With a reputation as a failed seaside town requiring regeneration, Morecambe has had lasting regeneration brought to it in the form of the gospel preached from the Church By the Bay for the past three years.
Planted in 2011 by Moorlands Church, Lancaster with the support of the North West Partnership, the church started as a small but enthusiastic team of 29 people. The plan was to grow through faithful Bible teaching, a warm community welcome and dedicated relationship-building in the local area.
More than doubled
Signs of growth didn’t appear right away. But in the first three years, by God’s grace, the church has more than doubled in size through drawing in some churchless local Christians, the growth of Christian families and, excitingly, some unbelievers turning to Christ. In the early days the Sunday school leaders would prepare most lessons only to have no kids turn up. Now there is a thriving Sunday school, serving kids from the church and from the wider community.
Church By the Bay knows that church is for believers, but there’s always an evangelistic edge to the meetings as they invariably have unbelievers there. Their work has also included outreach events including a men’s beer and sausage-tasting evening, women’s Christmas pudding-making nights and toddler parties. But most of their growth seems to happen through the long-haul work of getting to know people in the town and sharing the gospel with them over time.
Chris was one of those people. He said: ‘I wanted to chat about what I thought with others, but found people either unapproachable or without reasons for what they believed. Then one day I happened to meet a Christian, taking his son to a local group for dads. He wasn't a nutter, he had reasons for what he believed and was happy to talk about it’. Chris started coming to Church By the Bay. After a number of months, he became a Christian. He later married the mother of his children, and his wife became a Christian too.
The pastor, Gerry Straker, said: ‘We are an ordinary church. We work hard to do our best for the Lord Jesus. And we have seen our fair share of struggle and disappointment. And yet God has marvellously blessed us. He’s taught us to rely on him more, to seek his glory more, and that he works with his people in his timing!’
There is much more gospel regeneration work needed in Morecambe. Church by the Bay is praying for God to use them to do just that.
