Northallerton

Dave Johnson

May 2022

Last week Jennifer caught up with Dave to hear some inspiring stories of what God is doing in Northallerton

Last November we had an email to the church “I’m looking for joy. Can you help?”

It was from Bethany a 25 year old who had moved back to Northallerton, we met up and we had a good chat. She had no church or faith background. I told her about the new worshipping community I have started, an informal 9:30 am breakfast service where we go through the Gospel stories using the Iumo videos.

The first service she came to was in Advent when the topic was Joy! She just kept coming back and after a while she started bringing her Dad.

About three years ago I met a chap, Steve who was a practicing pagan and whose partner comes to the church. I would meet up with him from time to time for a pint and one day he dropped in to the 9:30am service out of curiosity. He bumped in to the Dad, Ruel and it turned out they knew each other from the past and were both surprised to see the other in Church!

Beth and Ruel started attending every Sunday and I started to talk about Baptism and planning for Palm Sunday and they asked to Baptised.

On Palm Sunday we held the baptism service and I baptised Ruel, the dad and then together we baptised his daughter. It was a really special moment.

Later that week they called me and said that following their baptism, for the rest of the day they had just felt so giddy, so happy. They had found that joy.

After the service Steve, who had come along to the baptisms, said “if I hadn’t been baptised as a child I would have been baptised”. As it happened the next Saturday we were doing a confirmation service. So I invited him to be confirmed, but he wasn’t sure.

I eventually met with him to talk it through. He said “I have done so much bad in my past, there is so much in my life that needs dealing with it is going to take ages to get forgive”. I explained that when we are forgiven, we are forgiven. Jesus can wipe all our mistakes away instantly, it’s not one at a time.

All three decided to get confirmed, and the service went really well.

When it was time for the peace I went over to Steve and put my hand on him and said peace be with you. He sat down and started crying, he said ‘When you did that everything left, all that stuff I’ve been holding on to, all that stuff I’ve been involved in, I just felt it all leave.’ I thought wow, amazing!

Now Steve, Bethany and her Dad have all joined the ALPHA Course, it’s been amazing to see how they have moved on!

2021 update

Since he arrived in Northallerton, Dave's been getting to know the town and his neighbours, going for drinks with them, running events, discussion groups and prayer spaces, and building community. He set out with a hope that people will get to know Jesus, explore faith and find belonging in new forms of local church. One of the striking things that he found was how much people locally, from a range of age groups and especially younger adults, were looking for connection, for deeper community and stronger relationships. From small beginnings, Dave’s work has continually grown and, in spite of all the challenges of lockdown, has an exciting future ahead…

‘I started around 18 months ago, joining a parish in the market town of Northallerton. They are enthusiastic, and they have a youth and family’s worker; however, they have limited connection to people in their 20s and 30s. That gap is the same across the Christian groups in the town’.

‘In the first 6 to 8 months, there was a lot of talking, meeting, praying and getting close to the other churches locally. We wanted to forge strong ecumenical relationships’.

‘After that, I started a number of community events - hosted as ‘The Meeting Place’. For example, one was in a local pub. We ran one on an early evening and another later in the evening. That way we could welcome those who wanted to come after work or wanted to go out in the evening afterwards’.

‘We also began a ‘meeting place’ for parents after the school drop off and a monthly gathering in All Saints church. The intention was to move the monthly gathering into the pub’.

‘Before lockdown, we held numerous events to build community, including a gathering at Halloween, a Christmas meet up with carols on the green (as well as mince pies and mulled wine in the garage afterwards), and ‘Pancakes and Prosecco’ event. These were all really well attended. Halloween had over 100 people, Christmas over 70, and ‘Pancakes and Prosecco’ over 30. There was clearly a real desire in the neighbourhood to join in and be part of something’.

So how has Covid restrictions and lockdown effected your work?

‘Covid and lockdown has meant that we have had to halt a lot of activities. I have primarily been keeping in contact with people on a one-to-one basis, and supporting the main church in their online presence. I have also been creating an identity for the 20s-40s work that we’ve been forming in Northallerton, calling it Soma. You can find out more at www.soma.uno. This has set out the strategy for the future’.

