From the Heart of Birmingham to the Heart of Yorkshire

Jack and Annie Skett studied at Regents and, in good “Elim Bridal College” tradition, met at College and married soon after graduating.  Here is their story, told by them, of their recent move.

When we left Regents in 2014, we sensed a call from God to go to Selly Oak in Birmingham. We loved the church and had a wonderful five and a half years there, during which time God blessed us with the arrival of baby Josiah. Throughout 2018, we began to sense God was loosening our roots. We weren\’t ready to leave yet, but we began to wonder if perhaps God was manoeuvring us out of Birmingham and into something new.

As the year progressed, we prayed hard and God continued to show us that the time was coming for us to move on and lead a church of our own. In September 2017 the Selly Oak church had taken responsibility for the congregation in Weoley Castle who were without a pastor. Jack was asked to lead that congregation. This was a seminal period for us as a family, in which we had a taste of senior leadership, but under the direction of Iain Hesketh, a graduate from Regents at Nantwich, who was the lead pastor of both locations. 

Then in September 2018, Iain left to take up the role of Elim’s International Missions Director. We had the privilege of leading the church during the interregnum and God was gradually showing us that we were now ready to lead a church. 

We were privileged to be invited by Dewsbury Elim Church to become their new lead pastors. We\’re working out what it looks like for us to share responsibility and authority while one of us works full-time and the other works part-time. This will take some time for us and for the church, but it\’s an exciting journey!  Since starting at Dewsbury we\’ve seen God move in response to people\’s hunger for Him. It\’s been great to see what He is beginning to do. We\’re excited for the future of Dewsbury Elim, and expectant that we, along with the other churches in the town, can bring transformation in the name of Jesus to a town that needs the Gospel.