In Depth:  Rob James

‘A lift for Narberth’ is more than a building project. It sums up the church’s vision, says Phil Prosser, senior leader of Grace Church.

Narberth is a small but growing market town in south-west Wales with a lively shopping centre, arts and cultural scene, a very active community life, and a charismatic evangelical church with ‘high hopes’ for its future mission in the community.

Guests from across the world have gathered in Cardiff to take part in the St David’s Parliamentary Prayer Breakfast at the Senedd, hosted by Clwyd West MS Darren Millar, Chair of the Organising Committee since it was established in 2018.

‘This annual gathering serves as a powerful intersection of faith and governance, shedding light on the pivotal role of faith in shaping Wales’ political landscape,’ said Nathan Sadler, Public Policy Officer, Evangelical Alliance Wales.

Hopes are clearly running high for an exciting new youth initiative designed by the Baptist Union of Wales (BUW) which plans to host its first event in early February.

‘Esgyn’ (English ‘Ascend’) is the result of a period of discussion, prayer and dialogue between a variety of individuals within the BUW who share a concern for young people and want to see more provision for them across Wales.

Far from dampening everyone’s enthusiasm the spasmodic outbreaks of rain only seemed to fan the flames at the latest ‘Picnic Prayer and Praise’ that was held recently in Pembroke Castle.

‘This is turning into an eagerly anticipated event’ said organiser Pastor Rob James. ‘We had to cancel last year’s gathering because it coincided with the death of the Queen, but to our delight Christians gathered from all over Pembrokeshire to celebrate our unity and to pray and praise the Lord for all He does for us, not least for overruling the weather so that we can witness for Him in this historic place’. 

A Street Pastor Coordinator and a local nightclub owner have launched an exciting initiative in Pembroke that has the potential for being replicated in many other parts of the United Kingdom.

The project involves a designated individual - always known as ‘Mabel’ -seeking to represent Christ and Christians in a nightclub.

The current cost of living crisis could prove an opportune moment for Baptists to rediscover their Biblical roots, a Welsh leader says.

Writing in a recent newsletter, Baptist Union of Wales’ Mission Director Simeon Baker acknowledged the challenge of maintaining large buildings and the pressures that brings, not least on church finances and this is likely to get even harder over winter.

Welsh Baptist ministers spent some time recently focusing on the pressing issue of ‘Abuse of power in the local church’.

Phil Swann (see photo) of Llanelli Evangelical Church opened up a topic which the Baptist Union of Wales admits is not often talked about but ‘can do great harm’ to both ministers and members. ‘Recent public cases have drawn attention to how church leaders need be more aware of the potential abuses of power within the local church and the damaging effect this can have on those caught up in such situations,’ it said.

An Evangelical Alliance prayer breakfast for Wales has brought together members of the Senedd (Parliament) from across the political spectrum and seen representatives from more than 20 nations praying for the country.

At the event’s evening reception, the chair of the Cross-Party Group on Faith, Darren Millar MS (see photo) announced that this year’s theme would be revival. Several other members of the cross-party group also took part as did representatives of the Bible Society and the National Library of Wales while ‘Sound of Wales’ led the worship. Each contribution emphasised the rich spiritual heritage of Wales, but also stressed the importance of the work that Christians are continuing to do.