If you told me a year ago I would be a central part of the flood-ing effort in Bewdley, meet the Prime Minister and support the town through a pandemic, I wouldn’t have believed you,” says Bewdley Elim pastor Steve Robinson.
“But that’s what God can do, and it’s forced us to dig into him in prayer and rely on him.”
Steve and his wife Liz had only been leading the church for a year when they felt God give them a word: “bigger”.
“We were starting to explore that when Bewdley was flooded last January. The town was on national news, with 38 homes flooded,” Steve says.
For two weeks, the church became a base for the emergency services and a hub for all the support in the town.
“We had ambulance, fire, police, Wyre Forest district council, the rescue teams and the road authorities based here. We cooked for them and offered pastoral support too.”
But more was to follow once the waters receded. The Environment Agency asked if the church was available for a meeting with the MP and the emergency services. Steve agreed, but he was in for a shock.
“I was met by two secret service agents who started grilling me about why I was here and who I was. It turned out it wasn’t just a meeting with our MP, Boris Johnson was coming too.”
When the officials became aware of all the church had done, they insisted Steve join the meeting. “I was ushered from the kitchen to sit with the heads of emergency services waiting for Boris Johnson. I felt so out of my depth.”
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