MAF (Mission Aviation Fellowship)

MAF was first envisaged in 1944, the idea of a pilot who had been serving in the RAF. He was joined by others with vision, determination and flying skills. At great financial cost to the first supporters of MAF, an aeroplane was purchased, and survey work started in Sudan 4 years later. Surprisingly, most missionary groups in Africa at that time did not consider an air service as useful, even though travelling by road was often impossible and also dangerous. However, MAF proved its worth to the various missionary groups in Sudan, Ethiopia, Chad, Tanzania and Kenya over the next 30 years, and in Uganda, Rwanda, Namibia and Madagaskar in more recent years, so that an air service is now considered essential to the work of these missions. It is interesting to note that the first (and only at the time) plane MAF purchased was damaged beyond repair in an air crash in 1948, but now they have numerous planes, operating in over 30 countries. They carry food aid, medicines, and medical staff to places where any other mode of transport is impossible. People can receive emergency medical treatment from major centres in hours rather than having to travel for days in dangerous overland journeys. MAF respond to situations of war and disaster, bringing emergency aid and working on rehabilitative projects for the victims of these situations e.g. East Africa food crisis in 2011. Add in the fact that remote communities hear the good news gospel of Jesus Christ, and the development of community support projects, you can see how important the work of MAF has become in world mission.

(MAF also works in other countries than those mentioned above, through other sister and associated MAF organisations e.g. MAF USA).

If you would like to know more about MAF, and what they do, click on www.maf-uk.org or www.maf.org. The story of MAF UK so far, is written in various books, “Hope Has Wings” and “Eyes Turned Skyward”. These are available from MAF UK.

An aeroplane operated by MAF lands at an airfield in a developing country every 3 minutes

(This content and images are taken from www.maf-uk.org)

Hello and welcome to our church. If you are a new visitor, we have a page for you to get to know us and learn more about planning a visit.
Click here to see more.

Visitors click here.

Planning your Visit

A Warm Hello

The following information is specifically for those planning a visit, so that you know, beforehand, what to expect on a Sunday morning.

Where and When

We meet at the Church Building (details here) for our Sunday Service starting at 10.30am. For your first visit, we recommend arriving 10-15 minutes early to ensure you get a parking space and find somewhere to sit before the service begins. When you arrive, you should be greeted by someone on our Welcome Team.

We serve tea, coffee and biscuits after the service which is a great way to meet people, or simply take time to find your bearings. All refreshments are free.

Accessibility: There is wheelchair access and a disabled toilet in the main foyer.

Our Service

The main service begins at 10.30am with a warm welcome from one of our team members. Then follows a time of sung worship, led by our worship team. We typically have 2 or 3 songs lasting approximately 20 minutes. Sometimes a person might pray out loud or read a small passage from the bible. Sometimes people share things that they believe God is saying to the whole church family. This might seem strange the first time you hear it but it’s all part of our connecting with God. One of our leaders will then give a sermon that is bible based and that we can apply to our everyday life. We then sing a final worship song and finish by sharing news and notices, usually about what’s going on in the life of the church. Sometimes there is an opportunity to receive prayer at the end of the service.

Church

What about my kids?

We have a great programme lined up for kids of all ages:

Creche (0 months to 5 years). Children under 6 months are welcome but must be accompanied by their parent/grown-up at all times.
Sunday School (5- 10 years)
Youth (11-15 years) Every other week.

Children stay with their parent or grown-up at the start of the service for the welcome and songs. We really value worshipping God all together as a family. At the end of the songs, someone will announce that it’s time for the younger members to go to their various groups.

The children and young people group activities vary depending on the age but usually there is a friendly welcome, bible stories, praying, music, craft and fun games.

Getting Connected

Small Groups

While Sundays are a great way to meet new people, it is often in smaller gatherings that you can really get to know someone. Being part of one of our small groups allows you to make new friends, share together and support each other. We have a variety of groups that meet throughout the week, some afternoons and some evenings. Check out Small Groups and see if there’s one that you could join, or we can put you in touch with a small group who would be more than happy to invite you along to their group.

Serving and Volunteering

If you want to get involved in the life of the church and help either on Sundays or any other time of the week, please do get in contact.

Other Ministries

We also run the following ministries:

Men's Ministries
Women's Ministries
Youth Work
Toddler Group(s) (Tots Aloud)
Foodbank

Get in touch with us to plan your visit

If you would like to come and visit the church beforehand you are more than welcome! Get in touch and we can arrange a time that suits you. Contact Us

What happens next? We will contact you to say hello and help arrange anything necessary for your visit.

Leadership


Lead Pastor Peter Graham		Youth and Community Pastor Aaron Watts
Intro - Coming Soon		Intro - Coming Soon

We hope that whoever you are, you will feel at home at our church.

Best Wishes

The DRCC Team