‘I am meeting people on a 1-1 basis and doing online stuff, such as Soma on Sunday, which is an online broadcast through the website and Facebook page. That broadcast includes a short presentation of the gospel, in the context of the town. I do a short talk from different venues such as the church, surrounding countryside and at County Hall. The aim is to make this relevant to the area.’

So what might the future look like?

‘The future will look like a continuation of what we did before lockdown. However, now on Sunday mornings, we are going to be doing brunch at our home, followed by a short time of discussion and reflection. Midweek there will be ‘Soma home’ which will be like a cell group which aims to attract people from the new housing estates. From the start, we will look to grow new leaders and think about planting out into other areas. There is also ‘Soma 1-1’ where we will provide one-to-one support with discipleship, mentoring, life coaching and spiritual direction. We are also going to have monthly gathering to pull everyone together and to invite people from other denominations. Alongside this there will be the ‘Soma socials’ which will build community on the different estates, running events very much as we have done in the past’.

What have been your highlights?

‘The community events have been the highlight. They were so well received, and people showed a hunger for community. We found that they are looking to belong, which we pray will lead to believing. These events brought together a community, many of whom are in the target demographic, and it welcomed older people too. It felt like true community. It was all supported by the existing congregation and other churches’.

What makes you passionate about working in Multiply?

‘The aim is trying to make the Kingdom visible to people, so that it is more of a reality for them. It is also about helping people to be who they were created to be, and hopefully, the world we live in as well. God created us to be complete people, and most have lost that, but through faith, we can find it again. Hopefully, that will impact on the environment around us too’.

What encouragement would you give to someone exploring starting a new worshipping community?

‘Often, it works best to go out to people and live our faith in their situation, rather than trying to attract them to us. In Northallerton one of the biggest gatherings is the Park Run so during lockdown I have become part of their community. Again, rather than expecting them to become part of ours. I have got Park Run fit and have a Soma branded top (which gets that brand out there) and gives people a chance to ask what it is’. 

‘Before we lockdown, we also did morning prayer in Café Nero with over 20 people attending, with varying weekly numbers. This was visible, it was going to where people are, rather than expecting people come to us’. 

‘We can’t do anything in our own strength, but we can in God’s strength. When we recognise that, things really happen. We don’t need vast experience and knowledge and resources. God provides what we need. He just wants our availability. I need to keep telling myself this! Often we are fearful of how people will respond, and it can take a step of faith to engage people on a personal level, but generally, people respond really positively’.

Since Dave shared this update in late 2020, there have been even more developments….

Due to the Covid pandemic, most of the activity that was happening and planned had to be cancelled and rethought.

This led to much activity being online, and we saw the introduction of SoMA on Sunday and the online Morning Prayer.  Both these weekly events have a good following, and we are considering how these will continue as we come out of lockdown. Particularly as it has led to an online discipleship group which we will grow and then divide into groups of interest and look at how those groups may form Micro Churches.

There has been a chance to network and establish new contacts and take time to see where the Spirit is moving. Over the last twelve months, there have been many ‘God-incidences’ that have brought the spiritual need and hunger of the LGBT+ community to the foreground.  Speaking to members of the LGBT+ community both within and without the church has resulted in forming a team who are working together to establish a new worship community specifically for LGBT+, their family, friends, and supporters.

This will initially involve a monthly agape style service and hopefully a weekly online discipleship group but with members also integrating into our existing patterns of worship.

The fledgling community has affiliated with the Open Church Network, which will provide resources, support, and national exposure. It also has the support of the Bishop, Diocese, and ONE Northallerton.

There will be a formal launch once the covid restriction allows us to hold a larger event.

Also, post-pandemic, we will be moving ahead with plans for Sunday Brunch on our newly installed patio.

Working with Mary Jobling, the Multiply Minister in Thirsk, we have recently started a Pioneer Network for the deanery and have several people meeting monthly on Zoom and providing ad-hoc support for each other on Whatsapp.  We hope to use this group to increase mission activity across the deanery, and anyone interested is welcome to join the group.

Starting in July of this year we are starting a new inclusive service on a Sunday morning at All Saints church which will provide a safe place to introduce people who are seeking or new to faith to sacramental gathering of God’s family.

Despite the frustrations of the Covid restrictions, there has been a sense of the Spirit moving in new and exciting ways and the future promises to be a whole new adventure…..