1. “Jesus Through The Eyes of Women” by Rebecca McLaughlin
In this book Rebecca explores some of the life-changing accounts of women in the Bible who met Jesus, and what we can learn about Jesus from them. It’s easy to read, very encouraging and the chapters have great discussion questions at the end. This could actually work well for a Life Group to read chapter by chapter and discuss the questions together, or just read it yourself like I did.
2. “Tis Mercy All” by Natalie Williams
Natalie runs Jubilee Plus and is based in Hastings UK. She is well known to some of us at Welcome Church. Her latest book is on the topic of God’s outrageous mercy and what it means for us to love mercy and to be mercy bringers in a world that lacks it. It’s thoughtful, practical and very applicable to our daily lives and our work places. When I’d finished this one, Jo read it too and she also loved it. I’m hoping Natalie will come and preach for us at some point in 2025.
3. “Born Again This Way” by Rachel Gilson
In this powerful and personal book, Rachel describes her own unexpected journey of first ‘coming out’ and of then coming to faith in Jesus, and what came next. She addresses the questions this raises for every Christian, but most especially for Christians who live with same sex attraction. Christopher and I heard Rachel speak recently at an event we attended and, to be honest, her session was the highlight for us both.
Don’t forget you can get all of these from Origin Books in Woking.
Happy reading!
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We would love you all to be praying for our church in the weeks ahead. Here are a few key items to pray for this summer:
Church Gate
The Gift Sundays have been great and it was wonderful to celebrate together in worship last week as we drew them to a close. It was a joy to see so many people taking part: people of all ages, and from so many of the different nationalities that make up our church; people who’ve been with us for many years and others who have just arrived. I loved it!
This Sunday we’ll announce the Gift Day results and, without saying too much, they are excellent once again. Don’t forget that it’s not too late to add your gift if you haven’t given yet – you can do that here. Why not step out in faith?
Please pray:
For great results from our Gift Days and for all the finance we need to deliver this project well to be released
For wisdom and insight during our meetings with the architect as he draws up the plans and helps to bring life and vision to the eventual layout of Church Gate, both inside and out. We’re working with the same company who designed the chapel – Plan A UK – and we’re excited to work with them once again.
For the grocery team as they look at the various requirements to fully deliver the Community Grocery and the new Welcome Cafe. There is a lot to consider, including legal issues, charity issues, finance issues and more, including some grant applications that we would love to come through
Welcome Youth
Welcome Youth will be off to the New Day Festival on July 29th, and this year they are taking around 90 young people with them. This is always a great event where our youth can connect with God and grow in their faith.
Please Pray:
For our youth team: they will be working very hard and usually come back both encouraged and exhausted
For the serving teams: they will be cooking food and helping with various practical issues to help free up the youth team to lead well
For the youth: that they meet with God and find a fresh sense of calling and that they grow in their identity in Christ
For the event itself: they have great speakers lined up this year and the worship is always high quality, but there’s lots more at Newday besides the main meetings. Please pray for the whole event to be safe, for the sun to shine and for the young people to meet with Jesus
Commission Festival
We’ll be off to the Commission Festival as a church over the bank Holiday weekend at the end of August (so no Sunday meetings at Welcome Church on August 25th!) If you haven’t booked in yet it’s not too late and you can do that here. Day tickets will also be available so do check them out if you can’t make the whole thing.
We’re taking a big group from Welcome Church again this year, and we’ll be camping together, eating together (food provided) and no doubt having a lot of fun in our marquee in the evenings (please bring ear plugs if like to go to bed early 🙂)
Please Pray
For Dub: he’s running a stream of seminars this year and will be speaking twice, with Christopher covering one of the slots too
For Jo: not only does she lead our worship team here, she’s leading the worship for the whole event. Reuben, Owen, Sophie and Paul from our team are also involved in worship this year, alongside people from various other Commission churches
For me: I’ll be anchoring all of the main meetings which is all about getting the right people in the right place at the right time and making sure they know what they are doing and stick to the programme! It’s an ‘invisible job’ so you won’t see me. If I get it right no one will notice anything I do; if I get wrong everyone will!
For Darren: he’s helping to organise the whole Festival, supporting Tom who is the Ops Manager for Commission. It’s a big responsibility and another invisible job.
For our team of chefs who are sorting out the food (too many names to mention)
For the weather: sunshine please
For each of us to encounter Jesus and grow in our faith
For our church to grow deeper in love and friendship with one another
For our children and young people to encounter Jesus
For all who are serving in various ways (another list too long to mention)
For the whole event to be fun, safe and successful
Thanks
Thanks in advance for your prayers. Don’t forget that Welcome Church is meeting every Sunday across the summer at 9am and 11am, except for the 25th August. This Sunday we’ll be back to our series on Exodus. Christopher is speaking and I’m looking forward to it.
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