Meet John Beattie – Church and Community Development Consultant
John Beattie is currently working with the diocese as a Church and Community Development Consultant, helping with church planting and resourcing churches who want to reconnect with their community. He lives in Moneyreagh and will be worshipping at the Moneyreagh Community Church, the first of our church plants, which launches on 20 October.
What’s great about having John as a consultant is that he has actually, ‘been there and done that’, having just spent 3 years in Knocknagoney Parish working with Canon David Brown. John came on board as Church Development and Community Outreach Officer to head a project co–funded by Tearfund and the Priorities Fund. It was a great success and is held up as an example of transformative community engagement.
You can watch a Tearfund video about John and David’s work in Knocknagoney here. Read more in previous news articles on our site here and here.
John was born in Lisburn and grew up in a Presbyterian church. He forged a career in retail in Northern Ireland and England and, by his own admission, spent quite some time and energy running away from God and the call he had sensed at 17.
He has a degree in Youth and Community Work and Applied Theology and is currently working on his Masters in Professional Practice in Leadership and Ministry. He is married to Heather and between them they have 5 children ranging from 17 to 10 years old.
A man who has not had a cosy life, John is passionate about social justice and has a particular burden for areas of deprivation.
From Church to Community Course
Through the diocese, John Beattie is offering parishes a great opportunity to engage with their community through 5 free training and development sessions tailored to their situation.
Your team will explore:
Why mission?
Community profiling
Prayer
Vision
Engagement
For more information or to book your sessions contact John: tel: 07878881291 or email him at: beattiejohn1@hotmail.com
Please note that parishes are accepted on a first–come first–served basis so don’t waste time getting in touch!