Wiveliscombe Evangelical Congregational Church

I became a Christian in an Elim Pentecostal church in Peterborough on 31st May 1981. I was aged 13 and had recently been in short term foster care, whilst my mum recovered from a nervous breakdown. I am the youngest of five children and my mum was left to bring us up on her own when my dad left when I was about 5. Mum did a stunning job under the circumstances and when she had her breakdown our doctor said that he was surprised that it had not happened about 15 years earlier, showing what a fighter my mum was. Being an inherently shy and extremely introverted person I kept my Christianity very personal. I was quite happy being a Christian on Sunday but not amongst my fellow pupils during the week. Whilst in care, I became so afraid that I would treat a wife and children like my dad treated us that I decided that I did not want to get married or have children. I stayed at home, with mum, until she passed away in May 2000 having suffered three strokes. I soon stopped going to church and got heavily into Genealogy, filling my time up between this and work. I was able to buy the council flat that we had lived in and, in February 2004, sold it and moved down to Devon to start a night time delivery driving job for my brother-in-law.

After 6 months of living with my sister and her husband I brought a two bedroom house in Dunkeswell. During my night-time driving I had started to listen to some Christian tapes that I had from the 1980’s. Looking back I could see that this was God getting me quiet so that He could speak to me. Most tapes were by the American evangelist Keith Green. His passion about living what you believe and giving your all for the Gospel scream out through his songs. I started to feel that I needed to start going back to church and in January 2005 I started to attend Dunkeswell Methodist Church, where I was made very welcome. I first met Steven Reed, Minister of Hemyock Baptist Church, when he came to do a Pentecost service at Dunkeswell. He invited me to attend an evening service in Hemyock a few Sunday’s later. After the service he said to me, “I was 49 when I went to Bible College.” I thought, “That’s nice for you, why are you telling me?” From then on more and more people talked to me about getting training and church leadership.

By July 2005 I had applied to go to Moorlands Bible College near Christchurch in Dorset. As someone who did not do the academic side of school very well, all I wanted to do was play football and rugby, the thought of sitting in a lecture room for 2 hour lectures scared me silly. I had two arguments with God before I started College. The first was when I felt God asking me to sell my house to help fund College. For someone who had been in care, owning my own house gave me some security. After a couple of weeks of struggling in prayer I said to God, “If you want me to sell my house, you are going to have to make it perfectly clear.” My bible reading notes that night were Genesis 12: 1 – 3, talking about Abraham leaving everything and going where God had called him to go. I pointed out to God that He didn’t have to make it THAT clear! The second argument was when I started to think, “Would a church want a single man as leader? If ladies had marital problems, would they want to come and speak to a man?” Remembering my decision as a thirteen year old and my last argument, I just said to God, “How are you going to sort this one out then?” I am now married, inherited three children and we have a boy of our own. How’s that for a change!

After four years of Bible College, where I gained a 2.1 in Applied Theology with Honours, we applied to work in a church in Taunton. With a month of our tenancy agreement left we received a letter saying that we had not got the job. I really questioned God about what was going on as I had done everything that He had asked and now was likely to be homeless in four weeks. After much worry and prayer, in that order, we were offered a six month tenancy agreement for a house in Burges Close, Wiveliscombe and moved in with days to spare.

My wife’s father, who lives in Hemyock, was diagnosed with Brain Cancer in January 2010 and given six months. He passed away on the 11th of January 2011 in St. Margaret’s Hospice, Taunton. We can now see that we were in Wiveliscombe to provide support to both Sarah’s father and her mother, support that included digging her car out of a 12 inch snowdrift so that she could drive to Taunton, too see her husband. It is amazing how God works His purpose out and how His ways are not our ways.

Our tenancy has been moved to a long term tenancy and I have been given the position of Pastor in Training at the church. This means that I am getting hands on experience of church leadership. We are still unsure of where God is calling us, but I keep getting the verse in Esther 4:14 in my thoughts where Mordecai points out to her, “And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this.” God has a work here in Wiveliscombe for us to do and when it is done He will move us on, we just want to be good and faithful servants.

Trevor and Sarah

Trevor Jackson

Pastor in Training

It is amazing how God works His purpose out

and how His ways are not our ways.