The Scottish Mission has welcomed a new pastor. Pastor Wilfred Masih is the pastor of a newly formed district in the North of Scotland. He will be based in Inverness and look after church groups in Inverness, Elgin, and Strathdon. His wife Kanchan, will join him over the next few months as the family moves up from their previous home in Birmingham.
Pastor Wilfred was introduced to the Inverness and the Elgin congregations at a special Sabbath service on 10 September. He spoke about new beginnings and painted a picture of a God who specialises in starting afresh regardless of our circumstances or background. "Whatever we go through, God feels all of that. But this is not where it remains. He can make everything new. He can give us a new beginning." He quoted a beautiful promise from Hosea 14:5: "I will make a fresh start with Israel. He'll burst into bloom like a crocus in the spring" (The Message). He continued to talk about the temptation to quit when the going is tough, and he stated categorically that it is "Always to soon to quit." This was also backed up with a beautiful verse from Psalm 145. "God gives a hand to those down on their luck, gives a fresh start to those ready to quit."
Pastor Jimmy Botha, president of the Scottish Mission introduced Pastor Wilfred and his wife to the members. He explained that this is a new venture for the Scottish Mission to try to strengthen and build membership in areas that have previously not had focussed pastoral oversight. The venture is made possible by funding from the General Conference which subsidises the cost of a new pastor in a new territory for five years.
An image gallery of the welcoming event can be viewed in the gallery section of our website.
