Jan Peters
Position within the Church: Children and families outreach worker
How long have you been a Christian? Since 1973.
How and why did you become a Christian? I have always gone to church and at a young age asked Jesus to be my best friend. At the age of 10yrs I made a commitment to follow Jesus and have sought to serve Him as Lord and Saviour of my life ever since.
What are your hobbies and interests? I enjoy spending time with my family and friends, holidays, theatre, badminton and similar sports. As a treat I like a meal out at the local Chinese buffet restaurant and eating homemade chocolate cake is also a regular ‘interest’ of mine!
Do you have any family who attend church? My husband and 2 daughters are Christians and all attend All Saints church.
What are your aspirations for All Saints’ Church for the next 12 months? God is doing great things amongst us and through us at All Saints, and my prayer is that God’s spirit will help us to tune in even more to hearing His voice clearly, so that we can know His perfect plan and will for the way forward in all that we do both within the church and local community in the coming months.
What are your long-term desires for All Saints’ Church? To see us drawing closer to God and each other as the body of Christ. To experience the Holy Spirit in greater measure. To be a church who wholeheartedly loves and serves children, families, youth and indeed people of all ages, seeking to be ‘mission shaped’ in all we do, and ultimately seeking to help people come to know Jesus for themselves.
Finally, what has been the best advice/guidance that somebody has given you as a Christian? Approx 3 yrs ago, at a time when my mind was buzzing with ideas of things we could do in the area of working with children and families, and not sure where to start, God gave me a picture which has been an essential reminder to me ever since. In the picture I was walking along a path with darkness ahead of me and a lantern was held in front of me to light the way. I could only see the part of the path a little way ahead, which was lit up by the lantern. I felt God was teaching me the importance of patiently seeking to keep in step with him in all I do. That He has a perfect plan and I just need to trust him, and take one step at a time, being careful not to dash on ahead of the ‘light of the lantern’ because darkness is beyond it. In other words trying to rush ahead of God isn’t going to work. I don’t need to see that far into the future. Rather I need to be at peace, trusting that God will give guidance about what He wants us to do in accordance with His perfect timing. Important advice both in ministry and in life generally!