As part of our Connected at a Glance series I spoke this week to our placement student Darrin Thompson, read the Q & A below to get a little insight into the quiet man with a BIG voice.

Q: Hello Darrin, how are you? Did you have a lovely Christmas? How did you spend it?

A: Hi there! I’m very well thank you. I had a lovely Christmas, I wish I could say I spent it in New York or somewhere sunny but in the end I spent it in Costa del Larne with my wonderful family 😊

Q: For all the single ladies out there, maybe you could tell us your age, height, status and favourite home cooked dinner?

A: No problem! I am 23, 6’1, single and Spaghetti Bolognese (I like to keep it simple!)

Q: If you had a choice of being a super hero who would you choose to be and why?

A: I would say Batman. He is my favourite superhero because he isn’t about having superpowers, with Batman it is more skills he has collected over time! Oh and lots of cool gadgets! I like gadgets.

Q: Share with us your favourite Football Team, Movie, Song and Book. Can you explain why?

A: Favourite FOOTBALL TEAM: Rangers, the captioned photo is bit of a giveaway. MOVIE: The Green Mile, I love most things that have Tom Hanks. BOOK: walking backwards to Christmas, I love narrative reflections on scripture. SONG: Come to the altar by Elevation worship.

Q: Now that I have the ‘lighter’ questions out of the way, can you tell us a little about the journey you have taken that directed you to study for the ministry?

A: Sure! It’s a difficult journey to condense so I will try my best to keep it short. I became a Christian at the age of 15 and ever since then I always felt as though God has been calling me and preparing for me for different roles within the life of the church. I had a felt a calling to ordained ministry as young as 16, but obviously that was much too young. I was told to leave it for a few years and ,at be reconsider it in my 30’s. However that was people, God had different ideas and after receiving prayer ministry and a prophetic picture in a church in Israel I decided to test the call by going through the Candidating process for the Methodist Church in Ireland, and was always preparing myself for the “not yet” answer. That never came and I was accepted for training by Methodist conference in 2013 and am now entering my final semester in Edgehill, scary stuff!!!

Q: We talked a little of Super heroes, but who are your genuine heroes that have impacted on your life?

A: First of all I would say my two sisters, my older sister Ashley and younger sister Leah. They were Christians and involved in the church before me and it was because of them that I became involved. I owe particular thanks to my older sister who really helped to sustain and build my faith in the first couple of years.
I also owe a lot to three Methodist ministers who are all heroes of mine, the Revs Andrew Kingston Richard Russell and Henry Keys, the three of whom played different but huge roles in my first years as a Christian and they each showed me what it means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ.
Currently, and I hope this is not too controversial, my hero in faith is Pope Francis. I have a heart for the social gospel and I believe Francis is helping all Christians, not just Catholics, to see where we can be reaching out to others with the love of Christ.

Q: We really enjoy your teaching in our services at Mossley, you definitely drive the message home with passion and genuine belief, would you agree with me that this is your gift?

A: I would definitely agree that preaching is my main gift from God, and to date it is my favourite part of ministry. I think I come across as quiet and shy initially, but in the pulpit, though I am nervous, I feel privileged to preach the Word of God and I definitely feel my loud voice is finally coming in handy! I also love to pastorally visit, again it is privilege to be allowed into people’s homes or sit with them in hospital and spent time praying with them and just talking about God and everyday life.

Q: So what has the New year in store for you Darrin? Will you be with us throughout the rest of your placement?

A: 2016 is going to be an exciting and scary year for me! Between January and May marks my final semester as a student and then in July, after 20 straight years of education, I am due to be stationed to a circuit somewhere in Ireland by the Methodist Church. So throughout the next 6 months I will be completing my Masters degree in Mission and will be with you folks in Mossley until the end of May.

Q: Have you any final thoughts that you would like to share with us?

A: I just want to say thank you to the people of Mossley, I have only been with you for a few months and I already feel like I am part of the family here! The passion for Christ and his church really does overwhelm me, and the church is certainly one that tries to live out their discipleship everyday. My prayer is that together for the first half of the year and then well beyond me is that this church continues to trust in God and His leading and guiding.

Thank you Darrin, its a privilege being part of your journey and having you train in our church, we look forward to hearing more from you and seeing you blossom within our Mossley family.

If you want to hear more from Darrin, why not visit our LISTEN section and click to enjoy him preach.