Rev. David Montgomery was elected the new DS of the British Isles South District on the third ballot at its assembly in Morley, England, on March 13-14.

The following article was reprinted from the British Isles newsletter for the spring of 2009.

Introducing Rev. David Montgomery
I was born in Belfast and lived just outside the city boundary in a place called Newtownbreda. When I look back I believe I had a very happy childhood, but then you could play out in those days – so tree climbing, mischief, and football was the order of the day. I was sent to Sunday School as a child (although my parents never went to church) but never knew I needed to be born again, so by the time I was 15 I had all but stopped going to church as it didn’t seem relevant.

When I was 22 I met a girl (Alison) in work who invited me to her Church, the Church of the Nazarene in Lurgan. I went to the evening service one Sunday and the next day in work God broke into my life. Later on that evening I ended up at the Pastor’s house (Rev. Raymond Spence – we got him out of bed!), knelt at his settee and asked Jesus to wash away my sin. What a transformation! What a Saviour! Four months later Alison and I got married.

Out of control
I had started drinking alcohol when I was about 12, and by the time I was twenty it was starting to get out of control. I can think of several incidents that could have landed me in serious trouble – one involved a car chase with the Police eventually catching up with me. Perhaps I need to say this was an isolated incident and most of the time I was law abiding!

Calling me into the ministry
It wasn’t long before I realized that God was calling me into the ministry, and two years later was off to British Isles Nazarene College (now Nazarene Theological College). Three years later, Dewsbury Road Church (as it was then) in Leeds invited me to preach. I remember coming home (to Manchester) afterwards and saying to Alison ‘I know where we are going when I finish college’. A few months later we went with a ‘view’, and a while later the members called us, even though we still had about eight months left in college! It was, as they say, a match made in heaven, and we have been living in Leeds for almost 21 years. Becoming District Superintendent was a shock, and my feet have barely touched ground since. I am very grateful to the Rev. Clive Burrows for his quality leadership over the past seven years, and his friendship. I realize I cannot fill his shoes (I wouldn’t even try), but am looking forward to being myself, and working, learning and cooperating with those around me. I believe that God will build his church and I desire to work with him in the building process. May the Lord richly bless you as you seek to follow him.