Lighthouse - Sunday morning groups at West Street Christian Fellowship, Crewe.

2009 Report:

As I write this report for the Lighthouse I am so thankful to God for providing us with faithful and enthusiastic teachers.  Many of our staff have been teaching children in the church for many years – too many to count in some cases.  I want to thank them for their commitment to their classes.  Every week they prepare stimulating lessons and they seek to guide children in the ways of God.  Therese is loved and valued by the children and parents in the preschool class.  She has benefitted greatly from moving her class into the upper lounge.  Having a toilet in the room where the lesson takes place is enormously helpful!  Her gentleness and loveliness is perfect for this age group.  Thank you to the ladies who have been supporting Therese each week. Joan and Marion have a lovely group of 4 to 6 year olds.  They are a lively and intelligent group of children who are eager to learn more about God.  Eight children attend the 6 to 9 year old classes.  This group is taught by Rachael and Helen.  They amaze us with their Bible knowledge and their desire to learn.  Then there is a small group of 10 and 11 year olds who benefit from having Dave and Gillian Thorley as their teachers and Shane and Heather.  They put a lot of thought and preparation into their lessons.  Graham and his team of teachers have a large group of teenagers who attend their classes every week.  This year Graham has been able to link the teaching on a Sunday with the teaching at Reality on a Tuesday – something he has been wanting to do for a long time.  It is a testimony to the excellent teaching that this group of children is growing and the children want to remain in the Lighthouse for as long as possible – in many cases they leave when they depart from Crewe to attend universities across the country.

This year we said goodbye to Evie and Esther, students from MMU, who taught a Lighthouse class.  Both ladies graduated and moved onto other things.  Maria Platt also left us to join a church that she felt God was guiding her to.  Sue Lee has taught for many years in the teenage class and her commitment to the children has been inspiring.  She left us when family circumstances became difficult – when her Mother became ill and sadly died.  We are so thankful to her for her work in the Lighthouse.  Shane and Heather joined the teaching staff and they have become popular with the children. 

Please pray for the Lighthouse.  We need more teachers to join us.  Please consider if you could become part of the team – even if you can only help one Sunday a month.  Please pray for wisdom as we consider restructuring the classes.

Rachael Rivers and Helen Midgley

Illuminators