Meet Steve and Sian Robinson, planting with Acts 29

Where are you re-planting?

We have replanted a small church called Ramilies Road Church, just off the famous Penny  Lane (the Beatles wrote a song about it) in Liverpool, UK.

Briefly describe the story of how you came to re-plant

Ramilies Road Church was planted in the early 1930s, through the prayers of two faithful men who wanted to see a Gospel witness around the Penny Lane area of Liverpool. The church saw a time of real growth and vibrance. Sadly, from about the 1980s, things began to decline. In 2008 the church was in a situation where (in their words) ‘they were burying more than they were baptising” and “last one alive turn the lights off”.

This caused the three elders at the time, three wonderfully humble, gospel men to put into place a process to deal with the situation, so they began to pray, speak with others and explore different options.

To cut a long story short, this coincided with my wife Sian and myself wanting to commit to planting or re-planting in Liverpool. So in  November 2009 Sian, my kids (Ella Grace, Lilly Hope and Elijah Boaz) and I, and a team of 15 people from a few different churches, partnered with the people at Ramilies Road Church and replanted.

What has happened since?

Since that time we have seen lots of change and gospel growth; a number of people have come to Christ and a number have come back to him. We have 4 Gospel communities that meet in different communities around the area of the church and we have on average approximately 85 people including children coming together each week to our sunday gathering. The heart and vision for the church is to see churches planted and replanted around the Liverpool area which are ‘Gospel Centred, Marked by Grace and On Mission’.

How did you become involved with Acts29 Western Europe?

I have been listening to Mark Driscoll online for about 6 years and whilst listening to him I became aware of Acts 29 and what was happening in the network. My real involvement began whilst doing the Porterbrook Network training with Steve Timmis and Tim Chester in Sheffield, UK.  During my time with Porterbrook, I got to know Steve and I was regularly sharing with him and seeking counsel. The summer before we went to Ramilies Road Steve began working for Acts 29 and through chatting with him and hearing the vision for Western Europe, I (with the Ramilies Road elders support) began the process.

What have been some of the benefits?

The first benefit for me was the application process, it helped me further think through points of Theology, vision and strategy and I found the assessment interviews helpful in that they brought out areas of my life and ministry that I needed to develop and make progress in.

Since becoming involved with Acts 29 Western Europe, the networking and the new relationships that I am making with other church planters has been invaluable.

What advice would you give guys who are re-planting?

First and foremost you need to remember that you are not the saviour, Jesus is.

Then, a mistake that I have often seen is that someone re-planting does it without communicating to the elders and the church their intentions. It is vital that you communicate your vision before you start and make sure that you approach the replant in partnership with the existing leaders and, if possible, the wider church. 

Finally I would say don’t rush! Leading people (and especially older people) through change is challenging and hard so work hard at grounding your reasons for change in the Gospel and teach through the change, first with your elders then with the church. 

How can we pray for you?

- By God’s grace we have grown numerically very quickly in a short space of time, however this growth is out-weighing our maturity. Our prayer is that people are discipled effectively and grow. We also pray that God will stir in the hearts of mature Christians (not too many though!) a desire to join and work with us to disciple, mentor, encourage and walk with us in our vision to see gospel churches planted and replanted all over Liverpool.

- We have almost out grown our building so we need wisdom regarding how to move forward, where to meet etc

- Please pray that God will continue to faithfully provide for our needs both practically and financially.

- That we will continue to be a church that is ‘Gospel Centred, Marked by Grace and On Mission’.

If you want a full version of the story please contact Steve for more information.