By John and Angela Magee. Part of a series of articles on the History of Emmanuel Church in Salisbury.
Most will agree that a church without a minister or church officers for an extended period of time leaves itself in a vulnerable position and takes upon itself the consequences of not fulfilling the Biblical requirements for a local church. Since its inception in 1953, Emmanuel Church had not known the blessings which belong to a church led by a full-time minister and church officers. While the interim Church Council, which was established at the founding of the church, acted with a desire to honour the Lord and to guide the members in their service to Him, this arrangement was not ideal.
Frank Lawes, minister of St. George's Tabernacle, Glasgow, was a regular visitor to the pulpit of Emmanuel Church, and had endeared himself to the congregation in his preaching. He was an experienced minister and knew well the needs of a small local church. He accepted the call to take up the pastorate at Emmanuel Church and he and his wife were received into membership on Sabbath morning 6 March, 1966. Provision for a Manse had been included in the Trueman Memorial Trust and 16 Devonshire Road, became this Manse.
The Induction Service for Mr. Lawes was held on Thursday, 24 March, 1966. The Induction was an evening service and friends and ministers from neighbouring churches attended. It was considered to be a time of encouragement and fellowship for those present. As an expression of their high regard for Mr. Lawes, many from his previous church, The Tabernacle, in Glasgow, travelled to the Induction Service in Salisbury.
The Chairman for the evening was David Fountain, President of the Hampshire and Dorset Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches' Auxiliary. After the Chairman's opening remarks, and the announcements being made, Statements were read by the Church Secretary, Mr. A. W. Lodge and by the Minister elect. Greetings were received from Pastor David Godfrey, a Trustee of the Salisbury Plain Christian Fellowship, and from local churches. The charge to the minister was given by Pastor H. Matthews, Colerne Congregational Church, and the charge to the church was given by Rev. D. E. Mingard, General Secretary of F.I.E.C. The Benediction was followed by a time of fellowship.
Mr. Lawes attended his first Church Council Meeting on 5 April, and at this meeting suggested that at the commencement of his ministry it would be good to revise the church's Constitution. Mr. Lawes, Mr. P.T. King and Mr. A.W. Lodge were appointed to this task. The Constitution had been partially revised in 1958 but it was considered that there was still a need for further work. Revision of the Constitution from time to time was considered necessary to strengthen and clarify the doctrinal position of the church as it faced new situations.
Records show that Emmanuel Church had, by November 1966, become affiliated with the Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches (F.I.E.C.) and had accepted their Basis of Faith. The church was therefore eligible to put forward members' names for its council. These names were proposed by the Pastor and Church Council and brought before the members for approval.
The name of Edward Joshua Poole-Connor (1872-1962) is inextricably linked to the F.I.E.C. His passion for and love of unity among the Lord's people prompted him to establish a society that would encourage and foster fellowship and support among like-minded churches. "Whatever the distinctive doctrines or practices of a church may be, fellowship between them required only the wholehearted acceptance of the inspired Word and the central doctrines of the Gospel. It could not be seen, in the 1920s, that a new set of dangers would begin to present themselves in the 1960s, which would render the formula ineffective."1
Having been brought up in a strongly Protestant home in which the writings of the Puritans and Reformers were made freely available to him, Poole-Connor's character was moulded within a distinctive Biblical framework. This proved such a blessing to him in later years when many around him were relinquishing their Protestant heritage for the outrageous teachings of the Higher Criticism movement and the atheistic teachings of Darwin. Poole-Connor could readily distinguish darkness from light and remained immovable on these fundamental truths.
Mr. Poole-Connor pastored a number of churches during his life, but it was his appointment in 1921 as Deputation Secretary for the North African Mission that acted as the catalyst to his forming the F.I.E.C. As the Deputation Secretary, he was required to visit churches throughout the country on behalf of the Mission. As he did so he felt an ever-increasing concern for the isolation of many of these very small causes and wondered how unity and fellowship could be fostered among them. In 1922, after much consideration and advice, he established the "Fellowship of Undenominational and Unattached Churches and Missions", with the intention of strengthening and cultivating Biblical unity among the Lord's people. This work grew rapidly in the first few years and eventually the name was changed to the Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches. The F.I.E.C. became his main concern as he travelled the country visiting and preaching in churches and fellowships that had bound themselves together in this new society.
