Peterhead Methodist Church
Jesus changed my life through Alpha
It was January 1997 when a friend invited me to attend an Alpha Course. A course that changed my whole life — for the better of course!
Believe it or not the first few weeks I was still very shy and never said anything. However slowly as the weeks went on it realised that I could not wait for the next week’s group to meet.
The Holy Spirit Weekend
About half way through the course there was the Holy Spirit weekend I gave my heart to the Lord on Saturday 15th Feb 1997 and later on that day was prayed for to be filled with the Holy Spirit also.
Just before I said the prayer to accept Jesus as my personal saviour I was asked “Do you understand that this will put Jesus in the driving seat of your life?”
My reply was, “Yes I understand”. I understood then just as I understand now that when I accepted Jesus as my Lord and my Saviour I had given over control of my life to Jesus. Something that I have never regretted!
My faith is stronger now than it was back then when I first gave my life to the Lord but then — of course — that is how it should be.
The Affa Wiffie
I went on to be very involved in helping and leading on the Alpha courses even for a while as the Alpha coordinator for the church at Peterhead. (Or as some of the congregation lovingly called me “the Affa wiffie” using our local dialect — not to be interpreted or confused with “an awful wife”.)
God was really blessing people through Alpha. It was the tool God was using to bring people into a relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ.
I just wanted other people to come to know and experience Jesus’ awesome love and power in there lives the way I had in mine.
I am no longer the shy frightened person I was back then I am alive in Christ the Holy Spirit has changed me from within. Yes, to quote the hymn, “I am a new creation” no longer shy or frightened to speak up in company as anyone who has met me will know!
I love Jesus with all my heart, mind, body and spirit and I know he loves me more than I can ever imagine and that was exactly the kind of life changing experience that I wanted others to have through attending our Alpha courses.
At the time I was so blessed by being a very small part of what God was doing through Alpha and seeing other people’s lives being changed and transformed through the saving grace of God.
The Affa Wiffie hears a new calling
Early in 2003 God called me out of Alpha although I did not know at the time he wanted to use me in some other way.
Later that same year (December to be more exact) I was sitting on my own praying and all I could hear was “Local Preacher”. I could hear these words being repeated over and over again in my head. I knew it was God telling me He wanted me to become a Local Preacher. It was something that had never entered my head not something I had ever considered doing.
That voice in my head continued even getting louder and louder I knew the only way to stop it was to say, “O.K Lord I hear you. If this is what you want me to do then I will”.
When I next met my prayer partner — Helen Bowell the minister’s wife — I said, “It is just as well you are sitting down I think God is calling me to become a Local Preacher”.
After a pause she responded, “Yes, I think that is right. How do you feel about it?”
Admitting my doubts I told her I was shocked, stunned, and terrified at the very thought of it. After all there is no way I could become a local preacher, I don’t know enough, I have not been a Christian long enough, and I certainly don’t know the Bible well enough.
I asked her not to say anything to anyone but to pray about it to see if it was right for me. If God was confirming it to her I would feel able to approach Geoff our minister.
January quickly came round and the annual Covenant Service where we recommit ourselves to God. By then I knew it was God I could hear calling me and after the service concluded I approached the minister and told him about the call. Stunned he was left speechless — and this was someone who never had been short of the right word on any occasion — but eventually he replied, “That’s great news!”
Training as A Local Preacher
My name was then put forward to the next Local Preachers meeting for their approval and was put “On Note”. This is the first part of the training course where candidates accompany a fully accredited local preacher and just take part of the service.
Now the usual time on note is six months but I took my time before going “On Trial” and starting to take services on my own. However I did struggle at times with having to study and plan the service even through I was only doing about three services each quarter.
Although I do have more spare time than most — I don’t work full time — studying was not my thing. I had not done all that well at school and as for working on a computer — well no comment! I had lost count of how many times I was going to give up during that first couple of years the course was just too hard for me and I could not do it.
Refocusing my thinking
I was starting to complain about the course and the amount of work involved and saying I could not do it.
Then I felt God say to me, “Kate, if you put as much effort into your studies as you do complaining then you would get on fine.”
That pulled me up sharp. I stopped complaining and started praying and relied more on God. It was amazing I found just by handing it over to God and focusing on Him I started to get on better.
I am not saying that I do not still have times when I struggle and find it hard it is a quite a demanding course but taking it one step at a time and continuing to pray I manage to get through the work better.
Michael my tutor is great too. He is very patient even when he has to explain things over and over again to me.
It’s not all bad there is a lot of good stuff in the Faith and Worship course so I am learning a lot. Now I only have section D to complete which is another four units or so and that will be me finished my studies.
Visiting other churches in the circuit
I also enjoy the journey when I have a service to take at one of the six churches on the Moray coast. It is fantastic to go up and see how our brothers and sister are doing as well as bringing Gods word to them. Even more so as I can see God’s work in all his splendour as I look out at the spectacular views over the Moray Firth headland on a nice sunny day.
My plans after I have finished my studies and passed? Well, I will have to wait and see what God says. But I hope to take it easy for a little while at least, my brain is still just not used to all this studying.
Kate Ely