Salem Baptist Church, Ramsey
On Saturday 28 August, a congregation of about 200 gathered to give thanks to God for the induction of Jonathan Chell as pastor at Salem Baptist Church in Ramsey, Cambridgeshire.
It was a great joy to see so many people gathering with us for this occasion with friends coming from Leeds, Stowmarket and many local churches. We were also glad to see many of the men who have preached for us during the past two years, as we have prayed to the Lord to send us the man of his choosing. This occasion was an opportunity to give God praise for his answer to our prayers for a pastor.
The service was led by elder Ken Howard. It was good to hear how the Lord had made his will known to the church and to Rev. Chell for him to serve at Salem as pastor.
Pastor Glyn Williams from Tinshill Free Church in Leeds told us how Jonathan had developed practical and spiritual gifts for going into the ministry. Rev. Chell expressed how he had been drawn to Salem and how the Lord’s hand has been upon him and his wife, Yvonne, every step in preparing the way.
Pastor Nigel Graham from the nearby Warboys Grace Baptist Church preached from Isaiah 6:1-8. Every one of us has the same need for a grander and bigger and more glorious picture of God. Isaiah had a ‘God-quake’ when he experienced God, but we have a clearer way to know God by looking in the Scriptures.
Pastor Chell was challenged to get a big vision of God and spend much time in talking to and listening to him. The more a preacher sees of God’s glory, the better he will be able to speak of it. All our churches need to see more of God. We need to have churches that are God-centred, looking on God’s glory and God’s honour.
We are grateful to the many friends who contributed to the tea that followed the service. It was a great blessing to share in this time of fellowship at Ramsey Community Centre.
As we look forward expectantly to the future, we seek your prayers that pastor and people at Salem would be used to bring praise and glory to God.
Michael Smith
