On 5 November, James Allan was ordained to the Christian ministry and inducted into the pastorate of Hebron Evangelical Church, Dowlais, Merthyr Tydfil.
250 people were present, which was a great encouragement to the members, not least during the time of singing God’s praise.
Confirming his faith
Dr Eryl Davies (Cardiff) read the Scriptures and prayed, the Revd Stephen Darby (Cefn Hengoed) led the ordination, the Revd Roy Hamilton (previous pastor) led the induction (with Eric Kelly & Philip Cushen, elders) and the Revd Dan Peters (Newcastle) preached.
James confirmed his belief in the fundamentals of the Christian faith and Reformed theology, affirming that he would abide by the church’s governing documents. After the story of his call to Hebron, James responded by giving his testimony. He gave thanks for his parents bringing him up with the truth of Scripture, for godly influences and conviction of sin, for the desire and opportunities to speak God’s Word to others, and for God’s call to pastoral ministry.
Come to Jesus for rest
Dan Peters preached from Mark 6 – the feeding of the 5000, followed by Jesus walking on the water. He encouraged James and the church to come to Jesus for rest. Jesus’ compassion for the physical needs of the crowd did not displace preaching as the main conduit of love and compassion, since needs are met when the Word is preached. It was the disciples who distributed the food to the people – doing the impossible. Pastors similarly do ‘impossible’ things as Christ’s power flows through them.
