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Growing In Faith

 

Five years ago Upper Clapton URC was near to closing. With only six members left there seemed little chance that the URC’s witness in one of London’s most deprived and ethnically mixed areas could last -- let alone flourish.

 

Today the church is one of the fastest growing in the denomination. To find out why, Reform went to visit the Revd John Macauley.

 

John, you were not brought up in the URC, so how did you come into its ministry?

 

Originally I come from Sierra Leone, from the Methodist Church there. My father was a shorthand-typist, a commercial teacher and my mother was a school secretary in a secondary school. My ministry began in St John’s Maroon Church in Freetown, the capital -- founded by freed slaves and dating back to 1811. I was called by the Lord to serve at the age of 16 -- we were a family of six children -- three of us Anglicans and three Methodists. Myself and my twin brother and another sister went with mum and the rest went with dad. When I went to the church it was collapsing, under 10 elderly people went there and it was resurrected and that’s how my journey began.

 

I began as a youth worker in the church and then I became what we called a catechist -- which would be called a pastoral assistant here. I did that for a year or two and then went to theological college, after which I was ordained and became responsible, with two other ministers, for three churches for three years. Then I came over here to study at Selly Oak and then Birmingham University -- first a Diploma in Youth and Community Work at West Hill College and then a Masters Degree in Sociology at the University. During my studies I was offered one or two jobs by the Methodist Church in Birmingham but my home church declined to let me take them. I went back home but came back later and was doing some multi-cultural work in London. During that time I came into contact with many churches and I applied to the Methodist Church in the UK, who very much wanted me, but the Church back home still said no. When I applied to join the URC the church in Sierra Leone simply said ‘yes, go and serve the people’.

 

There is nothing better that has happened in my life than coming to the URC. My four years in the URC has been almost the best four years in my life. When you are convinced that God has called you to serve him you see the results in your own life.

 

You came to this church in 1993 when it had reached a real low in terms of members -- only six members left. What did you see as you first task?

 

To love the people of God and serve them!

 

But you must also have seen a need for outreach?

 

Yes, I believe very strongly in church growth. I believe in vision and by the grace of God every vision that I believe the Lord has given to me has been fulfilled. I believed that the church would grow -- I was convinced about it. And it happened.

 

We’ve done things like leafletting the community but the greatest outreach has been the personal invitation by friends and members here. Then there are people who come here for weddings, for funerals, for baptisms. They come here and feel the presence of God and they come again. Some have never been to a church before. I believe in spirituality and I’m here to deepen people’s spirituality -- when you come to the house of God then meet with God and take him at his word.

 

The URC obviously perceives itself as having a problem in that it doesn’t make proper use of the talents of members of ethnic minorities. So how is it that this church, mainly made up of black members, has grown so quickly? Is it because you yourself are black?

 

It’s nothing to do with me being black, it is to do with me being a child of the Lord and moved by the power of the Holy Spirit and serving the people of God -- that’s all. We don’t have many white people but we have a few and I love them all dearly. In my church I don’t see colour I see people. I value people -- that’s the ministry. You have to care, to be a shepherd, to empower people -- that is what has affected growth. Ours is an open church, it is not a club, it is not for a limited few but for all of us. If you are one day in the church or a hundred years, here it makes no difference. We are all important here. That means that more people come into office.

 

Recently I did a workshop on leading worship and 10 people have put their names forward. Another 10 have put their names forward to preach and we shall look for ways in the URC to train them. Every year we have received between 20 and 24 new people and that, I believe, will continue. I now have a vision for extending the church and putting in a gallery. All these things I will do because God is alive -- it will happen. But it all takes time.

 

What differences would a member of the ‘average’ URC notice if they came to worship at Clapton URC on a Sunday?

 

I think they would notice a difference in style which has attracted people. We have what we call a praise time where we sing choruses and praise songs. We have a guitarist, a drummer and modern keyboard. The worship is lively and my job is to help people to respond, to unlock people’s spirituality and lead them to the Lord. Every Saturday night, by the grace of God, I am here praying for the service on Sunday morning.

 

I use the same traditional URC service as others but with flexibility. I believe the preaching is good, powerful -- but others must judge. I believe that it’s modern and relevant and helping people, like those who are undecided, to make up their minds and follow the Lord.

 

The children take part in the service and once a month we have a Sunday school presentation. We have many children in the church and this year has been dedicated as a year of ministry to the children and in May we’re taking a group of children to Holland on an exchange. I’m not afraid to advise and admonish our young people, my role is to help them to grow and develop their spirituality.

