Lincoln and Grimsby District Visit

Alison and myself thoroughly enjoyed our visit to the Lincoln and Grimsby District hosted by the Chair Rev David Perry well known for his excellent prize winning blog.

Click here to visit David's blog.

Epworth, Old Rectory
Alison and myself made a joint visit to the Lincoln and Grimsby District but as I had never visited 'The Epworth Old Rectory' before, my first stop was with the Acting development Officer Ali Bodley and Rev Graham Carter, past President and Chair of the Trustees. It was fascinating to see the Physic Garden and look around the place where John Wesley grew up (I even bought a Tea-Towel!).
Click here...to visit the Epworth website






Meeting John Wesley inside Epworth it felt like I had come from the land of the giants!













Side Door Youth Project, Grimsby
It was great to experience the worship at Side Door Youth Project and hear of the many ways in which this Project is reaching out into the community. Side Door is a Youth Church established recently as a Fresh Expression with a great team of support throughout the Circuit.

Question and Answer Sessions

Alison and myself (with the Chair of Lincoln and Grimsby Rev David Perry in the corner) at the first of two Question and Answer sessions. Here we are in Market Rasen and on Sunday afternoon a similar event was held at Horncastle.



After our Q & A session we were treated yet again to lovely homemade food with members of the Circuit Leadership Team.







District Leadership Team discussion on Big Society


After a very stimulating discussion on the Churches response to the Big Society (I'll upload the paper when it's completed). We were hosted by Richard Wills, Director of Development at Lincolnshire County Council where many redundancies have sadly just been announced. Richard & Jane treated us to the local delicacy 'Lincolnshire Fruit bread!'


Louth Methodist Church
On Sunday morning John and I joined the congregation at Louth Methodist Church whilst Alison and Dave went to Boston Methodist church.

The God Pod!
How much fun is this! A bus which goes around the local area providing a drop-in service for the local young people, staffed by Christians who want to share God's story in an accessible way.

Bailgate Methodist Church, Lincoln
Two Circuits joined Alison and myself in a vibrant act of worship led with a great band assembled by Jonathan Nowell.


Visiting Bardney
Monday morning found us in Bardney visiting Dr Pete and Kath Atkins to hear the wonderful story of how they have seen God at work. Pete is the Chair of Churches Together in All Lincolnshire (CTAL) one of the most vibrant Churches Together groups I have ever encountered. There eight priorities across Lincolnshire are-
1.Regaining Gospel Confidence
2. Prayer
3. Developing Discipleship
4. Identifying Leaders
5. Fresh Expressions
6. Research
7. Maximising Ecunmenical Opportunities
8. Closing the Gap

Kath and Pete lead Threshold Church which is part of the Ground Level Network. Working alongside the National Fresh Expressions Team Kath and Pete designed the Mission Shaped Ministry course.

We were amazed to visit the rather dilapidated old barn Pete and Kath have purchased which they intend to renovate to provide a centre for mission in Bardney. It was a privilege to join with them in prayer as they seek God's guidance for the way ahead.