Amazing Grace Church started in February 2008 in the Chadwick’s home in Bromley. We were planted out from the Lee Community Church in Lee-On-Solent in Hampshire. The church started with three couples and two children. God soon added to our number and in April we moved into Bromley Community House in South Street. Finding a venue for Sundays proved very difficult and we decided to have our meetings on Saturday evenings.
For us 2008 has been a year full of challenges and opportunities. From such a tiny beginning God has blessed us with a network of wonderful friends among the churches in Bromley and greater London area. We regularly receive visitors from other churches who come to get refreshed by what God is doing in our midst.
We have been particularly thrilled by the diversity of people God has added to our number. Again and again God has amazed us with demonstrations of His grace and power. We have seen lives transformed, souls saved, bodies healed, minds restored and spirits refreshed. Every week we hear testimonies giving God praise for His goodness and love as people encounter Him.
This is what we want! This is what we are here for! Not for “church as usual”, but for life changing encounters with God.
Oct' 2011: With about 3 1/2 years of planting the Amazing Grace Church behind us we can say 'Wow, it's been hard work!' Still, it's been a great privilege, there's nothing else we would rather do. We've seen many changes, seen many lives changed, and in the process the church has slowly been growing. I feel in my heart now that the Amazing Grace Church has reached the point of being established. We are 'planted'! Of course that doesn't mean 'we've arrived'. Perhaps we can call it 'the end of the beginning'.
A significant development in the dynamics of Russell's ministry was his appointment a year ago as Bromley Town Centre Chaplain. This has been a delightful vehicle to facilitate enhanced relationships with many of the ministers and congregations also serving the Bromley Community. It's also served to facilitate better access into the commercial community in Bromley.
From having one home group in our home we've moved into having 2 mid-week groups meeting in other homes. Yes!
Having rented a spacious 4 bedroom house with our children and grandchildren, this year we felt it was time to all have our own homes. As a result Gerrie and I now live in relative peace in our little 2 bedroom apartment. The transition has been a bit traumatic for one of us...but Russell says it's 'Bliss!'
“The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to:
Preach good news to the poor, He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, To proclaim freedom for the captives, And release for the prisoners, To proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour. Isaiah 61:1
Bill Johnson said that we owe the world an encounter with God and that is exactly what we want to do – help people encounter the mercy, love, and amazing grace of God through the power of the precious Holy Spirit. We want to see the fulfillment of this prophecy in the lives of people in our church, community, nation and the nations of the world. People encountering the reality of God, lives transformed by His amazing Grace.
We believe in being 'Born Again' and so we seek to help people experience this life changing encounter with Jesus Christ. Also, there are lots of people in society who have for various reasons stopped attending church. They've withdrawn from fellowship. Many of them have sustained some wound or hurt. As we seek to engage broadly with society we seek to draw these 'refugees from church' back into the fellowship of the saints. We are purposefully multi-cultural in our approach to church. We believe that our broad diversity is our strength...though it demands great grace and capacity from us all to experience and enjoy the unity of the Spirit.
Matthew 10:7 “As you go, preach this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven is near.’ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.”
After 22 years of ministering in Southern Africa and a promise from God that He would give us a love for the people of this nation we moved to Lee- On- Solent in 2000 to help Andy and Kay with the Lee Community Church.
God has been faithful and truly has given us a love not only for the people of this nation but also for the different people groups within the nation. The beginning of 2007 we felt that our season of serving in Lee was coming to an end and God started stirring our hearts to plant a church in the greater London area. We found the idea of dense population and ethnic diversity very exciting and soon embarked on an exploring expedition of South London. We met with many church leaders from various church groupings through 2007. We were blessed by the warm welcome and encouragement we got from all of them. Initially we thought we would plant in Croydon but God clearly led us to Bromley.
December 29th 2007 again armed with prophetic words and visions of promises of God’s manifest presence, and outpouring of His Holy Spirit in amazing grace with miracles, signs and wonders following we headed for Bromley.