 

So our worship is friendly; it’s a very informal church. When you come, you come to present your needs to the Lord and by God’s grace we do get loads of results here. So people come!

 

Apart from worship, is there any difference in the life of the church?

 

Inasmuch as we are growing, I am not keen on churchgoers but I’m keen on disciples of the Lord. This year I’ve encouraged the church to read one book of the Bible every month -- getting the church (and myself) to read the Word of God because when we read the Word we become spiritually filled and enriched as a child of God.

 

Next week we’re having a week of prayer and fasting. I believe in both -- I’m not too modern, yet, to kick that out and I pray I don’t become so. Every day the door will be open for people to come in and pray. Fasting is not compulsory but I have produced two papers on fasting which I have shared with my congregation so that people are aware of the biblical and spiritual importance of fasting. Every Wednesday is a day of fasting in this church -- its not compulsory.

 

You seem very positive about the Church

 

I am very positive about the URC. People talk about the lack of black ministers, the lack of black people in the URC -- I don’t feel so. Even when I do feel tempted to feel so, for goodness sake, let’s give the church time! When I get worried I will find the Moderator’s office or the General Secretary’s office and make my point. The church is open and democratic. I’m not saying that there are not frustrations but I find God, from my experience, in the URC.

 

If we are the URC and the URC hasn’t got many black people, do you want to cry about it? No! Let us accept what we have in the way that John the Baptist said to Jesus at the time of his baptism: ‘Let it be so for now’. It’s temporary, it will change....but have faith. People say the URC doesn’t like black people well I am black and I’m in the URC. For me its a matter of one brings two, two brings three, three brings four, four brings five.

 

We often concentrate on the bad things in life and in the Church and the good things are suppressed. I was on the interview panel for the new multi-everything worker and I’m black. I am on the Equal Opportunities Committee and I’m black. I was on the Moderator’s review group -- I’m black. I was on Peter Brain’s review and I’m black. A lot more needs to be done but let’s start with what it being done and encourage the Church and not condemn it. Look out for the best, hope for the best and seek for the best.

 

You’ve come to one of the poorest areas in the country. What do you see as the role of the church in relation to the community, apart from its spiritual role?

 

I believe in proclaiming the word and demonstrating the word. The proclamation I do every Sunday and that was my first task here. Now that we have reached a certain size I say ‘Let us not be content, let us not be selfish. What about them out there?’ And it’s amazing -- ‘them out there’ is us in here -- they’re the same people. So I said ‘Let’s do something with our building, which was derelict. People said ‘we are poor, how can we achieve anything?’ My answer was ‘Attempt great things for God, expect great things from God.’

 

Ministry in the inner city is a ministry of faith and you’re looking at a very happy minister. Every day I have enough evidence to show that the Lord is alive and blesses his people. In a few weeks the builders will be in to finish our community centre, which has cost about £60,000 and that is in a very poor area. This is a very poor community but wealth is more than money, wealth is people. The people’s skills is what I am looking for. I have never preached on tithing in this church -- I might do so eventually -- but from a collection of £5 a week I’ve seen it rise from £5 to £10 to £50 to £200 -- now it’s over £100 every week. We are getting there. But I believe that my task is to offer people Christ; the Church is not about money. We need money but the Church is about Christ. When the Prodigal Son said ‘Father I have sinned against you and I’m no longer worthy. I’m sorry. I have come home’ did the father say ‘You have to pay £10?’ Too much money is not good for the Church -- preach Christ to the people and when Christ takes over he will transform their lives and they will give.

 

The Community Centre will be there to let people know that the Lord cares for them. It’s a centre people can use to advance their skills. Then we are hoping to start a parent’s rest day for parents who are under pressure. Once a month people can bring children to the church on a Saturday from 10 am to 4 pm and the church will look after those children for the whole day and let the parent sleep, go to the cinema, let them go and do anything they want to do for one day in the month they are free.

 

We are also hoping to start a day centre for the community and a playschool.

 

I am so concerned about my people that every year I send two or three to higher education -- every single year God sends. I encourage them because for some people life has come to a standstill and you have to remove that lack of faith and give them confidence. The Church is more than about singing and praying, it’s about God being effective in the lives of his people. So when you’ve been unemployed for 15 years and you come to the Lord and go to university or get a job, isn’t God good! That’s why it’s about people. You not only pray for them, you look at what you can do to help build up their lives and help them to link what happens with the power of God.