History of the Fellowship

A cuppa with a dear lady at Good Shepherd Drive confirmed to me the need and the opportunity to commence a Christian service in the sheltered housing Communal Lounge.

The inaugural morning service of The Good Shepherd Fellowship was held on Sunday 4th July. Over 20 folk turned up from both within the Community and from the local area.

We served under the "Umbrella" of The Exeter Christian Fellowship. Our chairman was the retired Rev. Adrian Magor, and our GSF Pastor was (and still is) Rev. Graham Charters.

We purchased our first minibus (with disabled access) which meant we could take our Folk out on trips and social activities, including the first of our biennial Fellowship House-Parties.

By raising funds, we were able to buy a newer minibus, again with a wheelchair lift. Annual Christmas Dinners, Away-Day outings, and Songs of Praise evenings became highlights.

In January we held our first Service in Paignton at St. Michael's Court sheltered housing. The St Michael's Fellowship (SMF) meets on the first Sunday evening of each month.

Our funds allowed for us to start supporting other ministries, financially. The first of these ministries was the Haven of Hope Orphanage in Lipova, Romania, as well as the local Home Evangelism worker Mark Perkins, and the Exeter Street Pastors.

For no apparent reason, we centered a lot of this years teaching on the importance of being a "Giving" Church, and supporting, practically, prayerfully, and financially, other Christian ministries. 

We also have made a conscious effort to "Brand" ourselves, using our GSF logo on all our stationery and notices. You will find it on every page of this web-site - the Shepherd's Crook, the Cross, and the Crown.

This year's focus for our Bible teaching was very much on the "Tools of our Faith". As a PCT, we felt the need to get back to basics with some of the simple "Tools" that God has given us to live our Christian lives in a more Christlike way.

It was a joy to utilise our Mobile Baptistry, and to baptise (by full immersion) three members of our Fellowship who wished to publicly confess their faith in front of their friends and relatives.

This year's Bible teaching (by request) has been to understand the need for prayer, the purpose of prayer, and the general privilege we have to be able to communicate with our Heavenly Father.

We received the devastating news in December, that the Cornerstone building was to be sold, and that in February The Good Shepherd Fellowship would be homeless..

God guided us to the Hotel du Vin, just next door to Good Shepherd Drive. Their garden conference room - The Potting Shed, was to become our new (if only temporal) spiritual home. Little did we know at the time, that by mid-March the COVID-19 pandemic would hit with terrible consequences. 

Our ministry, like that of many Church groups, had to adapt, and quickly. Due to our aging congregation, modern media streams were not an option for us, so weekly texts and regular doorstep visitations had become the norm. All our social diary was put on hold.

With the sad news that the Hotel du Vin was converting The Potting Shed into an extension of their Spa, the difficult decision has been made to cease our weekly Sunday morning services completely, and to re-vamp our ministry into a more personal direction. 

Thank God we still have the opportunity to meet monthly at our St. Michael's Fellowship, Paignton, on the first Sunday of each month. More information to follow as the story continues...

Going into the new year we have packed each month with a unique service, joining together the Good Shepherd Fellowship and St. Michael's Fellowship, meeting together at St. Michael's Court in Paignton, plus a variety of social activities. The Pandemic hiatus is truly behind us!