Ballymena Covenant Church opens superb new premises

The superb facility has been in the pipeline for about 12 years and is located on Clarence Street, just off the Cullybackey Road. The Protestant Covenant Reformed Church owns a piece of land of approximately three-quarters of an acre of land there. For the last few years, members have been saving up to erect their own church building on that site, something increasingly pressing as they have outgrown the rented facilities they used for Lord’s Day worship services at the Protestant Hall. Rev. Angus Stewart, who ministers at the CPRC in Ballymena, explained: "Our new building on Clarence Street is 432m square. The downstairs consists of two main parts, both 12m by 12m. One part is the main hall for public worship, which will hold up to 130 people. The other part includes a prayer or Bible study room, a kitchen, three WCs (for males, females and disabled), a crche and a boiler room, with another room containing the oil tank. From the crche, one can see into the main hall through sound-proof glass. A speaker will carry the audio from the worship service into the crche. "Half of the downstairs is vaulted: the main auditorium. A lift or stairs takes one from the other half to the first floor which includes the council room, a catechism room and a gallery from which people can see down into the main hall through a double-glazed screen." Importantly, the building is fully accessible to disabled people, with a disabled toilet, a ramp up to the main entrance and a lift to the first floor. Rev. Stewart believes that the new facility will prove to be an amazing resource for his growing congregation both now and in the future. He added: "The building will also be used to display our good range of Christian books and CD and DVD sermon series, as well our many free pamphlets. "We have been posting updates on the building's progress on Facebook for the past few months (www.facebook.com/pages/Ballymena-United-Kingdom/Covenant-Protestant-Reformed-Church-N-Ireland/337347932331). “In the days ahead, we plan to install equipment for live webcasting of the church services." Work on the new build began in May of last year and has only just been completed. A memorable opening night event began with a tape-cutting ceremony at the front entrance. After the meeting in the main auditorium, tea and snacks were served to a large crowd. Friends from various parts of Northern Ireland, the British Isles, continental Europe and North America joined regular members to celebrate this happy occasion. Chief amongst the guests were Professor Herman Hanko who preached, Professor David Engelsma and Elder Pete Vanderschaaf who conveyed the greetings of the sister church, the Protestant Reformed Churches in America. (All three men are from the USA.) Special thanks were also conveyed on the night to Church member and project manager, Tommy Hamill, who worked long and hard for many months. Without him, it would not have been possible to undertake the project. Rev. Stewart added: "By divine grace, this church building will be used for the proclamation of the biblical and Reformed gospel of Jesus Christ to the glory of the Triune God. We look forward to worshiping the Lord here in the years ahead and plan to use this building for our Lord's Day services, catechism classes, Bible studies, lectures, conferences and fellowship, etc. All are welcome to join with us in the cause of the risen Christ and His truth."