Couple answer call to Belfast City Mission

From July 1, they will be responsible for running the organisation’s Mayo Street hall, one of dozens the mission have dotted across the capital city.

Paul said: “At the minute, there is a Sunday School, Sunday evening service and midweek meetings. There will also be hospital visitation, visiting the sick in their homes and maybe even visits to prisons.

“The biggest aspect of what Belfast City Mission does is door-to-door work.

“Getting around the area to people who have never heard the Gospel or who have perhaps been forgotten about by mainstream churches of all denominations. It is about work with people.”

Both Paul and Lorraine, who is on a career break from Castle Tower School, were blessed to come from Christian homes and gave their lives to the Lord at a young age.

Paul became a Christian as an eight-year-old following a meeting at Laymore Faith Mission Hall. Lorraine accepted Jesus as an 11-year-old after a Christian Endeavour meeting at her home Church in First Portglenone.

Revealing what prompted the move to full-time service, Lorraine explained: “When I turned 40 I received a lot of gifts including a wee book of daily devotions and a verse from our two boys: ‘For I know the plans I have for you’, declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’ (Jeremiah 29:11)

“I was reading that wee book and different devotions and just felt that God was calling us into some type of full time service for Him because we were doing so much in our own Church but we never thought that was enough.

“We spoke to our Minister, Brian Smyth, who confirmed our call along with other people we went to talk to,” added Lorraine.

“We went to Coaching4Christ training academy as we felt we needed some Bible teaching. We did a year there and during that year we felt that God was taking us in a different direction which has led us to Belfast City Mission.”