Just back from 4 days at the national conference for the Elim Pentecostal church, taking place in the inglorious surroundings of Pontins Holiday Camp in Prestatyn. HIghlights of the week were significant landmarks for two personal friends- Chris Cartwright had confirmation that he will be leaving City Temple in October to become regional leader for Elim in Wales and the South West, whilst Matt Gregor was ordained as an Elim minister. Chris, coincidently, spoke at the Ordination service for Matt and the 32 others ordained, and here's a picture of the two of them afterwards:
I've known Matt for over 15 years, since he first started helping at Big Ideas/Ignite events. We've worked on summer camps together, travelled overseas, done missions, worked in schools, and it was Matt who first started going to City Temple and suggested I should try it out! I mentored him for 3 years intensely and still offer advice and guidance now, we've been through a lot together and have many funny stories to tell, so it was a special pleasure to be at his ordination and a humbling experience to be thanked in his speech. I've known Chris for about 12 years, first as a friend, as my pastor, and more recently as a colleague in ministry. Rarely a week goes by without us meeting for coffee, and we'll try hard to keep doing that when he moves on to his new role. Chris and I are both 50 this year, and have a lot more in common, not least that I've nicked quite a few of his sermon themes and preached them on the road with Third Day!