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The Founding Vision
In early 2010 God spoke to our founder and current pastor Stephen Pilkington. He was told to build a humble life saving station in Parr, and recounts it below.
I remember clearly being pressed in my spirit to plant a church in Parr for some time it was something I had resisted quite passionatley. At one stage I may have had ambitions to be a pastor but they were long since laid at the foot of the cross and I can say hand on heart nothing was further from my mind that day when God spoke.
I was in one of the Hope prayer meetings (Hope being House of Prayer England, which was by now a thriving prayere based ministry and all I desired to do). A brother called Ray spoke to me as clear as a bell and said Steve God is calling you to be a pastor, he gave me the scriptures where Jesus speaks with Peter and asks him to feed my sheep. I would never act based only on a word someone eles had for me. But even as he spoke I knew it was God and the words entered my heart like a knife.
I knew a little bit about the work involved in planting a church and it felt like a massive distraction from my ministry at that time. I just didn't want the job. I can remember the sinking feeling in the pit of my stomache. But then uncontrolably I began to weep bitter intercessory tears for everyone in this community. so much so that I had to leave the room and be alone. I just couldn't stop the flow of tears.
As I sat with the LORD alone in the next room I asked Him to show me personally what His plans where. He began to show me a picture of a sea which was stormy and in the sea were people scattered all around, each one was drowning and crying out for help. I was stood up in an old rowing boat, like an old fashioned life boat of some sort. I had a small crew with me rowing away with all their might and I was pointing to these poor souls drowning in the sea. Each time I spotted one and pointed them out we would row over and pluck them out, into the safety of the boat.
The Lord spoke to me and said that the sea symbolised the area where we lived, Parr in St Helens. The people where the people of that area, and they were drowning in their own lives. through addictions and broken lives of one sort or another. Some had never known the safety of a life in Christ and some had once been safe but had fallen back into the water. God spoke to me and said to make a lifeboat and a life saving staion that will not only pull these people to safety but will keep them safe.
We are now a year or so old and have become somewhat more established and have enjoyed seeing lives totaly saved andf transformed over this time.
Thank You Jesus for changing my mind.
Stephen Pilkington
Church Pastor
The Future Vision
We wish to remain a humble life saving station, but by Gods Grace see many more people saved from the stormy lives they lead.
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