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Grace Extends in Chingford

Grace Extends in Chingford

What happens when a church has been successfully replanted? Do all the challenges vanish? No, in fact they often face a new set of challenges. Challenges that require much wisdom and grace. Read here how grace is extending in Chingford.

I carry a lot of before and after photos around in my mind. For instance, I remember what the church in Chingford was like before Bernard and Michelle Roberts took up the task of replanting it some years ago now. Then when I preached there on a Sunday morning late last year, I took a mental snapshot of what I saw that day. The contrast was real.

The physical appearance of the church building was different. The numerical size of the congregation was different. The profile of the congregation – age, background, ethnicity – was different. The congregational attitude in the present and outlook for the future were different. A real contrast indeed.

Bernard Roberts has got it made, right? Well, not exactly. As churches grow, they change. One set of challenges is exchanged for another. Learning to keep up – much less cope! – can be a challenge in and of itself.

People come. They have needs. Meeting those needs requires time and attention. Sometimes their needs are complex. On occasion, dealing with one situation creates two more. Know the routine? Then you know how to pray for Bernard.

The need for solid committed men is very noticeable, so please pray that the church would grow not only numerically, but in maturity and devotion to the Lord – and one another.

“For it is all for your sake, so that as grace extends to more and more people it may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God.” 2 Corinthians 4:15