Let the bond of union henceforth be the great verities of the evangelical faith, and let the liberty of individual conviction be in regard to the lesser issues. The principle is already operating successfully - has been, indeed, for over twenty-one years in ... the Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches. In this spiritual brotherhood, churches, missions, ministers, evangelists, and Christian workers generally, unite, first on the ground of a common experience of the saving power of the Lord Jesus Christ, and then on the basis of a common belief in the evangelical faith, rightly and historically interpreted.2
Poole-Connor's work did not rest in this area alone. He was appointed Chairman of the Lord's Day Observance Society in 1944. He played a significant role in the re-opening of All Nations Bible College and he was involved in the formation of the British Evangelical Council. In 1954, he took on the role of editor of the Bible League Quarterly until his death in 1962. Mr. Poole-Connor and Dr. Lloyd-Jones worked together in bringing the Evangelical Library into being.
Mr. Poole-Connor recognized that the spiritual warfare of his day could only be won when Christians stood and acted upon the truths of the Protestant faith and separated themselves from those who held to apostate teachings. The F.I.E.C. had been established upon sound doctrine, and its founder, while he lived, sought to uphold such fundamental principles. Poole-Connor entered into his Master's presence on 20 January, 1962, and his loss of influence upon the independent Protestant churches in England was profoundly felt.
Cordial relations existed at this time between the Church of Scotland and Emmanuel Church. Mrs. Lawes was nominated by the Church Council to attend the Scottish Assembly of 1966.
The role of missionary work continued to play an integral part in the life of the church and the duty to support various causes remained an on-going matter for prayer and discussion.
By the time of Mr. Lawes' arrival, the church was already giving regularly to missionary activities with individual church departments contributing to specific works:
At the Church Members' Meeting held on 3 May, Mr. Lawes proposed the idea of a quarterly visit of a missionary society to the church and that the speaker of the society represented be given financial support from the church. A trial period was agreed upon by the church to see how this might work. Mrs. Lawes was eager also to be involved in a distinctive manner in the outreach work of the church and had volunteered to start a young wives' club.
It was further recorded at this meeting that Mr. Lawes had graciously declined his full month's stipend as finances were not yet adequate to meet the full salary. Giving in the first quarter of 1966 varied from £65-2-4 to £79-4-1 per month. The benefit of having two tellers and counter clerks to deal with the finances was agreed upon and Mr. Wort and Mr. L. Wicks were appointed to this task.
The way forward with a church in a time of change in society is always cause for discussion among the Lord's people. The emphasis on bringing in young people can often fall subject to the thinking of the world. This was reflected in the discussion which followed at a Council Meeting on whether to change the hymn book, Hymns of Faith, to a more popular version such as Sankey's 1200 Hymn Book to try to encourage more young people to attend the service. It was finally agreed that such a change would not bring about the desired result.
The work of door-to-door visitation had been favourably discussed at the Council Meeting held on 24 May, 1966, and was brought before the members at the next meeting. Mr. Lawes contended for the Biblical principle of two-by-two visitation, bringing the Gospel from the local church to the homes of the people, especially to those that lived near to the church building. Mr. David Short had done some preparatory work and presented to the members a plan to visit 1,200 homes. The Minutes' Book of that meeting records that "these suggestions met with a ready response"3. The date for this work was agreed upon and the need to meet for prayer and instruction prior to going out was deemed vital. Two hundred and fifty homes were visited in three weeks! This work, though at variance with the ways of the world, continued to be an integral part of the outreach at Emmanuel Church.
Due to the presence of dry rot in the building it was proposed that a Fabric Committee be appointed to address this problem and to take on the care of the church premises. There was considerable expense involved in treating the dry rot in the downstairs kitchen. Added to this work were the repairs needed to the Luther Room (another downstairs room) and the downstairs kitchen. Estimated cost for all this work was £252. The Trueman Memorial Trust was informed and an inspection was undertaken by some of the Trust members. The work of the newly-formed committee would involve six-monthly inspections and any defects noted would then be brought to the attention of the church. The committee was made up of Mr. P.T. King, Mr. E. Lanham, Mr. L. Halsey, and Mr. A. Lodge. Mr. Halsey convened these meetings and later was relieved of the task by Mr. Bob Buckley. Eventually, the excellent work of this committee was incorporated into the service of the diaconate.