We are delighted to have had our son Wesley and his wife and family and very dear friends, Tony and Carol partnering with us in this exciting venture.
We have a heart for people and are passionate about relationships. We are passionate about family. We believe that we owe the world an encounter with the living God and empowered by the Holy Spirit our constant quest is to bring people into such encounters. We want to see broken lives mended by the grace of God. We want to see people with no hope filled with hope and life by the grace of God. We want to see people feel loved and accepted. We want to see people set free from the lies of the enemy. We want to see people living full lives as Jesus said: “the enemy comes only to steal, kill and destroy but I have come that you may have life and life in abundance.” John 10:10
We want to see the Church of Jesus Christ empowered by the Holy Spirit invade this world with the Kingdom of God – His unconditional love, His peace that passes all understanding and His joy unspeakable and full of glory.
So who are we then after all that? Just ordinary people whose lives have been touched and changed by the amazing love and grace of God and who want to share this amazing God with others who would like to meet Him. That is why we are here –it is all about Him.
Sept 2011: After a year in the 'Hot Seat' as Bromley Chaplain I can report that it's been a great privilege, and it's usually been great fun. The role has facilitated access to many, many people in the commercial, business, retail sector of Bromley Community. I've met and chatted with dozens and dozens of people at the Council Offices, at the Bromley Police Station, up and down the Bromley High Street, in the Glades, in the banks and businesses...management and staff. What a privilege.
I've been involved in the facilitation of Lunchtime Fellowship Meetings in various coffee-shops, and at the Police Station, and at Bromley Council. More are planned to start soon. At these meetings the believers who live or work in Bromley, but who fellowship in very diverse places all over London, are able to gather for mutual encouragement etc. The presence of the Church in Bromley has been enhanced and facilitated by these humble and uncomplicated public gatherings.
I've spoken in a couple of the churches that make up the Churches Together in Central Bromley, seeking to raise the profile of the ministry of the Bromley Chaplain. More of these meetings are booked in my diary as I type this.
There have been some significant developments in additions to the Chaplaincy team. More info to follow soon. Watch this space!
Sept 2010: Building unity and harmony between the churches in central Bromley, and building bridges of trust and friendship between the churches and the commercial/retail community....this is the task of the Town Centre Chaplain.
Russell was commissioned as the new Bromley Town Centre Chaplain serving the Churches Together in Central Bromley (CTCB) and started officially on 1st Sept 2010. This position had been vacant for about 18 months. In his own words...
I was chatting with Jonathan McGill of Bromley Town Church about networking between the churches and also about going into the parks, shops, and businesses in Bromley when he encouraged me to apply for the position of Town Centre Chaplain. I did so and surprise, surprise...I got appointed!
There was a lovely gathering in the Bromley United Reformed Church building on Sunday evening 26th September to officially commission me as chaplain. There was a nice crowd and I counted 15 church leaders there. It was a great expression of unity among the Bromley churches.
My vision for the Chaplaincy is:
1. for it to cultivate good relationships between the churches in Bromley. Consequently I make time and effort to meet with the leaders of the many churches in Bromley and I try to attend meetings in the churches. Because Amazing Grace gathers on a Saturday evening it leaves me free to fellowship on a Sunday. Sometimes I'm out ministering...but if not I often attend one or two of the gatherings of other local churches on Sundays. This has really helped me to build good friendships there.
2. To engage with the commercial and retail community on behalf of the church and to build bridges of trust and friendship. I don't see that so much as evangelism, but as pre-evangelism. To this end I meet with the leaders of the Glades Shopping Mall, the leaders of the Bromley Borough Council, and management in the many other businesses in Bromley.
3. To facilitate the ministry of members of the Churches Together in Central Bromley who feel they would like to participate and contribute to the service of the church to the business community.
I'm delighted at this opportunity to serve the wider church in the wider community. Because it's only 20 hours a week, I'm confident it need not encroach on my ministry to the Amazing Grace Church. Please pray for me that God might use this ministry for His glory! Thanks.
