Mount Merrion, Belfast
On Thursday 6 December over 600 people gathered in the Martyrs Memorial Free Presbyterian Church (FPC), Belfast, for the ordination and induction of Paul Thompson as minister of Mount Merrion Free Presbyterian Church, East Belfast. The service was chaired by Mount Merrion’s interim moderator, Rev. Thomas Murray from Comber FPC.
Opening the service in prayer was Rev. Jim Hartin. The principal speakers were Revs Ron Johnston, Deputy Moderator of the Ulster Presbytery, and Gary Goodes from Hillsborough FPC.
Mr Thompson had the prescribed questions of the FPC put to him by Rev. John Greer, Minister of Ballymena FPC, before signing the Westminster Confession of Faith.
It was a special privilege to have taking part a number of lecturers from the Whitefield College of the Bible, where Paul Thompson studied for the past four years. These included James Beggs, Professor in Theology, and Dr John Douglas, College Principal.
John Dunn welcomed the new minister, his wife Kay and five children. Paul Thompson gave an account of his call to the gospel ministry, relating his personal experience of God’s sovereignty over all things. The ladies of Mount Merrion and Comber FPCs provided an excellent supper for a much larger attendance than anticipated.
Do pray for the Thompson family as they labour in Mount Merrion that, by God’s grace, ‘those ordained to eternal life will believe’ (Acts 13:48).
