Almost every Sunday for the past 15 years we have held two services in the building, a Holy Communion service at 10.30 a.m. and a family service at 6 p.m. We have always wanted to welcome people of all ages into the building, and have regularly held services aimed at involving children and young people. Some of the themes have included ‘You’re Toast!’ (looking at the story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in the fiery furnace and how God rescued them from certain death), ‘Jonah the Moaner’ (when we made a whale!) and ‘Goliath The Giant’ (when we made a cardboard version of the giant Goliath and had great fun toppling him through games!)

From August 2025 we will be changing the times of our Sunday service and only holding one service, starting at 3 p.m. This change reflects the current needs of the congregation, but we are praying that this becomes a new start in God and a new opportunity for others to join us and be part of what God is doing in Goldthorpe through His church.

We have also been involved in midweek prayer meetings and Bible studies, and these will continue on Thursdays at 7.30 p.m. Our work as a church is rooted in our relationship with God and we need to seek Him together for all that we do. Studying the Bible is essential as it’s God’s road-map to life! Why not make God’s word a priority and join us at these services?

2 Samuel 24 tells the story of David’s sin in ordering a census and the consequences of this action, which resulted in death and the purchase of a site on which an altar was to be built (which subsequently became the site on which the temple was built.) It’s a difficult chapter to understand (numbering people is not necessarily wrong, as other examples in the Bible make plain, and it’s hard to understand the different roles of God and Satan in this decision – see 1 Chronicles 21:1), but important principles do stand out as we wrestle with fathoming what is going on in this chapter!

It would seem that David’s sin was not simply the act of numbering but the problem of pride, his reliance on his own military strength through numbers instead of a reliance on God. Sometimes, our strengths can be as much of a stumbling-block as our weakness! (1 Cor 10:12) David, it seems, wanted to know how many military men were in his service so he could boast of his greatness instead of giving glory to God. When even Joab reckoned this job was repulsive, we know that there’s a problem!

David’s conscience was pricked and he came to see that his actions were sinful. God’s discipline of judgment came through Gad and in the form of three choices (3 years of famine, 3 months of fleeing from enemies or 3 days of plague.) He chose the last one, preferring God’s hand of judgment to man’s. He remembered God’s mercy, even in times of discipline. In fact, God’s mercy is an essential part of His unchanging nature (Mal 3:6), and though 70,000 died as a result of the plague, David’s cry for mercy was heard.

The plague stopped at the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite, and God commanded David to buy this land to sacrifice there. Araunah, although a foreigner, would have willingly given the land to David (a reminder that believers have no monopoly on kind deeds!), but David understood that sin must be paid for, and was prepared to buy the land. We too understand that sin must be paid for, but rejoice in the fact that the price has been paid for us by Christ’s death on the cross.

If you come along to our anniversary coffee morning on Saturday 5^th July (10 a.m. – 1 p.m.), you will be able to see over a thousand photos of what we have been doing over the past fifteen years. Some of the things we do happen regularly (our New Year’s Day party, for example, and our Christmas carol services and other Christmas events). Some are ‘one-offs’ (such as our tea party to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee in 2022 or our party to celebrate the King’s coronation in 2023.)

We’ve always tried to go with God’s heart and serve our local community in a variety of ways. That has included Easter marches throughout the town centre (and in 2018 we did a ‘church crawl’ from Furlong Road Methodist Church in Bolton upon Dearne through to the Salvation Army, GPCC, parish church and Sacred Heart RC Church in Goldthorpe and then onto the Pentecostal church in Thurnscoe and St Helen’s.) We have been present at fun days in Phoenix Park (the swelteringly hot dinosaur day in 20?? Comes to mind, plus the fun days we organised there from 2021-2023), at fayres at Goldthorpe Railway Embankment (spring, autumn and Christmas), attended the Bounce Into Summer event on occasions and for many years were involved in the Christmas market organised by Goldthorpe Development Group, which resulted in raising money for the Salvation Army’s Christmas appeals. We believe that Christians are called to be salt and light wherever they are, and our involvement in the community is a reflection of this belief.

The photo wall and displays on Saturday reflect not only the diversity of activities done in fifteen years but the diversity of people who have attended such events. Come along and find out if you’re on our ‘walls of fame’!

