By Grace alone

Our Faiths by Matt Pointon

I GOT rather a surprise when I walked through the doors of the Bethel Evangelical Church in Hanley. Usually it is me who asks the questions in this column, but Elder Rose was more interested in my own salvation than publicising his church. But as I was soon to learn, salvation is the foundation upon which Evangelical Christianity is built.

“Evangelical Christians believe,” explained Pastor Muwowo, “that we may only be saved through God’s grace, not through our own actions.” This might sound like a harsh doctrine, but according to Pastor Muwowo, it is far from so. “Jesus died on the Cross for us all. All we have to do is accept him.” He continued: “We believe that the Bible is the Word of God, it is God speaking. Therefore we have to obey Him and bring that message to as many people as we can.”

Evangelism as a movement grew rapidly in the 19th century, although the Bethel itself was not established until the 1930s. All of the church’s actions are inspired directly by the Bible, from the sermons to the fact that it is independent and has no hierarchy, just like the very first Christian churches.

When I attended, the message being preached was one of the bridges that Christ builds for us to cross to reach God, and during the sermon Pastor Muwowo compared these to a famous bridge back in his home country of Zambia. His heritage fascinated me so I asked him more about it.

“It is all part of God’s plan,” he told me. “Back in the 19th century missionaries from European countries came to Africa and brought the Gospel to us. Now Christianity still prospers across the world, but in Britain it is declining, and so God has decided for me to make the journey in the other direction and repay the favour.”
And as we all partook in Communion as equals, with no officiator, I could see that in a way he was right, and that far from dying, the Evangelical Light still burns brightly in our city through the faith of both locals and those from far afield.

www.bethelhanley.com