Page 2 - Contact Summer 2019 250th Anniversary.indd

250 YEARS OLD AND
STILL PRESSING ON
It’s not every day that a church gets to
celebrate 250 years of being in existence
as a Christian fellowship. From the first
tentative beginnings in Kirkinriola in 1769,
to a sister congregation in Drumack near
Buckna in 1794, then linked into a third
charge which became Trinity Ahoghill,
before eventually moving into the centre
of Ballymena and High Street in 1823 and
finally porting out to the current Thomas
Street site in 1976, this fellowship has
changed and reinvented itself many times.
High Kirk has seen many changes over
those years and who would have thought
in 1769 that two hundred and fifty years
later it would be such a large thriving
congregation of people of all ages and
backgrounds. The footprint of the High
Kirk building is much larger than the one
at Drumack in which we held an open air
service at the beginning of June. Those old
foundations are a reminder that ultimately
the church is the people of God and
God’s Spirit lives on in his people. As we
gathered in the open air we remembered
the saints who have gone before us and
who faithfully passed on the faith to the
next generation.
Commentators on the Christian faith
sometimes remind us that we are only one
generation away from extinction and it is
our responsibility to keep the fire burning
and to pass on the good news to the next
generation. Methods and styles change
but the essential gospel should remain
the same. In a series of different events
coming up in the summer and autumn
marking this 250th anniversary may we
look back with thankfulness and forward
with renewed energy and vigour to what
the Lord has for us as a church.
To that end the Kirk Session had a day
away in April to strategise and pray about
pressing on in faith to what the Lord
has for us. We were encouraged not to
plateau as a church but to be poised
for great things ahead and to seek the
presence of God among us by His Holy
Spirit. We are consolidating in some areas
and pushing ourselves into new ventures
in others.
A number of recommendations came out
of the day which I will share with you in
this article. They involve us as a church
being stretched into new ventures, maybe
being stirred out of our comfort zone but
always with the intent of us “running with
perseverance the race marked out for us”
(Hebrews 12: 1-3) and “forgetting what
is behind and straining toward what is
ahead…pressing on towards the goal to
win the prize” (Phil.3:13-14).
OUTREACH
We continue to see outreach as a priority
as a church and we have two staff
members (Keith & Lorraine) who have
mission and outreach as a major part of
their remit. However we want as elders
to encourage the organisations and the
congregation to be more invitational. Can
you think of people to invite to church or
to bridge-building events that we may run
through the year? May invitation and
hospitality continue to be an increasing
part of our DNA as a church going
forward.
We recognise that as a culture more and
more people are removed from church
tradition and to come into church as we
have it can be a bit of a culture shock.
We have aimed in the past to address this
and to become more accessible to people
by running Café church a couple of times
a year. We now want to push the boat out
and run what we are calling Café Explore
for most of the year. The Session is in the
middle of making arrangements for Café
Explore to run on Sunday mornings in the
Oasis from September. This will provide
a relaxed atmosphere where people can
explore the basics of faith and ask
questions. No prior knowledge of the
Christian faith will be assumed and people
are free to come and go as they please.