Salvation Stories from Broadstairs

Pete and Hilary Watt moved to Broadstairs in 2006, as part of a church planting team from The City Church Canterbury. Since the church started, it has seen steady growth through salvation, and Pete shares some of these wonderful stories here.

“I have a question.  Is it normal to feel hot and for your arm to shake?   I’m in a work meeting and I’ve got an incredible urge to pray.  I have to make my excuses and hide in the toilet to pray.  Is this normal?”

Caroline became a Christian on the last day of Together on a Mission 2007.  Although she wasn’t actually at the conference, I returned with a sense that God was going to bring about a breakthrough in my street.  

So, on my return from Brighton I popped in to see Caroline.  Her daughter Vicky had become a Christian a few weeks earlier on Alpha and I had visited the family to reassure them that Vicky was not joining a cult. Caroline decided to come an Alpha session to see for herself.  ‘What About Evil?’ didn’t seem the best session to start with, but actually raised lots of questions in her mind.  I explained the good news of Jesus, how he had come to destroy the works of the devil and restore our relationship with his Father.  As we talked there was a moment when a haze filled the room - a deep sense of the presence of God. I said, “God is here right now.  Would you like to surrender your life to Him?” I prayed with her as she wept her way into the kingdom.

Following this, Caroline’s son Darren and then her eldest daughter Amy both became Christians.

Caroline would turn up on my doorstep nearly every day to ask questions, usually about something she was reading in the Bible.  She read it from cover to cover in three months and has now read it twice.  My small Life Group has now grown and multiplied with Caroline leading one half supported by a mature Christian couple.

So how did Vicky end up coming to Alpha? She was invited by my neighbours on the other side who had come to Alpha after receiving an invitation through their door before we had even moved in. Neighbour Inge became a Christian on our first Alpha Holy Spirit Weekend.

So last summer I had the pleasure of baptising four people from my street in the sea.

In the autumn, Ruth came to Alpha.  She was an old school friend of Naomi, one of the members of Grace Community Church.  Ruth introduced herself as ‘Nai’s heathen friend’ and thought Alpha might help her to understand Naomi better.  She was very vocal in the group and seemed on the surface to be a long way from becoming a Christian.  At the end of one session she prayed a very profound prayer; “Okay, go on then God.” She immediately rushed up and grabbed me by the arm, “I’ve got to speak to you now!”  She described how the Holy Spirit had flooded over her.  I explained to her the next step of becoming a Christian. I teamed her up with another leader, Anna, who then led her through to salvation.   Anna had moved to Broadstairs from Woking after her family had read a previous edition of Connect E-news.

Ruth is now a member of my Life Group and has been leading the current Alpha course on which Alex has become a Christian.  Alex came along because she was a friend and colleague of another Grace Church member, Dawn. Out of the blue, one day Alex asked Dawn “Have you ever heard of Alpha?” and Dawn was delighted to bring her on the course.

The kingdom of God is like a mustard seed. Though it is the smallest of all seeds it grows into a huge tree.  The kingdom of God is like yeast that works through the dough and makes it grow.

These snapshots reflect just a little of how God is growing our church.  The original 15 people who heard God’s call to plant a church in Broadstairs have been joined by others sharing the same vision as well as new Christians.  God is building a living, vibrant church, and now it is difficult to spot the original 15!