Page 17 - Contact Spring 2020.indd

Introducing
Rachel Kirk
Hi everyone!! Firstly, a huge thank you
to the church for a very warm welcome
to our whole family. We’ve been
overwhelmed with how friendly, inviting,
and encouraging the church has been.
As some of you may know, my husband is
Alan and we have two lively boys,
Benjamin and Joshua. We’re excited to
get involved in the church and we know
that God has called us here as a family.
We have been serving in the Philippines,
as missionaries with ‘Helping Hands,
Healing Hearts Ministries’ for over 5 years
and came back home last May 2019.
It is a mission which serves sick and
dying Filipino children and their families,
they also facilitate local and international
adoptions. My role there was the
centre head of the Children’s Recovery
Unit which was home for approximately
18-20 children with various illnesses,
disabilities and often palliative care
cases. We had around 18 local staff and
often had 3 or 4 foreign volunteers. It
was a wonderful season for me and I
have a great passion for missions as
well as worship.
My journey with music began as a 6-year-
old girl learning piano with my mother’s
friend in her front room, which ultimately
grew to studying music for GCSE,
A-level and a Bachelor’s degree in
Music at Queen’s University. I joined a
youth choir at the age of 13 called the
Continentals. We took three weeks of the
summer holidays and toured around
different churches in the UK, travelling
by coach and were hosted at night by
members of the church where we did
a concert each evening.
I did that for several years and
eventually went to South Africa on tour
for three weeks in 1996. I was 16 and
remember one distinct memory of that
trip where we had a concert in a huge
hall on the Saturday night and then
travelled through a shanty town, on the
Sunday morning to get to the church
we were singing in. When we arrived the
praise and worship was in full flow and
the people were praising God with all
their hearts…I had never experienced
anything like it. The sound was awful, the
cymbals on the drums were broken, the
instruments weren’t all properly
tuned, but oh, how they worshipped. I
remember standing at the back, fighting
back tears and I didn’t know then, but I
do know now, this was a pivotal moment
in my life.
God has given me a passion for worship;
true, intimate, Spirit-led worship which
brings people from the outer courts and
into the Holy of Holies. Isaiah 10 v 27
says…’and the yoke shall be destroyed
because of the anointing.’ I believe
worship is a weapon to destroy
bondages, strongholds and the
powers of darkness. When we lift high
the name of Jesus, He will draw all
men unto HIMSELF. It’s all about Him.
Rachel Kirk