Outreach focus after move north

In his first year at Acorn Community Church, Rob Case has focused on outreach, church life and linking up with the nearby Elim family. Chris Rolfe reports.

“When my wife Margaret and I were asked to consider moving to Whitley Bay we said yes without hesitation,” says Rob Case. “Margaret didn’t actually know where Whitley Bay was! It just felt right and we knew it was a God thing.”

This was last autumn and Acorn Community Church, Elim’s most northerly English church, was searching for a new pastor.

The church, Rob explains, was in transition following a season of leadership by several short-term pastors.

“They were very much a family and could basically run things themselves, but they needed someone to give direction and pull what they were doing together,” he says.

So Rob and Margaret left their church in Driffield, East Yorkshire, to begin leading Acorn last October.

After observing church life and praying about Acorn’s direction, Rob began focusing on three main areas.

Community connections

“There were lots of good things taking place within the community but the church had been quite inward-looking. I wanted people to understand that everything we do should be with a view to outreach,” he says.

“We needed the church to know the community and the community to know the church – because we didn’t know our neighbours.”

Teams were already out prayer walking and litter-picking in the park, having conversations as they worked.

“Things like that which build relationships are something I am keen to develop,” says Rob.

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