Simon Ravenscroft

 My name is Simon Ravenscroft.

At the end of September, 2007, I began my final year studying theology at the Bible College of Wales in Swansea. I have been a regular member of Wootton Bassett Community Church since its inception (a little over 20 years ago). While I grew up in a Christian family as a regular church-goer, it was not until I was thirteen that I eventually made a personal commitment to Christ. Since then, WBCC has played an absolutely crucial part in my spiritual growth and development.

 To begin with, throughout the initial formative years of my walk with God, I was cared for, nurtured and discipled by WBCC. Sound teaching on a Sunday morning, combined with relevant and personal discipleship at the After Hours Youth Group, challenged me to lay the right foundations for my life. I was encouraged to dig deep into Scripture, to cultivate a dynamic and vibrant prayer life, to experience God intimately in worship and to live out my faith in word and action away from the church building. Of course, by no means did I get this right all of the time - this was early in my walk with God, and my steps were still somewhat tentative and faltering. However, what I most appreciated about WBCC was the overwhelming atmosphere of love and acceptance among the people, even when I knew I wasn't getting everything right. It provided the perfect conditions for God to work and for me to mature as a young believer.

Indeed, one of the most distinctive features of WBCC is the overwhelming sense of unity and 'family' within the church. The congregation incorporates people from a variety of different church backgrounds, such as Baptist, Methodist, Anglican, Catholic and Pentecostal. As a result, the remarkable sense of harmony and mutual care and compassion between people is a beautiful testimony to the unifying power of the Gospel. At a time when there are more church groups than ever before and when division is a major problem within the Western Church, the unity within diversity at WBCC is amazing.

Lively and charismatic worship times are another striking feature of WBCC, and ministry in the Holy Spirit is keenly encouraged. Significantly, it was on a normal Sunday morning six years ago that I received the baptism in the Holy Spirit and spoke in tongues for the first time, aged sixteen. This encounter has radically enhanced my spiritual life in private and has empowered it in public. Notably, I developed a much deeper devotion to Scripture afterwards.

After this, I began to find my own feet as I grew with God, and by the time I was seventeen I was becoming aware that God was leading me to Bible College. In this too, the church was fantastic, supporting and encouraging me throughout the decision-making process. At eighteen, when the time came for me to start at Bible College, the church leadership prayed for me and sent me out according to the New Testament pattern, releasing me to God's will. Since then, the church has continued to stand with me spiritually and practically as I work out God's purpose for my life, and for that I am deeply grateful.

During my time at Bible College, I began to recognise God's call on my life to go into Christian ministry. Where that will lead me I do not know, but wherever it does, I will always be deeply indebted to this church and will always have a strong and deep love for it. WBCC is a special and a unique place, and God will continue to use it to impact the lives of people in Wootton Bassett and from further afield.

Postscript

I was married to Katie, whom I met at Bible College, on 4 August, 2007, in Liberty Christian Church, Lansing, Michigan, USA, where her father is Pastor.

We completed a church placement in Chester involving practical ministry training and study and returned in mid June, 2008, from Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA, where a further church placement at Kingsway Community Church kept us busy with much church involvement...and of course further study for my degree. My College graduation was on Saturday 5 July, 2008. It was a most memorable occasion.

Katie and I moved to Nottingham in August, 2008, and I completed my MA course in Philosophical Theology at Nottingham University in Summer 2010. In Autumn, 2010, I began my PhD studies in Philosophy and Theology at Cambridge University.

Simon has produced an update which provides details of the time he and Katie spent in Nottingham for Simon's MA studies and how the Lord has now led them to Cambridge. You can read this at News from Simon & Katie.