Pastor & serving elders at ACC




Keith Wilson

Ian Smith

Mike Milton-Tompson

John Manger



 
  Leadership at ACC  



  'The Church is under the headship of Christ', this may be an obvious statement, but how does it work out in practice? At the local church level there are two biblical offices - Elders and Deacons. These are not positions of superiority, but ones of servanthood and care.

Within this pattern of leadership, the Elders have oversight of spiritual aspects such as teaching, direction, doctrine and our Deacons cover the practical outworkings. Both offices require depth of character and qualification, as outlined in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1.

Scripture is the 'yard stick' by which all these things are measured and the authority of the Elders and Deacons is that of scripture as God's Word is applied with sound judgement.

Although we have this leadership structure, the outworking of the church is through the people of the fellowship, and as such we have many people involved in many aspects of the church's ministry, both inside and outside. Ephesians 4:12 "... to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up..." sums up the responsibility of the leadership in this regard.

Keith serves as pastor, and Mike, John and Ian serve as elders.  To assist Keith, the elders and the wider leadership team, ACC also has a church administrator.
 



  Pastor (Full-time elder)  



  The Lord calls and appoints some of His people to enter full-time service of His church - released from the need to earn a living in secular employment and able to commit time and energy to seeking God's best for the church (1 Timothy 5:17-18). He is one of the elders, not superior or more special, but one who has been called to ministry and is therefore set aside.

Having a full-time elder (minister or pastor), does not release the wider church from their commitment, but instead gives to the church a willing and effective instrument of God in a busy world, able to take the time to explore scripture, to pray, to seek God's face, and to bring truth and help to those in the fellowship and beyond. We firmly believe that there is a need for those called by God to serve full time in local church situations. To this end, in the summer of 2005, ACC invited Keith Wilson to take up the role of Pastor.

Keith and his wife Caroline and their children returned to the UK from the United States in 2005, where Keith had been ministering at Park Community Church in Chicago for the previous 5 years. Keith 'officially' joined ACC on the 1st of October 2005.
 



  Deacons, Team Leaders, Trustees  



  Christ richly equips his church with gifts, abilities and talents; these are His gifts to His body for the building up of the Church and the extension of His Kingdom. Of equal importance to the gifts themselves is the development of Christ-like character in those who serve as Deacon or comparable capacities.

ACC has two Deacons, Mike and Dave, who handle much of the fabric and infrastructure of the site. In addition to the Deacons, Trevor leads the Missions Team, Sally leads Toddlers Together, and Barbara leads the Women's Fellowship. Other areas such as Preaching Ministry, Youth, and Pastoral Care are lead by the Elders.
 



  Minstry Trainees - Building for Tomorrows Church  



  One of ACC's core values is Building Tomorrows Church. To that end, we invest in identifying, training and developing those who will take the lead in the church of the future.

ACC has two Ministry Trainees, Paul and Peter. They are with ACC for a period of two years during which time they attend the Cornhill Training course, and engage in a wide variety of ministry and practical tasks around the fellowship and in the local community.