'What I will be saying is, people need Jesus': Rev Alan Wardlow, the next President of the Methodist Church in Ireland, speaking ahead of his installation

Rev Alan Wardlow, currently superintendent of the Portadown Circuit, is to take up the position during the opening service of the 256th conference at Thomas Street Methodist Church being held from Thursday, June 5 until Saturday, June 7.

Rev Wardlow grew up in Knockbreda in Belfast in the 1970s and although his parents were not church-goers they did send him along to Sunday School at St Andrew’s Presbyterian Church. Through his involvement there, he remembers making a commitment to Christ as a child.

He was educated at Cregagh Primary School and Knockbreda High School, and when he left school he joined the Civil Service briefly before studying English and Politics at the University of Ulster.

He recalled that it was during a service at Thomas Street Methodist that he “heard an audible voice saying: ‘I want you to become a Methodist minister’”.

Following a number of years of Bible teaching, reflection and training in evangelism at Cliff College in Sheffield, he completed his studies and then went on to become a local preacher in training.

He served in a number of evangelism and pastoral roles within in the Church, both in Ireland and in London; and in 1989 he was welcomed as a candidate for the ordained ministry in Ireland. He completed three years training at Edgehill College in Belfast and was ordained at Conference in 1994 in Portadown.

Through the years Rev Wardlow has served on the Londonderry Mission, Newtownards, Dublin South, Cregagh and Glenburn and South East Leinster Circuits. He currently serves on the Board of Education, the Ministries Policies and Procedures Committee and as Wesley College Governor.

Rev Wardlow described being appointed as president designate “a truly humbling experience”, and one he did not expect.

Speaking ahead of his installation, he said: “What I will be saying is, people need Jesus. We need to share Jesus in the power of the Holy Spirit. We need to be unflinching in offering Christ, and the Holy Spirit will help us find ways of doing this.”

As the Methodist Church in Ireland continues to focus on evangelism and growth in the year ahead; upon approval of Conference, the Church plans to appoint the Rev Dr Stephen Skuce, currently District Superintendent of the North Western District, in a new stationed post as Growing Churches Officer (Ireland) beginning this September.

In his inaugural address on Thursday evening, Rev Wardlow will encourage the Church, empowered by the Holy Spirit, to continue to proclaim Christ with boldness.

He will ask the Church: “Would it not be a different Church if all who profess faith and have a living relationship with Jesus Christ witnessed to it, shared it and preached it?”

He will affirm that true and lasting spiritual growth begins within the individual, and his prayer is that everyone would feel a ‘deep, compelling urgency’ to take intentional steps to share the message of Jesus to see many come to faith or experience a renewed commitment in the year ahead.

He will conclude by saying: “All of us can do something. Growth begins with us all who are Christians, engaging in a personal relationship with Jesus, witnessing ourselves and joining with others to share the good news with urgency and love.”

The service of installation will take place on Thursday, June 5, at 7.30pm and will also be live streamed on YouTube.