Who is James Nickols?

In a Nutshell:

James Nickols is the Chief Operations Officer of The Filling Station Trust, ¹ and the Trust's Regional Consultant for South East England which includes Wessex Filling Station. James is also the Associate Minister of Immanuel Church, Chichester.

Where it all began:

James was born in London and grew up going to Holy Trinity, Brompton. ² A key moment came when he was 13 and his father, who was a solicitor, died. This was a terrific blow to the young teenager and he felt he had either to reject God, or to choose to trust him - despite the pain and confusion. Over time James chose to do the latter and his testimony is one of the Lord's unfailing faithfulness and healing power.

Oxford University and St Aldates Church:

After graduating from school James went to Oxford University to study theology. It was whilst there that he became very involved in St Aldates Church. ³

It was at this time that the Toronto blessing impacted churches across the nation. James personally encountered the Lord in a mighty and powerful way which created a new intimacy and deepened the way that he prayed and studied the bible. Staying on in Oxford James worked as a lay assistant at St Aldates and went through the selection process for Church of England ordination.

A South African Adventure:

Before going to theological college James went to South Africa to set up youth work for a church in a small rural town in what is now Limpopo Province. ⁴ It was an exciting time in South Africa following the end of apartheid and James fell in love with the people and the country. Work was diverse, investing in young people, leading assemblies and teaching in local schools, putting on youth camps and helping to run an intern scheme at the church.

Cambridge, Plymouth, Peckham:

Returning to the UK James started at Ridley Hall ⁵ in Cambridge, where he studied for two years before being ordained in Exeter Diocese and serving his curacy at St Jude's Church in Plymouth. While in Plymouth James took on the leadership of Activ8, a Christian activity holiday run by the Stewards Trust in conjunction with World Horizons in Llanelli.

As the time came to move on from Plymouth, James married the love of his life Bethia, and together they journeyed to Peckham where they set up home together and planned their family. James had been invited to work as the Associate Minister at All Saints, Peckham, ⁶ with Frog and Amy Orr-Ewing.

Life and work in Peckham was an exciting time for them as a family, James worked with the large, dynamic church team doing a great deal of mission and evangelism, which he loved. The Lord would break in in the most wonderful, unexpected ways. On one occasion he healed a lady of the after effects of treatment for breast cancer during a mid-week communion service when all the people attending gathered round to pray for her in the middle of the service!

A Developing Knowledge of Healing and Deliverance:

As his job was coming to a close at All Saints, one of James and Bethia's children become extremely ill. The couple were taken on a whole new faith adventure as they joined Hugh and Helen Balfour at Christ Church, on the Old Kent Road. There they pursued a deeper intimacy with the Lord and sought Him for the healing for their child. This was a time of equipping and growth, especially through the gifts of healing and the prophetic. They also built on a local mission initiative, and became involved with Healing on the Streets, working on an Inner Healing and Deliverance course, and taking part in personal prayer sessions for individuals.

The Filling Station Trust:

James' post at Christ Church was initially partly funded by the Diocese. When this funding ran out he and Bethia were in a quandary because they felt it was right to stay but did not know how it would be possible. It was at this moment that Richard Fothergill, Director of the Filling Station Trust, ^{(pictured below left)} rang and asked if he could meet up with James.

When they met James thought that Richard wanted to ask him to join the Trust's 'Recommended Speakers List', however he was surprised, and delighted, to be invited to join The Filling Station as their first additional member of staff. It felt so clearly the Lord's provision to be able to stay working part time at Christ Church and to be part time with The Filling Station too.

A Sabbatical with Latin Link:

An opportunity then came up to do something a little bit different so James, Bethia and their three children went to Colombia for four months on sabbatical with Latin Link ⁷ to volunteer for a charity in Medellin ⁸ working with marginalised and disadvantaged children. This was an incredible privilege and James and Bethia learnt a huge amount about the Lord's protection and provision.

A Move to West Sussex:

Shortly after their return from Colombia Bethia got a job in Chichester and the family relocated to West Sussex. As well as continuing his work for The Filling Station Trust, James work as the Associate Minister of Immanuel Church, a friendly Anglican Church who meet in the heart of Chichester. ⁹

James loves the ethos of The Filling Station, but more than that is the privilege of helping encourage and equip wonderful people to step in to all that the Lord is calling them to in their local area.

Ed.

Footnotes:

1. The Filling Station Trust: see https://thefillingstation.org.uk/
2. Holy Trinity Brompton: see https://www.htb.org/
3. St Aldates Church Oxford: see https://staldates.org.uk/
4. Limpopo Province: Limpopo is the northernmost province in South Africa. It's named after the Limpopo River, which forms the province's western and northern borders. It border Botswana, Zimbabwe and Mozambique. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Limpopo
5. Ridley Hall College: see https://www.ridley.cam.ac.uk/
6. All Saints Peckham: see https://www.allsaintspeckham.org.uk/
7. Latin Link: see https://www.latinlink.org.uk/
8. Medellin: The Municipality of Medellín, is the second-largest city in Colombia, after Bogotá. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medellín
9. Immanuel Church Chichester: see https://immanuelchichester.com/