St Barnabas Church, Swanland. Stbchurch.org.uk

St Barnabas Church
An original drawing of the church by © Roger Waites when it was opened in 1992.

The Church @ St Barnabas Church, Swanland

Our Church is part of the Church of England denomination and is located on Main street in Swanland
(Click here for a Map).

We are often described as a Evangelical Charismatic Stream Cell (small group) based church with over 200 active members in this thriving modern but historical village located on a strategic urban site close to main motorway/link roads.

We also have a successful cell based children's/youth work with over 200 children/YP in regular involvement with us.

St Barnabas Church, Swanland

Children's worker

Children's worker Currently, Dawn Bolton is employed as children’s Worker. She is an enthusiastic children’s evangelist who runs a number of groups for children up to the age of 11, attracting children from Church families and from the wider community in the village.

Dawn has been instrumental in the development of the excellent holiday clubs run at St. Barnabas and started the Jam Club at the local Primary School. She has been a vital part of the recent initiative of refresh and it is mainly through her ministry that many of the non-church families have attended. Dawn also supports baptism visits and contact with the local Primary School.

Clergy and lay workers & Licensed Readers

Robin Shelley
• Robin is a retired Anglican clergyman who trained at St Johns Nottingham following a career in management and was ordained into full time ministry in 1987
• Assists with services when needed and is involved in community activities linking the church with the village
• Active with “Camps Farthest Out” in UK and internationally
• Is a trustee of ‘There is Hope’ based in Hull encouraging united prayer and evangelism in the region'.

Daphne Kitching
• A Licensed Reader, Daphne occasionally leads services (9am), preaches and takes an occasional funeral
• Currently in the final year of Ordination training on Northern Ordination course
• Ordination planned for 2009, probably to be licensed to St Barnabas
• Teaches dyslexic pupils and writes poetry for children and Parish Pump website
• Desires to make Jesus known, as and how He leads

Colin Reid
• Licensed as a Reader in November 2007
• Holds a Certificate in Christian Studies from St John’s, Nottingham
• Passion for those who don’t know the love of God
• Gift of explaining the bible
• Helps lead services and preaches
• Currently assisting in South Holderness

Neill Potts
• Reader in training via correspondence course with St John’s, Nottingham
• Expects to be licensed in November 2009
• Assists at a church in Spain (where Neill also lives) as well as at St Barnabas
• Preaches at 9am service once each month.
• Evangelist – especially in Spain

Justine Smith
• Has started studying Theology with St John’s, Nottingham
• Exploring her calling and will be attending a Bishop’s Advisory Panel for selection for Ordination in Spring 2009
• Currently working part time as a GP
• Leads assemblies at Swanland Primary School once every 2 weeks
• Hopes to become more involved in church work whether accepted for training or not

Outreach

At St Barnabas we believe that outreach is essential to the continued life of the church. We have always been focused on sharing the love of Christ with others.

There has been lots of hard work and innovation from various groups and individuals in building relationships. We are looking to consolidate this and see our vision become reality through assessing the needs of our village and associated communities and responding as God leads us with a unified and dynamic approach

Music, Sound and Vision

The St Barnabas Music team is led by Dave Cooper.

St Barnabas' is blessed in having a number of gifted worship leaders and musicians encompassing a variety of styles, traditional and modern, among the fellowship.

This includes younger musicians who have formed their own Youth Worship band and who join with the other worship leaders to assist on Sunday mornings. In the main, worship is led by small bands of two to four musicians, but on occasion those smaller bands join together to form larger ensembles.

We also have a committed technical support team that allows the church to have a variety of music combinations for use in our church worship or in outreach situations.

We are committed to discovering and developing the gifts/talents of our people ranging from the very youngest ages in the church.

Small Groups

At St. Barnabas, all adults including teenagers are encouraged to join a Small Group.These groups meet in homes, usually weekly, supported by 2 leaders.

The groups are encouraged to be more than just a Bible study group. Using notes provided from the sermon, these groups unpack the Bible and encourage and challenge each other to become more Christ like.

The emphasis of these groups is to be outward looking and share the gospel with friends, neighbours and colleagues.

Some Small Groups are currently participating in a Freedom in Christ Discipleship Course.

There is a Cluster Leaders’ group which assists the Vicar in coordinating and supporting the Small Groups.

Office posted the article on Wednesday, 26th May 2004 at 1:39pm
Article updated on sunday, 7th december 2008 at 9:47pm