Larne Christian Fellowship (LCF) began, like many other churches of its type, as a consequence of the charismatic renewal that greatly energised the Christian Church on this island in the 1960’s – 1980’s. Most of LCF’s original members had little or no history of church attendance prior to this period. The name of our church simply reflects the desire of its founders to be identified as a local Christian church.
LCF grew out of an inter-denominational charismatic prayer and Bible study meeting held in a flat in Gardenmore House from April 1979 onwards. Brian and Caroline Gingles were married on Saturday 7th April and held the first meeting in their new home the following Tuesday.
Those who came regularly formed a loose-knit gathering of people from various church backgrounds and none, but we all had one thing in common - our passion for God. After some time, the core of this group (four people), who had been travelling to a church in Holywood, Co. Down (run by Keith Gerner), felt that God wanted us to establish a church-plant in Larne. This was partly because a growing number of people were coming to Christ and were seeking pastoral help from us.
God blessed those early days with wonderful answers to prayer and by the spiritual investment of some very gifted international ministries. As a result, by God’s grace, we grew in maturity and effectiveness. We met and developed with the blessing of the leadership of the church in Holywood (with whom we still have very close ties). However, we had many growing pains and those whose first allegiance was to other local churches moved out of the group, to affirm their loyalty to their own church. We began with an eldership of two (Matt Hilton and Brian Gingles), and set about organizing as a local church along biblical lines.
By 1984 we were registered as a charity under the initial title of Larne House Fellowship (we met in various homes at that time). Thereafter, we always sought to move to parts of the town where there were no existing Christian churches, as it is neither our role nor our intention to set ourselves up in competition with other churches. So, we moved into the Town Hall for a period of time and then to the Seacourt Community Hall. In 1995 we acquired a plot of land that had been “left over” when the Seacourt Estate was built, on which we erected our building, Shekinah Centre, which we moved into in June 1996.
Not long afterwards we joined a small but growing fellowship of churches that affiliates churches, missions and schools in eight different countries. This network, Barnabas Fellowship of Churches, also has close links with other networks of Christian churches around the world and this has facilitated the expression of our desire to be a local church with meaningful international relationships. We see ourselves not just as part of the local church in Larne but, more broadly, part of God’s worldwide kingdom and of Christ’s bride.
As LCF continues to develop, we are determined to be led only by God’s revealed will for us. Our Vision Statement expresses our desire to grow as a local Christian fellowship of people who love God and love our neighbours. It also expresses our belief that when an individual comes to Christ they are given a unique gift, with which to bless the rest of the congregation and our local community. (It is hard to be a passive Christian in LCF!) Our prayer is to see God transform Larne spiritually, morally and in terms of enterprise and prosperity. These prayers are realised, for our part, by encouraging the growth of active ministries, many of which reach out into the local community.
Our emphasis on Christianity rather than cultural or ethnic background is also a unifying aspect of our ethos; we currently have church members from nine different countries.
Our church has particularly strong links with Christian works in four African nations, a growing work in Israel (which includes providing food and clothing for 400 Bedouin families), Northern Ireland, France, and England.