At the meeting of the church members held on 11 October, 1966, Mr. C.W. Lodge expressed a wish to retire as the Sabbath School Superintendent. Finding a replacement for him proved a challenging task and did not occur for some time.
The F.I.E.C. had requested to hold an auxiliary meeting in the Emmanuel Church building and this was agreed for 29 April, 1967.
Towards the end of 1966, the proposed Constitutional amendments were near completion and the Church Council members were ready to bring them before the church at the November Church Members' Meeting. Changes were recommended to:
Voting on these matters had to be deferred to the next Church Meeting as so many unanticipated questions were raised.
These minor constitutional changes were voted on at the meeting of the church held on 6 December, 1966. The amendments were primarily made to reflect the fact that the church now had a full-time pastor.
The Church Council was to consist of a pastor and deacons.
In the section on membership it was agreed that anyone applying for membership would first be interviewed by one deacon and one member before their application was brought before the church. It was also unanimously approved that those joining the church should be received into membership at a Communion Service.
Changes proposed to the already existing number of members on the Church Council did not receive sufficient votes and therefore remained at seven. It was, however, agreed that one third of the officers should relinquish their position each year but still be eligible for re-election.
Minor changes were agreed on relating to the particulars of voting for church officers.
The appointment of officers was to rest with the church members but the Council could choose its own Secretary and Treasurer.
The Pastor was required to be a baptized believer and to assent to the Doctrinal Statement and Constitution. His position was to be agreed upon an annual basis and he was to submit a twelve-month notice prior to leaving.
The observing of a weekly Lord's Table was also to become the "normal" practice of the church.
By March 1968 the revised Constitution had gone to the printers and duplicated copies were then circulated among the church members, as the cost for printing individual copies ranged from £17 to £21-1-0.
In the Church Report for 1966 much cause for thanks was returned to God for all He had brought to pass in the out-going year. Significant blessings included the church having been brought under the teaching and shepherding of Mr. Frank Lawes. Visiting speakers had been acknowledged to bring apposite instruction from the Word of God. Men such as Rev. A.W. Grimsay, Dr. Hugh Farrel (a converted Roman Catholic monk), and Mr. David Godfrey had been welcomed into the pulpit.
The church had also received encouragement under the ministry of their new Pastor with some professing faith and being baptized that year. Twelve members were added to the church and at the close of 1966 the membership had grown to thirty-one. Newly converted believers had gone through the waters of baptism, bearing witness to the work of grace within. These baptisms occurred at the Elim Church, Salisbury, and in a pool at Coombe Bisset.
A daughter, Esther, had been born to Bob and Janet Buckley and David Short and Violet Gibbs had been united in marriage.
The outreach work of the church had known increase too. Most weeks the church was holding an average of twelve meetings, and these had been blessed with good attendance.
In the course of the year (1966) the building was used by the following Christian organisations: The Caravan Mission, Wiltshire and Dorset Rally, The Keswick Relays, The Methodist (Dews Road) Sabbath School party, and City Challenge.
Rev. Bamber preached on "The Wilderness Temptation" for the church's Thirteenth Anniversary Service (held in September). The only disappointment on that occasion was that Mr. Lawes was unable to attend due to poor health.
The first election of Church Council members under the pastorate of Mr. Lawes comprised the following men: Mr. L. Wort, Mr. L. Wicks, Mr. P.T. King, and Messrs. C.W. and A.W. Lodge. Mr. A. Lodge became the Secretary and Mr. P.T. King became the Treasurer.
The church gathered at the end of the year to renew their Covenant together and to render praise and thanks to the Lord.
1 David G. Fountain Contending for the Faith, E. J. Poole-Connor A 'prophet' amidst the sweeping changes in English evangelicalism, 2nd ed. (London: The Wakeman Trust, 2005), 101.
2 Ibid. , 131.
3 Emmanuel Church, Salisbury, Minutes of Meeting held on 13 July, 1966.