Our New Senior Minister

We are delighted to announce that an appointment has been made for the Senior Minister role at IIC!

We joyfully welcome Pastor Simon Lawton and his wife, Julia, to our church family.

Pastor Simon and Julia bring with them over 30 years of ministry experience and a deep passion for reaching communities with God’s love. They have pioneered and planted churches and missional expressions that have impacted many lives for Christ. Serving in both urban and rural contexts such as Crewe, Newcastle, Birmingham and Banbury.

We wholeheartedly believe that God has orchestrated this appointment. As Pastor Simon and Julia step into this new role, working alongside the dedicated leaders and teams already serving at IIC, we trust that many of the prophecies and words spoken over IIC in this season will come to pass. We believe this next chapter will build upon the strong foundation laid by Pastor Harold and previous ministers that God will continue to strengthen and grow IIC as we move forward.

You can find out more of Pastor Simon's years of ministry by looking at his blog - Click Here

Pastor Simon and Julia have also recorded a short video for those connected to IIC so you can get to know a little more about them...

Sorry, your browser is unable to play this type of file. You can still download it

Induction Service

We are also pleased to announce that the Induction Service for Pastor Simon & Julia will be Saturday 3rd May 2025 at 3pm.

It will be at the church building and we will have guests from across Ipswich and beyond.
Refreshments will be served after the service.

Please join us as we celebrate this wonderful and exciting occasion.

Thank you for praying with and for us.

As many of you will know, in October 2024, we experienced both joy and sadness as we bid farewell to Pastor Harold Afflu, Sister Florence Afflu, and their family, as they embarked on a new season of ministry, taking on the Senior Leadership role at City Gates Church in Ilford.

Since then, IIC has been in a season of transition, there has been much prayer and fasting as we have sought God's will for the future of IIC. With the guidance of Elim’s National Leadership Team, our Regional Leader, Dave Campbell, and the Eldership of IIC, we have been prayerfully seeking God’s direction for who will lead IIC into this next season. This process has been ongoing for several months, and we deeply appreciate the faithfulness and commitment of those involved in this journey.

We want to thank everyone who has been praying for and with IIC, while we have been on this journey and ask that you continue to pray for IIC and stand with us in this new season. Whether you have been part of our journey for years or have recently joined, we invite you to continue walking with us in whatever capacity God leads you. Together, we remain committed to our mission—to make disciples and impact nations.

God bless you all,
IIC Leadership Team

Hello and welcome to our church. If you are a new visitor, we have a page for you to get to know us and learn more about planning a visit.
Click here to see more.

Visitors click here.

Planning your Visit

Getting Connected

Cell Groups

While Sundays are a great way to meet new people, it is often in smaller gatherings that you can really get to know someone. Being part of one of our cell groups allows you to make new friends, share together and support each other.
We have a variety of groups that meet throughout the week. Check out Cell Groups and see if there’s one that you could join, or we can put you in touch with a cell group leader who will be more than happy to invite you along to their group.

Watch Online

Some people find that the best next step, before coming to a physical gathering, is to watch our Sunday gathering either live or after the service. Click on the live stream button.

A warm welcome waiting...

The following information is specifically for those planning to visit one of our locations, so that you know, beforehand, what to expect on a Sunday morning.

Where and When

Our Ipswich location meet's at Barrack Corner/Portman Road (details here) for our Sunday Celebration Gathering starting at 11:00am. For your first visit, we recommend arriving 10-15 minutes early to ensure you get a parking space and find somewhere to sit before the service begins. When you arrive, you should be greeted by someone on our Welcome Team who will be at the front door, ready to greet you.

We serve tea, coffee and biscuits after the 11am gathering. It is a great way to meet people and get to know more about the church. All refreshments are free.

Accessibility: There is wheelchair access, and a sound loop for anyone who needs it. Please let one of the Welcome Team know on your arrival and they will help you find the best place to sit to enable greater accessibility.

Our Service

The main service begins at 11am with a warm welcome from one of our team members. Then follows a time of sung worship, led by our band. We typically have 2 or 3 songs lasting approximately 20 minutes. Sometimes a person might pray out loud or read a small passage from the bible. Sometimes people share things that they believe God is saying to the whole church family. This might seem strange the first time you hear it but it’s all part of our connecting with God. We then share news and notices, usually about what’s going on in the life of the church. One of our leaders will then give a sermon that is bible based and that we can apply to our everyday life. We then finish with a final worship song. Sometimes there is an opportunity to receive prayer at the end of the service.

Slide-Flags

What about my kids?

We have a great programme lined up for kids of all ages:

Creche (0 months to 3 years). Children under 6 months are welcome but must be accompanied by their parent/grown-up at all times. There are age appropriate toys provided
Limitless Kids (3 years to 11 years). Parents are encouraged to bring their children to register at the class. We have games, crafts and bible teaching aimed at this age range.
Limitless Youth (11 years to 18 years). Our youth meeting in Burlington Community hall over the road from the main service with age aimed teaching and discussion.

Children & Young People stay with their parent or grown-up at the start of the service for the welcome, songs and sometimes notices. We really value worshipping God all together as one family. Someone will announce that it’s time for the younger members to go to their various groups. You will need to go with your children to their groups and register them as part of our child safety policy.
Parents of young people will not need to register them before the session but will need to after.

The kids group activities vary depending on the age but usually there is a friendly welcome, bible stories, testimonies, praying, craft, drama, fun games and free play. Please pick your children up as soon as the service finishes at the front of the service hall.

Serving and Volunteering

If you want to get involved in the life of the church and help us make gathering run smoothly or help out in the week, you can sign up to serve on a team by speaking to one of our leaders who will be happy to link you to the best person.

Get in touch with us to plan your visit

If you would like to come and visit the church beforehand you are more than welcome! Get in touch and we can arrange a time that suits you.

Name:

Telephone:

Email Address:
Comments / Questions or anything you would like to say?

Next, we will contact you by email to say hello and help arrange anything necessary for your visit.