By Charles Gardner —
Changed lives and worldwide mission has been the fruit of a church now celebrating 40 years after moving into the high street of a Yorkshire steel town.
And it was partly through distribution of the New Life evangelistic tabloid that the home group of a city centre church morphed into an independent Pentecostal fellowship now known as the IKON Church in Stocksbridge, set amid the Pennine hills ten miles north-west of Sheffield.
Back in the 1980s, several local families helped to form the nucleus of the church through the paper’s powerful testimonies. I remember the thrill of witnessing many committing their lives to the Lord as a result, some through praying the ‘sinner’s prayer’ over the phone to our office in an Assemblies of God church.
One young lady, now with the Lord, wanted to know what God thought of abortion as it was about to be discussed at a meeting of her local Labour Party branch.
“Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you…” (Jeremiah 1:5) was the quick response of our friend and sometime sponsor John Mickleburgh, who knew his Bible!
It wasn’t long after first opening their doors that the fellowship was sending out missionaries to various corners of the globe including Mexico, Malta, Cambodia and Alaska as the impact of changed lives galvanized individuals and couples to make Christ known wherever he called them.
It’s particularly noticeable how this evangelistic fervour continues to pervade the ethos of IKON – taken from the Greek for ‘image’. It is the church’s motto to reflect the image of Christ in all they do.
Welsh preacher and singer-songwriter Kevin Gould, now based in Florida, joined the celebrations as the church’s first pastor and, when interviewed about some of those who played key roles in the early days, seemed to suggest that it was all about God using them, not him!
As a founding member myself also invited to this auspicious occasion, I believe that speaks volumes about successful pastoring – perhaps summed up by simply allowing people to flourish!
They’ve come a long way from the ‘make do’ arrangements in the village hall; it’s now all hi-tech with a great worship band and passion undimmed as they maintain their focus on winning disciples for Jesus.
