Rev Ben Traynor has been ordained and inducted to the charge of the Garioch Church Plant at Bon Accord Free Church, Aberdeen.
It was a very special afternoon for the Traynor family, being the culmination of nine years of ministry training for Ben. His perseverance and commitment to his calling was duly noted! It was also a special afternoon for Bon Accord, with the induction of a minister to the congregation’s first plant.
The service was moderated by Rev Joe Hall, minister of Bon Accord Free Church. Joe preached from Romans 10, following Paul’s logic from his distress that not all of his own people were saved (v1), through their need for the gospel (v8), to his conclusion: that someone must preach the gospel to them, and that such preachers must therefore be sent (v15).
Following the ordination and induction, fond words of encouragement were shared with Ben and the congregation, urging all to be prepared in the Lord’s strength for the hard work ahead in both mother and daughter churches. Mr Seoras Mackintosh and Mrs Diane Howie, who form part of the Garioch launch team, also warmly welcomed Ben, Sarah and the children. Finally, Ben thanked all who had a hand in his own Christian growth and training over the years.
The service was followed by a tea during which the many who attended from the congregation enjoyed fellowship with friends of the Traynors and those from other local churches who came to show support.
Summing up the significance of the day as he preached, Joe said:
“It’s been said the task we face in our generation is nothing less than the re-evangelization of Scotland. It’s fallen to us to send the gospel back out again to places where it’s withered or retreated, and is not being heard clearly or at all. I think the more we look around the North-East the more our hearts will break like Paul’s for our own people, that they might be saved. We see the light of the gospel fading, even going out, and leaving eternal darkness in its absence, and half a million people being born and dying in that darkness not only without believing, but never having heard the only words that can save them – that Jesus died for our sins and rose again. If the church today doesn’t send the gospel back out into these places, no-one else will do it, that darkness will not shift, and those people will not be saved. But here today we’re doing it.”
