Hockley Pentecostal Church

Here at Hockley Pentecostal Church we believe that baptism is only for people who have made up their minds to be Christians.  Acts chapter 2 verse 38 says “….Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ……”. This is why we perform a dedication service for babies rather than a baptism.  You can only repent if you understand what you’re doing.

We also believe that baptism should be done by ‘full immersion’ where the person being baptised is completely covered by the water. That’s why we have a baptism pool built into the platform.

On the evening of the 2nd of December we’re having our next baptismal service. If you’re interested in seeing what adult baptism is like then come along and watch.  If you think you might be interested in being baptised yourself, then contact the church and we’ll help you understand what’s involved.

Some time ago Pastor Angela Butcher started writing songs and some of them were used as part of the worship time in the church.  People started asking where they could get CD’s of them and until now there was a simple answer ….”You can’t get them.”  That has now changed as we have produced our first album which is called “No Other Name”.  The album was launched during the Sunday evening service on 4th November but things didn’t quite go according to plan.

A couple of hours before the service the lights went out as all the buildings in our block lost power.  Even the street lights failed and the area was plunged into darkness.  Undeterred we transferred the service to our minor hall.  Seating was limited so some people had to be turned away for safety reasons.  Those who got in were treated to “No Other Name unplugged” as Pastor Angela played the piano with an acoustic guitar accompanying her.

The evening was a resounding success with everyone saying how much they enjoyed it.

“Still it Flows” is a book about how Hockley Pentecostal Church began in Birmingham. For a long time you’ve been able to download a pdf version of this book from the ‘history’ page but it was a big file.  Now all the writing has been converted into a text file.  As well as being easier to download it also means you can now search the book for keywords.  You can get the download by following the instructions at the bottom of the history page.

I was listening to UCB radio the other day when I heard this website mentioned.  If you are interested in getting to know God then  LookingforGod.com is a great place to start looking.  It is an interactive site with videos, music and interviews explaining the next step upon your journey to finding God. I was so impressed that I’ve added it to our links page.

Last Tuesday we hosted another BEad CREATIVE jewelery making evening and once again people gathered to design and make their own creations. You can look at the earlier post for the basic details (see June ‘07) but here’s a few new facts. BEad CREATIVE was founded to support the Blue House Care Centre in Bulgaria. You can get more information on this worthwhile project at the Saltmine Trust website.

BEad CREATIVE was responsible for beginning several “fair trade” style jewellery projects, helping needy Bulgarians earn an income rather than just receiving aid. Initially, BEad CREATIVE helped to support those initiatives by supplying beads and fittings, but since 2005 the projects have become self-sustaining and are now united under the name “KRASIF Bulgarian Craft.

‘Krasif’ is the Bulgarian word for ‘Beautiful’, which is the perfect description for their range of home-made Bulgarian jewellery. For some years they have been running this successful initiative providing income and improving the self worth of the makers who include Bulgarian Christians, and even some disabled young people. It is one thing to continually receive aid, but something else to have the dignity of earning a living for yourself.

At the last jewellery party everyone was too busy having a good time to take any photos. This time a short video was made which can be seen on our YouTube channel. A few ’stills’ from the film are shown here.

Different churches have different names for it – Communion, The Lord’s Supper, The Lord’s Table, The Eucharist, Breaking Bread etc.  Whatever you want to call it, the symbolic act of taking bread and wine (or other suitable drink) together in church is very important. Here at Hockley Pentecostal Church, Birmingham we have spent the last three weeks looking in detail at this vital subject. Ian Brayshaw has been teaching about it and a copy of his sermon notes is available here - Breaking Bread sermon notes

Today is a big day for this site because we have finally gone live!  Our address is now www.hockleypentecostal.com  If you’re reading this on the old www.hockleypentecostal.com address then you might want to add the new one to favourites. At the moment the two sites are identical but eventually the older one will disappear. 

It is now possible to make comments on any of the posts in the blog, but you’ll have to register first.  This may seem to be a bit difficult if you’re new to this sort of thing so I’ll talk you through it step by step.

First you click on the ‘comments’ label at the top of any post. This takes you to a new screen which shows the post and any comments that other people have already made.  The last line says you must be logged in to post a comment. Click on the words “logged in”

This takes you to the login screen. The top box is for your username and the second box is for your password.  However, this is your first time so you don’t have a username or a password! Underneath the boxes is the word “register”. Click on it.

You now arrive at the registration screen which looks almost the same as the last one.  In the top box type in whatever username you’d like to use. (If you pick one that’s not valid then the server will let you know.) In the second box you type your email adress. When you click on the “register” button the server will send you an email giving you a randomly generated password.

Now you can login using the password you’ve just been given.  When you login you come to a page called “Your Profile and Personal Options”. You can fill in as much or as little as you want.  It may be a good idea to change your password to something you’ll find easier to remember. Don’t forget that the username and password are case sensitive (so HOCKLEY is a different password to hocKLEY). When you have finished editing your information click on “update profile”.

To get back to the website click the words “view site” on the title bar. You’re now free to post as many comments as you like.  Keep a note of your username and password for future use.

Just one more thing.  All comments will be moderated before being displayed on the site so don’t be disappointed if they don’t appear immediately.

If you are interested in the background of Hockley Pentecostal Church you have probably already noticed the history tab at the top of the page. Just in case you weren’t aware there is a book called “Still it flows” which charts the progress of our fellowship through the various stages of its life here in Birmingham.  This book is available as  a large pdf file. At some point I need to put it through an OCR (optical character recognition) program to turn it into text and reduce the file size.  Until then it’s only suitable to be downloaded by those with broadband.  For instructions on how to get the file look at the botom of the history page.

On Saturday 6th October some nationally recognised children’s workers will be in Birmingham at Hockley Pentecostal Church to share their wealth of experience.  The day starts at 9.30am and runs through until 4pm.  For a look at the programme click on this link training.pdf. Booking is essential and should be done by Tuesday 2nd October at the latest. Cost £15.

On Friday 5th October Hockley Pentecostal Church is hosting this special event.  It is being run by the National Treasure Kids team who will be coming with a full programme of fun, exciting and uplifting activities.  It has been advertised in churches throughout the central region and we’re expecting everyone to have a great time.  The evening is aimed at children aged 4-12 and is from 7-8.30pm. The cost is £2 per child with accompanying adults free.