Book Review - Blown Away

BLOWN AWAY by Mick Fleming
(From drug dealer to life bringer, The story of Mick Fleming)

s-l500 Violated as a young boy going to school, the next day before he got the courage to tell anyone his beloved sister died tragically. Mick took refuge in his mother’s painkillers and soon became a violent drug taker and alcoholic and hate became his “norm”. He embraced violence before he became a teenager and went on with a life of hate and addiction until he ended up in a Psychiatric hospital. There he met kind people after so many years of hate and bottling up his emotions; one man with kind eyes who was a Christian spent his life visiting people like him in hospitals and Mick just couldn’t understand that.
Mick’s breakdown was of a miraculous nature as a brilliant light shone from the hands of two little children when he was going to use a gun to collect a debt from their father who was holding their hands.

Later when a young troubled addict killed himself Mick felt “maybe the world was just too much for him as good people do die, spiritually and mentally some of us are just more ill than others.” He spent months in the hospital as he just couldn’t face his many relationship problems on the outside.
Eventually he thought “ maybe I can go through the pain if I ask Jesus to go through it with me I’ll survive.”
He was 42 when he came back into the community to a homeless hostel where he prayed, “Jesus please help me to go through this pain and help me come out the other side to a new life.”
As he prayed he opened his eyes to see an angel at the foot of his bed which he felt was very normal and the angel sent him to a rehab’ place where he got “clean”. (my daughter had a similar experience when sitting by the bed of her 27 year old dying husband who had stomach cancer in the US).
Mick realized that his Mother who was a committed Christian had prayed for him for many years before she died. She and his father used to work with the homeless in Manchester and on one occasion a flask of coffee simply went on pouring all night and never went dry. A miracle Mick now believed.

A quote from when he was at the very bottom, a homeless man shared his blanket, gave him his hat and fed his addictions for alcohol and tobacco:- “ I met Jesus that day. Jesus cared for the sick. He loved the poor. I couldn’t find him in that church, but I found him in a shop doorway. Where else would he have been?”
Mick’s mother died of a Stroke and he blamed and rejected his father; but years later he said, “I can tell you today that the prayers of a loving mother, from the heart, are always answered.” Mick having prayed went into Mac Donald’s where he met his abuser- what a shock and a great challenge but he helped that man until he died and never told him who he was. He said “forgiveness isn’t saying everything is all right; forgiveness is saying I’m no longer going to live in your sin, forgiveness is a choice” He stopped being a victim that day and was able to let go. Nothing stays the same except God he said and if you trust in him you can get through anything, the supernatural is all about God’s timing. Mike became great friends with his father before he died and he now leads the Church On The Street in Burnley.

- Dave McNeeley

Hello and welcome to our church. If you are a new visitor, we have a page for you to get to know us and learn more about planning a visit.
Click here to see more.

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Planning your Visit

A Warm Hello

We know meeting someone for the first time can be intimidating and going to a new church for the first time can be nerveracking. We want to help make your first experience at Bethel a great one.

Where and When

We meet at the Chapel (details here) for our Sunday Service starting at 10:30am.
For your first visit, we recommend arriving 10-15 minutes early. As we don't have our own car park, you will have to find a spot in one of the many public car parks around town. Don't worry, there is always loads of parking as it's Sunday morning and its.a very short walk.
When you arrive, you will be greeted by one of our welcomers at the door, who will show you where to sit and provide you with a "Contact Us" sheet should you want to us to contact you after the service.

Accessibility: There is wheelchair access, and a sound loop for anyone who needs it. Please let one of the Welcome Team know on your arrival and they will help you to get set up. There are disabled toilets in the church hall.

We see our services on a Sunday like a family get together. We like to laugh and have fun. Life can sometimes be very challenging, whether you are young or old; it helps to have support and a place to belong; so on Sundays we do just that.

What you can expect on a Sunday morning at Bethel is:

A warm, friendly community of people
To be welcomed and included.
To be supported.
To be given a chance.
To sometimes laugh and sometimes cry.
To be challenged and also to have fun.
To experience the presence of God in us and in creation.
To sing, because music is probably the best way we have of expressing our emotions and gratefulness to God.
A love for the Bible and the truths in it.

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What about my kids?

We have a great programme lined up for kids of all ages:

Creche (0 months to 3 years). Children under 6 months are welcome but must be accompanied by their parent/grown-up at all times.
Sunday Club (4 -11 years)
Young people (11+ years) They have a group meeting one week and the next join in the service in the Chapel.

Children stay with their parent or grown-up at the start of the service for the welcome, a song or two songs, notices and an all age reflection. We really value worshipping God all together as a family. At the end of the notices someone will announce that it’s time for the younger members to go to their various groups. We suggest that on your first visit, you go along with your child to drop them off and meet the leaders, before returning to the Chapel.

The kids group activities vary depending on the age but usually there is a friendly welcome, bible stories, testimonies, praying, music, craft, drama, fun games and free play. Please pick your children up as soon as the service finishes.

Getting Connected

Home Groups

While Sundays are a great way to meet new people, it is often in smaller gatherings that you can really get to know someone. Being part of one of our small groups allows you to make new friends, share together and support each other. We have a variety of groups that meet throughout the week, some afternoons and some evenings. Check out Small Groups and see if there’s one that you could join, or we can put you in touch with a small group leader who will be more than happy to invite you along to their group.

Serving and Volunteering

If you want to get involved in the life of the church and help us make Sundays run smoothly, you can sign up to serve on a team.

Other Ministries

We also run the following ministries:

Men's Ministries
Women's Ministries
Youth Group
Foodbank
Renew Wellbeing Cafe

Get in touch with us to plan your visit

If you would like to come and visit the church beforehand you are more than welcome! Get in touch and we can arrange a time that suits you.

Name:

Telephone:

Email Address:
Comments / Questions or anything you would like to say?

Next, we will contact you by email to say hello and help arrange anything necessary for your visit.

Leadership


Phil Hibbert
Pastor

We hope that whoever you are, you will feel at home at our church.