On behalf of the Church Family at Greystone Road Presbyterian, the Kirk Session, Congregational Committee and myself send their kindest regards to you and yours. But you may be wondering who the ‘myself’ in that last sentence actually is, so please allow me to introduce myself.
My name is Chris Wilson, and I am the new minister of Greystone Road Presbyterian. Some of you will have met me and know me quite well by now, others may not. Whether you have been at Morning Worship every Sunday since I arrived, or haven’t been able to attend just yet I am sure you have plenty of questions. So, in what follows, I will try to answer the questions I think you would like to ask me…
1. Where are you from originally?
I am Ballymena born and bred and have spent most of my life in the greater Ballymena area except for university days and some time travelling around the world.
2. How old are you?
I am 39 years old but I’m not going to give away my birthday details just yet!
3. Do you have a family?
I am married to Caroline and we celebrated 11 years of marriage in August. We have three boys: Josh (9), Caleb (8) and Teddy (3). So we have a busy and chaotic house! But it is also a house fill with laughter and singing, movie nights, family worship and lots of Lego!
4. What schools /university did you attend?
I went to Ballymena Academy and then went to Queen’s to study Modern History. Later on, when I was studying for ministry, I also did Divinity at Union Theological College. At times studying was tough but I was blessed to meet great friends at school and university.
5. When and how did you come to know the Lord?
I grew up in a Christian home and always had a good understanding of the Christian faith and what it means to be a Christian. However, in 1996 at a youth outreach event I felt the calling of God to commit my life to Him alone and seek to follow Him with my whole heart. My faith went from being a shared faith with my family to be an owned faith and a personal relationship with the Lord. Since then I have known God’s constant faithfulness and grace to me, even when I wasn’t always faithful to Him.
6. What did you do before entering the ministry?
I worked in management in Tesco and Subway- in fact, at a stage, I actually managed the Subway Store in Castle Mall. After jobs in retail management, I was in Youth in Community Work in Larne, Carnlough and Ballymena before becoming a Youth Ministry Co-ordinator for Whiteabbey P.C. So I’ve had a range of experiences but have always been involved in working with people and have loved working with young people.
7. What are your hopes for your time in Greystone Road
My prayer is the God would move powerfully by His Spirit as we immerse ourselves in His Word and seek Him in prayer; as we worship Him throughout our lives. My desire is that Christ would be displayed in our lives as we seek to know Him more, follow Him, love Him and make Him known. And sincerely hope that the greater Antrim area would be blessed as Gospel people grow in grace and share that grace in the various ways that God would guide us.
8. What interests do you have outside Church?
With a small family most of my ‘spare’ time is spent with them as we go on road trips and do fun things together. I do enjoy a variety of sports and I like to take in good movies when I can. A good cup of coffee and a proper chat with friends is always time well spent.
Now that you have got to know me a little better, I would love to get to know you much better. With that in mind I would warmly welcome you to join us for worship every Sunday Morning at 10.30am.
Warmest regards
Rev. Chris Wilson