Standing on the shoulders of giants

This coming Sunday (15 July) is a big Sunday for us at The King's Church Mid-Sussex.We will gather for the last time in Clair Hall, Haywards Heath before we move into our new venue at The King's Centre, Burgess Hill.

It is going to be a significant morning as we have been meeting in Clair Hall for 35 years.

As I have been preparing for Sunday I have been reminded again of the men and women of faith who have gone before us and who have made it possible for us to enjoy the kind of church that we do today.

We are the fruit of what is known as the 'Charismatic Renewal'. In the 1960's and 1970's there was a new wave of Holy Spirit activity in the UK. Men and women were being baptised in the Spirit and the freedom and joy that resulted impacted normal Sunday morning meetings. Many existing church wineskins did not want to find room for this new wine and so small groups of people began gathering in one another's homes - building community, teaching grace and being open to the gifts of the Spirit for today.

We now enjoy all of these things and, to a degree, may take them for granted. However, we can only enjoy these freedoms because of the battles that the previous generation fought on our behalf.

David Coak and John Salmon, who led our church
when it began, standing outside TKC's first offices
 in Haywards Heath opposite Clair Hall

We truly are standing on the shoulders of giants.  

On Sunday 22 July we start a new chapter as a church, meeting in our new venue - The King's Centre, Burgess Hill. It is such a joy to be leading this church at this time. But I know I only get to lead us into this new chapter because of the giants that have gone before me, because of the foundations they laid and because of the values they built into us as a people.

These are exciting days, but as we look forward let us also look back and remember all those people who made these kind of days possible for us to enjoy