One of the conditions of the CRT grant which saw us move into Market Street was that we were involved in community, and so we changed the church’s name to reflect our heart for the local community, becoming Goldthorpe Pentecostal Community Church. We had always been involved with the community, running a Parent & Toddler group and youth club for many years. Moving to Market Street when the market was still open and running meant we had a new audience there, and for many years we ran a coffee morning every Saturday, inviting people in to see what we were doing and serving the market stall holders hot drinks to keep them going!

Our community outreach continues to this day. Whilst the youth club closed during the pandemic, our Parent & Toddler group now meets twice a week in term-time (on Wednesday and Friday mornings between 9 and 11 a.m.) We hold a coffee morning once a month now on the first Saturday in each month (10 a.m. until 12 p.m.) and are involved with other local churches in family fun days during school holidays and with other organisations helping at community events (such as events at Goldthorpe Railway Embankment and Phoenix Park.) We host an evening of creativity for adults on the 3^rd Monday of the month (‘Mindful Moments’, 6- 8 p.m.) and are involved with the Dearne Community Arts’ Festival, held on the last Saturday of September at Astrea Academy Dearne, and with community art projects (including our car park wall of hope and the coasters’ project with local churches.) We are involved in local schools, most recently through our sponsorship of Christian theatre productions by 4FrontTheatre.

Community involvement for many years included a Sunday service at Cherry Tree Court where two church members lived, and although this ended with the pandemic, we are thrilled to have recently started singing at Parkside Care Home in Wombwell once a month.

The BMBC logo ‘Love Where You Live’ sums up our attitude to our community. We love where we live and are convinced that God has placed us in Goldthorpe for such a time as this. We want to be ‘with God in the community, with God for the community’, knowing that His love for people is our motivation to serve Him in our local area.

Deuteronomy 8:18 urges God’s people to ‘remember the Lord your God.’ It’s so easy in the hustle and bustle of life, in the everyday busyness which surrounds most of us, to forget what God has done for us, and if we forget, we become impoverished spiritually.

This Saturday we are making a conscious decision to remember. It’s 15 years since our official opening as a church in Market Street. Prior to that, from 1964 until 2010, Goldthorpe Elim Church was based in Beever Street, but in 2010, after many months of praying and working with funders, we moved into the former Methodist church building (St Mark’s) and spent from February until July refurbishing the run-down building. Every Saturday and every day during school holidays except Sundays we spent time painting, plastering, rewiring, refurbishing the building so that we could move our base to the more central Market Street.

It was a journey of faith, for the church had £7,500 in the bank, and the building cost over £150,000. We saw God provide miraculously through a grant of £160,000 from Coalfields Regeneration Trust, but then the twists and turns of the journey meant the Methodist Church HQ preferred a higher offer from a builder and we had to give the grant back. Much heartache and confusion followed, but that was not the end of the journey.

The deal with the builder fell through… we were asked if we still wanted the building. Of course we did! – but we now had no money. Tentatively, we approached CRT again. They ‘didn’t know how this has happened’, but the grant had not been re-allocated and so we were given the money again (without having to change a word on our original application.) Then we were told by the Methodist Church HQ that they would like the additional £20,000 offered by the builder. We were unable to provide that… until the local Methodist circuit offered us that money, because they wanted the building to remain a place of worship. God provided the money; we got the keys in February 2010.

As we approach our anniversary, it’s hard to believe that fifteen years have passed since those action-packed days in 2010. We’re all older; some of the congregation have died; it continues to be a journey of faith. Do join us on Saturday as we remember the Lord and all He has done. We’re open between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. for light refreshments, crafts and a lot of photos!

Our Bible study tonight focussed on the fruit of the Spirit kindness. Kindness is sorely needed in a world that seems intent on shouting loudly at those with differing opinions, but God’s kindness fuels actions. God has drawn us with loving kindness (Jer 31:3), the Hebrew word being ‘chesed’ which encompasses kindness, mercy, steadfast love, covenant faithfulness, grace and loyalty. It’s how God describes Himself in Ex 34;6-7, and it is His kindness which shapes our kindness.

In Psalm 136 we read that God’s kindness is ‘beyond the vanishing point’ (in other words, we cannot ever outrun God’s kindness.) Micah 6:8 tells us that we should have kindness and in the New Testament this virtue is described as being very useful. Kindness is seen primarily in our behaviour towards others; Matt 11:28-30 reminds us that the yoke God offers us is easy or kind. The yoke reminds us of two animals working together; Jesus reminds us that we are called to work alongside Him in kindness.

As God works in us, He develops kindness in us. How can we show kindness this week?