Our Time and Testimony

Trevor and Gwen Lucas

We hail from the wonderfully unique and exciting city of Liverpool. This was not Trevor’s birthplace, but it is where he was brought up from the tender age of four, just two weeks before the start of WW2. Gwen was borne in Liverpool two weeks early, which saved both her and her mother’s life. A German bomb destroyed the hospital in which the event took place just one week later. Already we can see God’s hand at work and although we were from opposite ends of the city ‘He’ brought us together and we were married in 1960. Gwen accepted Jesus as her saviour in a ‘Christian Endeavour’ meeting at the age of nine. Trevor had the privilege of being brought up in a sound bible based Church bearing the name ‘Calvary Church’, but he made his decision at the age of eleven at an interdenominational Saturday evening meeting in the city. This gathering was called the ‘Christians Rendezvous’ and was one of many excellent weekly outreach events in the City, where the gospel was preached and denominational interaction took place.  Liverpool was badly blitzed in 1941 and it speaks highly of its people that it remained operational and open to transatlantic convoys, which saved our islands from severe shortages. There are many memories locked up in both our minds, Gwen holds the knowledge of her miraculous escape at birth. Trevor recalls a bomb almost destroying their home, but being saved by a railway embankment between it and the final site of destruction. We met at a new Church plant and our courtship was still young when Trevor, who had been deferred ‘National Service’ on educational grounds, was finally deemed eligible for the RAF at the age of twenty-two. Our Church had announced that he was going to ‘serve the Queen’ and afterwards a Sunday school scholar asked him if he was really going to play the piano for the Queen!!  He was away for two years, which he found very different and tough, but it allowed him an opportunity for exciting things that would otherwise have remained impossible. During that time we became engaged and almost a year after my demob! we were married.

By 1963 we had been blessed with three little boys Keith, Mark and Glyn. They were expensive and very mischievous, but we had lots of fun. One night I crept into their room while they were sleeping and just felt constrained to ask God to be with them and use them to His glory. They all qualified in their various professions, but Mark and Glyn later left their jobs and re-trained for the ministry. Keith also has a wonderful testimony to God’s dealings in his life, including a potentially lethal bout with cancer about fourteen years ago. He was wonderfully restored to full health and strength. We were also greatly blessed with three beautiful daughters, Elizabeth, Rebecca and Abigail, each one now soundly based in Christ and active in His service. To our great surprise the Lord then gave us another son Timothy, then to our amazement, another daughter Naomi. Both are firmly grounded in Christ and now married and living in the USA, following our eleven years residency there. Elizabeth, her American husband and their four children also live in the USA. Twenty fine grandchildren (ten boys and ten girls!!) have further enriched our lives, which have been busy though punctuated with its ups and downs. Whilst bringing up eight children has been hard, it has also been a joyful blessing. Our greatest joy, along with a deep sense of humility has been ours as each one has individually accepted Jesus Christ as their saviour. God has been our refuge in times of difficulty and our strength when times have been easier and it would take too long to relate even a fraction of His dealings with us. Suffice to say that our greatest blessing was our marriage, and as our golden anniversary approaches we are both bemused, blessed and amazed that Gwen still puts up with Trevor.

Philippe and Jo

Philippe and Jo met in a ski resort in the French Alps in 1989.  Philippe was working as a ski lift mechanic and Jo had gone there to work for a British ski company.

Philippe came from a non practicing Catholic family and had no belief in God at all.  Jo became a Christian in her teens, but had sadly lost her way and had not attended a church regularly for several years.

Jo had no intention of seeking God whilst in France, but was astounded by the beauty of the Alps, and found herself constantly humming hymns of praise to the Creator.  Strangely, although there are not many, the resort had an Evangelical Christian Centre.  After much hesitation, Jo eventually plucked up enough courage to attend a Sunday morning service.  Within minutes, she knew that to have any real contentment in life she would have to find her way back to God, but it would take several more years to do this.

Philippe and Jos' relationship survived long periods of being apart, and they were married in 1991.  They spent several more years in France, but returned to England in 1995 to work in Horsham, where Philippe had been offered a job by his brother-in-law.  It was the opportunity Jo needed to get right with God, and she was taken under the wing of Rehoboth Baptist Church.  Philippe attended with her more out of curiosity than anything else, but for many months remained unbelieving.  Gradually, by hearing the gospel message on a regular basis he began to question his unbelief, but wasn't ready to accept Jesus as Lord.

Everything changed one day in October 2002 when Jos' sister was suddenly killed in a car accident.  Although the shock was terribly painful, the funeral was a joyous occasion as everyone present knew that she had a new eternal life with her Lord in Heaven.  The message that day was  very powerful.  The theme was of how fragile the human being is, and that in a split second we can pass from life to death, and need, above all, to know Gods' salvation before it's too late.  Later that week, Philippe asked for forgiveness of his sins, and accepted Jesus into his life.

Since then, Philippe has grown in grace, and they have been able to seek the Lord as a couple.  Along the way there have been some amazing answers to prayer and under Gods guidance they moved to Faringdon in 2004 and began worshipping at Wantage Baptist Church where Philippe has since been baptized.

What next?  They both fervently believe that God has a plan for every soul he saves, and it's a good one!  Next to being saved, the most important thing has to be finding that plan. God has clearly been gracious, and has followed them and watched over them, even when they didn't want to know Him.  Now its time for them to show their gratitude, and follow HIM.

Jez and Cathryn

Jez: I became a Christian in 1992, after several years of increasing atheism. I was brought up in a Catholic family, was educated in a Catholic primary school and attended mass weekly until the age of 14. I was probably around 15 years old when I decided God did not exist and that religion was just a crutch for weak people. I went to college in Oxford for three years where I met and dated a Christian girl. I never realized how important her faith was until we broke up; for her, the strain of dating someone who was so anti-Christian was too much to bear. Only after we broke up did I start to wonder why her faith meant so much to her. I had never before met anyone who actually "loved" God. During the following weeks and months, I began to become more and more interested in Christianity until one day (6th January 1992), I read a small booklet called Journey Into Life by Norman Warren. It very simply told about Jesus - who he was and why he came into the world. That night, I wept for the years I had ignored him and asked him to become my Saviour. My life changed dramatically over the following months; I stopped taking soft drugs, began reading the Bible and started going along to Wantage Baptist Church. God blessed and guided me tremendously and by the time I went to University in October 1994, I was determined to love and serve him with all my heart. It was there that I met Cathryn.

Cathryn: I was brought up in a loving home with Christian parents who took me to church every week. I enjoyed going to Sunday School and learning stories from the Bible. I was always aware of God's existence and when I was 7 I asked my Mum, how do you become a Christian? I wanted that same relationship that my parents had with God. We sat together and I asked Jesus to come into my heart and be my friend. The years passed and so did my understanding of the Christian faith. I often realized that I had done things wrong and asked Jesus to forgive me and help me to live how he wanted me to. When I was 16 I was baptised because I wanted to show my friends and family what had been happening in my heart. I wanted to share with them that Jesus was part of my life and that I had a relationship with him. I wasn't perfect but I was following God's way, with his help. I went to University at 18 and was introduced to Jez at the Christian Union. We later married and I moved to Wantage where we both attend Wantage Baptist Church. I was made to feel very welcome and soon got involved in various activities where I could serve God using the gifts he had given me. We have been greatly blessed with a beautiful daughter, and my prayer is that she will one day ask that question, how do I become a Christian?