Dave Gobbett, Lead Pastor, Highfields Church Cardiff, writes: It is a great thrill to report the launch of a new gospel congregation in South Wales.
November 5th will be the date to remember as the first meeting of Penarth Evangelical Church (penarthchurch.org.uk), planted by Highfields Church, Cardiff. With a core team of around 30 led by three elders, between 70 and 80 people, young and old, mature believers and interested enquirers, are now gathering together each week, committed to Bible-believing, cross-preaching, soul-reaching, and community-creating life together.
Highfields Church has been involved in several church plants or revitalisations over the years, but we’ve been particularly encouraged seeing the Lord sovereignly overrule in the galvanising of this new work. Penarth is in the Vale of Glamorgan, just to the west of Cardiff. It’s in a wider community of 30–40,000 people, where the vast majority of people have no interest in the gospel.
Together for the gospel
In April 2022, I went to the ‘Together for the Gospel’ conference in the US. There I met Ricky Wilhelm, an American church planter from Moscow, Russia, who had been repatriated due to the invasion of Ukraine. With a heart for preaching, pastoring and gospel proclamation Ricky, along with his wife Brandy and their two children, was at a crossroads in life and ministry. He was invited to Cardiff to get to know the gospel need in Wales, and he and Brandy became members of Highfields in September 2022.
Over the following months, the Wilhelms committed to praying about church planting, and the Highfields elders started doing the same. In June 2023, Highfields church voted to start a new gospel work in Penarth, led by Ricky and two other elders from the church.
Prayer and providence
Ricky writes: ‘Over our years of ministry, we’ve come across a number of books on church planting. Each and every one offers a unique view and strategy how to start up a new church. Over the past few months, while we definitely have benefitted from the wisdom of many books and experience, I am convinced that the strategy of planting our church was one of prayer and providence. We couldn’t have ever strategised how this church came together! It strikes me how, before we were ever even considering moving to Wales, there were families in Penarth praying for a new evangelical church to be planted in their community. Now, we’ve experienced one affirmation after the next that God has worked all things to establish this church. Please pray for us!’
