News – Induction at Cheltenham

Induction at CheltenhamIt was a delightful day on Saturday 25 August. The sun shone and the presence of the Lord was truly felt at Providence Baptist Chapel, Cheltenham, where 140 people gathered for the ordination and induction of Pooyan Mehrshahi to the Christian ministry.The morning service of ordination was chaired by the former pastor of the church, F. J. Harris. It was explained that ordination is clearly set forth in Scripture and accords with the practice of the Christian church from apostolic days. Pooyan Mehrshahi then gave an account of his call to the Christian ministry. After the ordination with laying on of hands by the elders, Dr David Allen (Trinitarian Bible Society) gave the charge to the minister. His text, Ephesians 4:12, focussed on the words ‘for the work of the ministry’. Following refreshments, Courtenay Harris chaired the afternoon service of induction. During this, accounts were given of how the Lord led both the church and Pooyan to each other. The charge to the church, given by Pastor Roy Mohon (Stockton-on-Tees), was from Hebrews 13:17, ‘Obey them that have the rule over you’. Others taking part in the services were Pastors Robert Cordle and Norman Barr, and Geoffrey Tomlin. Pastor Mehrshahi is married to Becky, with two children Isaac and Joel. Pooyan recently completed a four-year course at the Whitfield College of the Bible, in Northern Ireland. He is involved in the translation of a much-needed Bible into Farsi, the official language of Iran.