Noddfa means refuge / sanctuary and on June 14 approximately 150 people made their way up one of Wales’s eastern valleys to the village of Abersychan and the church of Noddfa as John Funnell was recognised as part-time pastor of the church which had been without a full-time pastor for two years.
John came to faith in 2009. Soon after, his wife Harriet, having seen the complete difference in John, also came to faith. From the start John devoured good books and enrolled in various distance learning programmes.
After being struck by a comment made at the Aberystwyth conference about the needs in the South Wales valleys, John began preaching at his home church, Emmanuel Evangelical Church, Newport, while also following the Theological Training Course of the Evangelical Movement of Wales.