Meet the Pastor
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Andrew and Lorna Burt have lived in Enniscorthy since moving here to be part of a church planting team in 1999. Previously Andrew had studied for a BSc in Biochemistry at Strathclyde University and a PhD in Glasgow University. Lorna worked in banking in Airdrie in Scotland. In 1996 they were married. They have two young daughters, Niamh and Kerry.
Andrew came to put his faith in the Lord Jesus when he was about 5 years old having been impacted by the faith of his parents. As he grew up he was always involved in his local church and loved getting involved in the background in quiet ways. In his early 20’s Andrew was introduced to street evangelism and that deeply impacted his life. |
“Our youth group went on the streets of our home town late each Thursday night to speak to the young people who were hanging about in the dark, drinking and smoking hash. We went out and invited them back to our youth hall. There we just chatted to them over a game of pool or table tennis and served them tea till late at night.
And as a group of naïve young people, God blew us away with opportunities to tell other young people that Jesus loved them, that he died for them – that their lives could change!! God showed us that he wanted to speak through us in power.
I don’t think any of us really expected this to happen. I had grown up in church where in our prayer times usually people lamented the fact that nobody was interested in Jesus anymore today! The thing was, for most of us, this was the first time we had expressed a little bit of God’s love by reaching out to these young people! And they were hungry for God!!
This radically shook up my Christianity and shaped the rest of my life. My eyes were opened to a world in need, to young people whose lives were empty and I had the answer - Jesus. Today I’m still asking God to help me to see people through Jesus’ eyes, to love with Jesus’ heart, to obey Jesus’ words to go and to believe in his power to save.”
From this, God started a process that led Andrew and Lorna to Tilsley College, run by Gospel Literature Outreach – to train to share their faith more effectively. During this year, God confirmed his calling for them to be involved in sharing the amazing news of Jesus with others in full-time ministry. 6 months later they moved to Enniscorthy.
Lorna is involved in the children’s, youth and women’s ministries, is the church’s treasurer and is a member of ECF’s leadership team. In addition to leadership and Bible teaching, Andrew is also involved in the children’s and youth ministries and outreach events.
His heart remains in sharing the message of Jesus with others and encouraging the church to do this in their everyday lives. Andrew believes that as followers of Jesus we are called to do more than tell people about the good news of God’s love. He believes we are also called to demonstrate God’s love for them. Our vision for ECF is that we would not only share the good news of Jesus with people around us, but in some small way we can be good news to others.
“I’ve got so many reasons why God shouldn’t use me to take the gospel to others.” Andrew says, “Everyday I feel completely inadequate for the task that God has given me. Inadequate in love, in holiness, in compassion, in wisdom, in gift, in personality, in strength. But I am convinced that none of that matters because our Father has all the power and strength and ability this task requires:
And as a group of naïve young people, God blew us away with opportunities to tell other young people that Jesus loved them, that he died for them – that their lives could change!! God showed us that he wanted to speak through us in power.
I don’t think any of us really expected this to happen. I had grown up in church where in our prayer times usually people lamented the fact that nobody was interested in Jesus anymore today! The thing was, for most of us, this was the first time we had expressed a little bit of God’s love by reaching out to these young people! And they were hungry for God!!
This radically shook up my Christianity and shaped the rest of my life. My eyes were opened to a world in need, to young people whose lives were empty and I had the answer - Jesus. Today I’m still asking God to help me to see people through Jesus’ eyes, to love with Jesus’ heart, to obey Jesus’ words to go and to believe in his power to save.”
From this, God started a process that led Andrew and Lorna to Tilsley College, run by Gospel Literature Outreach – to train to share their faith more effectively. During this year, God confirmed his calling for them to be involved in sharing the amazing news of Jesus with others in full-time ministry. 6 months later they moved to Enniscorthy.
Lorna is involved in the children’s, youth and women’s ministries, is the church’s treasurer and is a member of ECF’s leadership team. In addition to leadership and Bible teaching, Andrew is also involved in the children’s and youth ministries and outreach events.
His heart remains in sharing the message of Jesus with others and encouraging the church to do this in their everyday lives. Andrew believes that as followers of Jesus we are called to do more than tell people about the good news of God’s love. He believes we are also called to demonstrate God’s love for them. Our vision for ECF is that we would not only share the good news of Jesus with people around us, but in some small way we can be good news to others.
“I’ve got so many reasons why God shouldn’t use me to take the gospel to others.” Andrew says, “Everyday I feel completely inadequate for the task that God has given me. Inadequate in love, in holiness, in compassion, in wisdom, in gift, in personality, in strength. But I am convinced that none of that matters because our Father has all the power and strength and ability this task requires:
“We have this treasure in jars of clay
to show that this all-surpassing power
is from God and not from us.”
2 Corinthians 4 v7.
to show that this all-surpassing power
is from God and not from us.”
2 Corinthians 4 v7.