Paul Crispin – Premises
What does the role of Premises Deacon entail?
As premises deacon I look after any repairs, alterations and upgrades to the Main Church, The Bridge, the Church grounds and the 2 Church houses.
What is your vision for the church premises?
The vision I have for the future is to have a larger volunteer maintenance team. At the moment there are five of us plus Steve Beech and his gardening team.
How long have you been Premises Deacon and what have you been doing since you took on this role?
This is my first term of office and I have continued to look after the repairs and external hard standing in the Church grounds, which I did before I had a title.
Being part of the leadership team means meeting one evening a month for planning and business with the other deacons and elders. On a separate evening I meet with the Finance and Administration Team. We have one elder on the team, Rupert Moore, as well as Richard Lake, Tim Kingston Hepner, Michael Talbot and myself.
When and how did you become a Christian?
I became a Christian when I was 12. Being brought up in a Christian home did not make me a Christian. I knew what I had to do, i.e., ask God for forgiveness of my sins. This I did and the fear of dying left me.
How long have you been at BSBC and what is your background before coming to BSBC?
Lin and I moved to Bishop’s Stortford from South Woodford in 2018. As we were looking to move, we prayed to God that we would be led to a Church where our gifts would be used. We believe that has happened and we praise God for it.
Tell us a few interesting things about you…hobbies? Other volunteer roles?
Being semi-retired means I should have time to build my model railway in our garden studio, hopefully soon. I volunteer for the Exchange delivery and pick - up team one day a week and use my big trailer which lives in the Church rear car park.
Having three children means we are normally helping out somewhere and I help my sons in their businesses, when required.
Is there anything we can pray about for you and/or your role?
Please pray for more dedicated help with my role. Every second Wednesday we have a maintenance day and if you turn up before 10am, then you get a breakfast roll.
