On 24 September, Free Grace Baptist Church in Belvedere, Kent met to publicly welcome their new pastor, Tom Allen.
Visitors travelled from around the country and a congregation of 130 people gathered for the occasion. Jeremy Walker from Maidenbower Baptist Church, Crawley preached from Ephesians 4.11 on the gift of the Pastor-Teacher, while contributions from church elder Michael Wayman, Pastor Tom and Catherine Allen highlighted the way God worked to bring together the church and their new pastor.
Support from other churches
Michael spoke of the church’s appreciation for the support of other local churches since their last pastor stepped down in 2010. He also thanked those who had faithfully ministered to the congregation for the last six years.
Michael explained that since Tom’s first visit in December 2015 there had been a growing conviction that he was God’s choice for Belvedere and this had led the church to issue a call to the pastorate in June 2016.
Later in the service Tom talked of how, soon after his conversion he became convinced that the Lord had called him preach the gospel. He referred to his growing love for studying the Bible and his time studying at London Seminary in preparation for full-time ministry.
He went on to speak of how he came to accept the call to Belvedere. He expressed thankfulness for the specific answers to prayer both Catherine and he had received regarding their move to Belvedere.
Please continue to pray for Tom and his wife Cat and the church at Belvedere as the work there moves forward in the years ahead.
