Rebuilding church with a colourful history

Tim and Sara Cooling have a heart for revitalising churches. So when the chance to help renew Glossop Elim came up, they leapt at it. Chris Rolfe reports.

Glossop Elim has a fascinating history. Established by Richard Howton, a former prize fighter who came to faith in the late 1800s, God did wonderful healings there as this larger-than-life character shared his faith around the town.

The congregation grew still further as relationships were forged with Elim’s Jeffreys brothers.

But fast-forward to 2019 and the church had become “Glossop’s best-kept secret” in its former mill town home between Manchester and the Peak District. The church needed revitalising and was in search of a new pastor.

This is how Tim Cooling and his wife Sara (pictured above, inset, with children Kevin, Esther and Noah, on a main picture of a church youth event) came to Glossop Elim, to work with the leadership team to rebuild its ministries and outreach.

“We were in London with a heart for church revitalisation and were asking if there were any churches which would benefit from some help,” says Tim.

“Our Regional Leader Paul Hudson told us about Glossop Elim and so we came to a wonderful church where the leadership had a heart for change and a passion to see Jesus working in the town they love.”

Tim and the team navigated the pandemic, then found themselves with the welcome challenge of leading a growing congregation.

“We’d grown fast after Covid, but our infrastructure was still that of a small church. That meant our focus was very much on raising and developing leaders, releasing people into ministry and encouraging them to fulfil what God was leading them into.”

THIS ISN'T THE END OF THE STORY!

Read the whole article in context in the March 2024 issue of Direction Magazine.

Direction Magazine

Direction is the official monthly publication of the Elim Pentecostal Churches in the UK, and is packed with all Elim's latest news, inspiration, vision and teaching. Find the latest edition and many back issues of Direction here.