Loughbrickland
Describe the congregation’s History.
In Loughbrickland, a congregation of the Original Secession Church had a meeting house dating back to 1817. When this congregation joined the Reformed Presbyterian Church, it merged with the Reformed Presbyterians of Drummillar.
In 1839, the Rev. Samuel Sims was ordained and installed as Loughbrickland’s first Reformed Presbyterian minister. Now, seven ministers later, the church has changed a lot, particularly the meeting house, which we are very thankful for.
In 2017, the church reached its bicentennial, marking 200 years since its founding.
Describe the Congregation.
Loughbrickland has a mix of ages, including a large CY, a recently established and growing Kids Club and a few expecting mothers. Most folks travel to reach the church, the only people living in the village are the minister’s family.
Sunday mornings would see around 60 people out. Sunday evenings vary from around 50 up to 70 or so during a guest service ( usually some other southern presbyters will join us )
Describe your Session.
We currently have five elders: Hugh Draffin, Jim Murdoch, Stephen Finch, Stephen Hughes and our minister the Rev. Joey Dunlap. Unfortunately two of our men are limited in their duties due to their age and as such we will soon be in need of more elders.
Joey has only been with us a few years having been installed in February 2022. He came from America with his wife Monica. They have five children with a sixth due in May.
We have three deacons: Brian Boyd, Stephen Boyd and Timothy Silversides, all were ordained within recent years and will, Lord willing, be serving with us for many more.
Describe the Building.
The building is on a hill at the North end of the village. The main building is a classic RP box building with a creche, session room, gallery and bathroom.
We also have a detached hall with a small kitchen, library, office and bathrooms. We use this for Sabbath school CY and kids club, as well as fellowship nights and events. We are very blessed to have both buildings as well as diligent deacons and funds to keep them in good order.
Something we lack is a proper kitchen, carpark or large space (as our hall is on the smaller side) so we are somewhat limited in what we can do especially for large events. However, we have good relations with the mission hall across the way and they very kindly allow us to use their hall and carpark for weddings and funerals etc.
Describe the Area.
Loughbrickland is not exactly a metropolis. Its a large village with a few churches, a few shops and a school. However this means the entire area can be leafleted with tracts or invitations on a regular basis. Banbridge is also only minutes away.
Describe an average Sabbath.
The Sabbath school starts at 10.30am and our Sabbath day worship services are at 11:30am and 7pm. In the last six months an envangelistic guest service followed by tea and fellowship in the hall has been introduced on the last sabbath of each month.
Describe an average Week.
The midweek is on Wednesday at 8pm and takes the format of a Bible study and prayer meeting with the exception of one lecture a month on some really interesting topics that rarely get covered, from religious fasting to church history and RP distinctives.
We have a kids club for the children of the congregation as well as the village every other friday. Invitations for this are regularly distributed, and children from the local schools have attended, which is really encouraging. Some of our CY come early and help out at this and then the CY takes place afterwards.
Describe the congregation’s Evangelism.
As well as the guest services and kids club, we have attempted many different outreach strategies in recent years. Some are strongly focused on building connections within the village like coffee mornings, some are more direct like the door to door work, and some are a mix like the kids holiday bible club in the summer.
As times, and even the demographics of the village change, its always worth trying something new. Even when little fruit is seen it is never wasted, as it brings the church closer together and it is of course important for God’s people to serve and trust him with the outcomes.
Describe the congregation’s Online Presence.
The church has a website and services can be found on the youtube channel as well as a sermon audio page. There is no real social media presence other than a facebook page for the kids club.
Describe the congregation’s recent Challenges.
Obviously I am sure there are many difficulties and much that goes on behind the scenes for the session and diaconate, but as a member it is actually difficult to think of any major challenges we have faced.
The main and ongoing difficulty, which we as a congregation would appreciate prayer for, is simply seeing fruit concerning the village. Unfortunately as mentioned it is currently just the Dunlap family that actually live there and it would be wonderful to see some individuals or families from the area coming into the church, or alternatively some members of the church moving closer to the village in order to really make ties and increase the churches influence within loughbrickland.
Describe the congregation’s recent Encouragements.
The Lord has really been faithful to us in recent years. A lot of churches have really struggled and declined since covid, losing members, fellowship etc but in his goodness God has really grown Loughbrickland, numerically and spiritually.
Joey and Monica have been an immeasurable blessing to the entire congregation, from oldest to youngest. We have had elder and deacon elections in the last few years and again God provided hard working men who are constantly seeking new ways to reach people and support the congregation.
We have also seen an increase in members through families joining, those who were already attendees coming into membership, and also lots of covenant children (with three due to arrive in the next few months).
How could others emulate the congregation?
I think a huge contributor to strength and unity to church is attendance and fellowship. I think a church’s attendance at their evening service and midweek directly impacts how unified they will be. Our goal to further the kingdom and build one another up simply will not happen if we live out our faith simply on a sabbath morning.
This is a challenge I put not only to you but also myself. If you do not long for fellowship with your church family, even if it is tiring, why ? If you do not attend your evening and midweek service, why? If you are not seeing either efforts or fruit regarding evangelism in your church, why?
Maybe you have a good answer for all of those. If so, amazing, but if not I encourage you to not only think and pray about it yourself, but speak to your session. Your elders (and deacons) are there to care for your souls, to support your congregation to the best of their abilities, and to further the kingdom. If you don’t feel you have any fellowship or a church family, tell them. If you don’t have an evening service but feel like you could, tell them. If you don’t have any opportunities to serve or there is no evangelism taking place, tell them. They are not there to obey your every command, but they are there to listen to your concerns and consider them prayerfully.
It may feel nerve wracking especially as a young person but you may be surprised. (Just ensure you speak to them humbly and respectfully and be prepared to submit to whatever decisions they come to on the matter)
What can we Pray for?
Give thanks for our growing church family, and particularly pray for expectant mothers.
Give thanks for the guest services as they have been well attended and a great opportunity for fellowship.
Pray for help and strength for Joey as he works tirelessly and takes on mainly roles both in our congregation and for the presbytery, as well as Monica who supports him whilst also raising their five children ( soon to be six).
That we would see fruit regarding the local area.
Finally pray for our elders. With two of our elders having seriously declining health we may need more soon. Our session also needs wisdom, particularly in the area of which steps to take evangelistically.
