A Tribute To God’s Gracious Provision for Christ Church Fareham 

The last 3 months have been a whirlwind at CCF and I’m so thankful to God for what He has done.

In September, we sent Jason and Temi to Selsey. Jason is now the Pastor of Beacon Church and seems to be settling in really well. We employed Jason 4 years ago to help us with Administration and Our Under 18s Work, while also receiving some theological training and experience. So, although we’re sad to lose them, it’s a joy to release Jason into God’s calling in his life. Keep praying for them, because we want God to so amazing things for His glory in Selsey.

From a staff perspective, we replaced Jason with 3 people. Debbie is our new administrator, working 15 hours a week. Rachel is our Church Intern, volunteering 15 hours a week. Ben is our new full time Under 18s worker.

Back in 2020, we couldn’t afford to pay me a salary, so I worked in digital marketing while planting the Church. Now, we have 5 employees.  Lori is doing a great job as our Women’s pastoral worker, plus me and the three mentioned above. It’s an outstanding staff team and we’re working together nicely.

Because the staff team grew, we needed a new office. We’ve moved into Number 25, Arena Offices, 25 Barnes Wallis Rd, Fareham PO15 5TT.  It’s a managed office space with great facilities for having tea/coffee with people on pastoral visits, plus 30 other businesses. I’ve had a few good conversations about church with people.  Most of all, it’s a nice environment to work in and I’m feeling really positive about the move.

In October, I did international mission for the first time with Commission. I spent a weekend ministering in Spain, teaching on spiritual gifts and God worked powerfully.  I’ve just received a message from Kevin Bartlett excitedly telling me about all the spiritual gifts people used this weekend!

We’ve also run some brilliant events. The Ceilidh was great! We prayed for loads of people at our bandstand event, plus handed out some free food and did lots of face-painting!  At Good News Sunday, two people signed up for our 321 course and one person prayed to put their faith in Jesus for the first time.

From my point of view, it’s been a whirlwind of change, but God has been so good. He’s blessed us and provided for us in so many ways.  There have been a few small things where the new team are learning or the handover wasn’t quiet perfect. But, in the main, things have gone really well.

I know there are also many people in the Church suffering with illnesses and that’s tough. We keep praying and doing what we can, believing in the power of God to heal and bring comfort where it’s needed.

In a season of amazing change, growth and challenges, God is good all the time!.