Church turned our lives upside down!

When Richard and Klaudia Cairns were searching for somewhere to plant a church, God led them to Barnsley. They told Chris Rolfe about the first few months at Inside Out Church.

For years, Richard and Klaudia Cairns dreamed of planting a church but they never knew where it would be. But when Klaudia read the biography of Barnsley-born Hudson Taylor and Elim’s team prayed for an MiT with a heart for Barnsley, everything began falling into place.

“Our hearts were drawn to Barnsley through Hudson Taylor’s story, and even though I’d lived in Corby my whole life it only took two visits as we scouted out this potential place to realise our hearts were already there,” says Richard.

That’s why, last May, the couple and their four children left Corby to plant Inside Out Church.

Hot dogs

With their passion for evangelism and nurturing welcoming communities, Richard’s first move was to host an event on the green outside their home.

“We wanted to meet people so we organised a fire pit and hot dogs. I wondered if anyone would turn up, but 50 people came!” he says.

“They told us no one had done anything like this for years, so I explained we’d moved here to start a new church.”

The conundrum of where to meet was solved when the leaders of a Wesleyan Reformed Church offered their hall.

“They were really excited about what we wanted to do in the community and for young people. They offered us space for our first six months, then we’ll see where we’re at and take it from there.”

… story continues