More than 200 cars rally to Drive In Church service

Organised by Pastor Ken Davidson of Christ Encounters Tabernacle from Gilford, the convoy of cars began arriving at the Mahon Road, Portadown site from 5.30pm.

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown, churches were closed to the public and government restrictions meant it difficult for congregations to gather safely.

Pastor Davidson praised the help of the Turkington family who allowed the church to use their massive car park and yard at Turkington Windows and Conservatories.

The pastor explained they cleared the whole area to create a car park-sized congregation space and even gave them the use of one of their lorries as a make-shift pulpit.

“I have been friends with the Turkingtons for a few years and they have supplied everything,” said Pastor Ken.

He said they also had a small band of eight of volunteers directing traffic and making sure everything went smoothly.

As the service started at 6pm, the yard was full of cars, some with just one person, some full of families.

The pastor explained they had put the word out on social media and received a fantastic response.

“We intend to hold this event every Sunday throughout the summer months.

“Many people who have been self isolating throughout these last weeks are looking forward to seeing each other albeit through car windows and they’re looking forward to being back out again to.

Pastor Ken said: ““People are troubled. People are worried. People came from both sides of the community to our Drive In Church.

“There is a real need for prayer at the minute,” he said.

They plan on holding the service at 6pm every Sunday.

“We couldn’t have asked for better weather,” said the pastor who has around 10k followers on Facebook.

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