Marc and Katie Lillystone were formally commissioned as the new site pastors of Gateway Vineyard at The Chapel in Hellesdon, Norwich, on Sunday morning (September 4).
The former Meadow Way Chapel became part of Gateway Vineyard back in April after 18 months of detailed discussions between the leadership and boards of trustees at the two churches.
The Chapel building just off Meadow Way in Hellesdon has become one of several locations at which Gateway Vineyard Sunday services are regularly held, including Norwich High School for Girls on Newmarket Road.
Marc and Katie already have a long-established relationship with Meadow Way as Katie’s grandfather, Howard Norton, and Marc’s father, Peter Lillystone, both worked for the church in the past.
The couple were both baptised at Meadow Way, met at one of its popular summer camps and got married there in 2008 before leaving for studies and work, Katie as a midwife and Marc as a nurse.
Marc said: “Katie and I have a deep love and connection to the Meadow Way church and people. They have had a significant history in our lives and in the lives of both our families.
“It feels like a Joshua moment for us in all honesty, being handed a responsibility to care for something precious and take steps into a promised land, to be bold and courageous. There is an incredible legacy of the last 50 years in Meadow Way and we want to honour and respect that, but also look forward with expectation to what is to come as they join us to become a part of Gateway Vineyard.”
At a commissioning on Sunday morning, Gateway pastor Craig Deal said to Marc and Katie: “It is clear to us that the Lord is calling you take on the leadership of The Chapel. You go with our support and our blessing and we are delighted that you will remain part of Gateway Vineyard. Your role as leaders of The Chapel is to continue to preach the Gospel and to make disciples and to help those who God has entrusted you with to step into all that God is calling them into.”
Marc said: “We are really excited about what God’s going to do. This was not a strategic plan but we believe God’s is in this and God has given us the passion for it and God is stirring people. We don’t know exactly what we are doing but God knows what we are doing and we need to keep our eyes fixed on him as He builds His church. We can’t wait to see the story unfold.”
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Pictured above and below, Marc and Katie Lillystone are commissioned as new site pastors at Gateway Vineyard’s Chapel location in Norwich. Pictures by Dave Montgomery.
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