“We are truly grateful to God, through the instrumentality of the Church Administration, for having a GWS [group worship service] near our homes … This is a great blessing for our household and for all the brethren here,” said Glendonn Malubay, deacon.

The establishment of a new GWS in Ballymena, a town in County Antrim, Northern Ireland, about 40 kilometers northwest of Belfast, has contributed to the expansion of the Iglesia Ni Cristo (Church Of Christ) in Ireland. The Ballymena GWS is under the supervision of the Belfast Local Congregation in the Ecclesiastical District of Ireland.

The inaugural worship service of the said GWS took place on October 20, 2024 at the function hall of The Great Hall in Galgorm Resort located along Fenaghy Road in Ballymena. Brother Pepito Y. Acuesta, the district supervising minister, officiated it.

The brethren enlisted in the new GWS are grateful to God for the said blessing. “Before, we had to wake up very early in the morning to prepare and catch the bus to Belfast in order to attend the worship service and other Church gatherings at the Local Congregation of Belfast,” said Malubay.

His fellow Church officer, Erwin Timblor, also a deacon, shared, “Travel conditions are especially difficult during winter, as the roads become slippery, making travel dangerous.”

With the establishment of the GWS in Ballymena, Church activities will now be held closer to the homes of the brethren. Subsequent worship services for the brethren at the newly established Ballymena GWS will be held at 28 Henry Street, Ballymena, Northern Ireland. — With reports from Corinne Rhea Betsayda