The foundation year…
In 1948 the Yorkshire Evangelist Harold Watson was invited to speak during a weekend at Longhorsley Mission in rural Northumberland. When mission members became aware of the interest being expressed by many people it became obvious that the Mission hall in Longhorsley would not be able to accommodate everyone. The decision was made to hire a marquee.
As time progressed concern was expressed that the marquee ordered would not be big enough to hold everyone so a second marquee was acquired. The marquees were erected in a field in the centre of the village behind what was then the village blacksmiths.
An established event – seven decades of Bible teaching in rural Northumberland…
This event was repeated with different speakers, on the first weekend in July, over the following six years. The numbers attending increased and the Mission members realised that they should continue and thus Longhorsley Mission Bible Convention was established.
In 1954 a member of the fellowship purchased a field in the centre of the village to be used for the Convention each year. The Convention was held in a marquee on this site until 2006. The preparation for this annual weekend was quite physically demanding for Mission members often under adverse weather conditions, and after prayerful consideration the decision was made in 2007 to relocate the Convention to the Memorial Hall in Longframlington, a village only four miles away.
This has proved to be the right decision as the Memorial Hall has excelllent facilities and we have appreciated the help and support which we have received from the Hall committee during the subsequent years.
70th Anniversary year in 2017…
2017 marked the 70th anniversary of the Convention. We have five members of our fellowship who have attended each Convention and we have a record of every speaker who has preached God’s word over these 70 years. We give thanks to God for the encouragement we have had from Christians throughout the area who have supported the work of Longhorsley Mission over so many years.
Looking to the future…
In 2015 Longhorsley Mission marked 140 years since it began in 1875. As we look to the future we pray that the Lord will guide our fellowship as we seek to maintain the Convention in rural Northumberland.