Keith Smith

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Keith was born and bought up in in the South East of London. It was here that he attended school and at the age of 11 was assessed as "gifted", and sent to a special educational unit for extra help, going up to Cambridge University at the age of just 16. Although intellectually ready for university, Keith, like many in his position, was not prepared for the social demands of university life, and within a year had "dropped out", and signed up for a young managers program with an international insurance company. It was while working for this company in 1972 that Keith came to know Christ as his Lord and Savior.

Keith had been sent to Sunday School as a child, but although he enjoyed the meetings had never made a commitment, and like many had just stopped going as he got older. But in April 1972, all that changed. Whilst on a lunch-break from work, Keith met the evangelist Arthur Blessitt, and agreed to go to a meeting that evening. When he arrived, he liked the music but was put off by the direct preaching, such that he soon got to his feet and left. However the Lord continued speaking to his heart and when he reached his station he saw a Salvation Army Band and went over and asked for them to pray with him to receive Christ.

His early discipline was within the Anglican Church in South East London, where he lived. He spent much time with the Youth Leader, and was soon leading small outreaches from the church. It was at this time that he received the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, totally revolutionizing his Christian walk. It was also at this time that he first participated in a church-plant. A group from the local Baptist Church, approached the youth outreach team, asking for help in planting a new church, after much prayer, they agreed, and succeeded in planting what is to this day, one of the most lively churches in South-East London.

In the Autumn of 1974, Keith received a clear and powerful call to the ministry. During the Winter and spring of 1975, the Church tested this call, and in 1975 Keith went to Study at a Christian Life College. This was a wonderful time, when Keith not only immersed himself I God’s word, but also completed his B.A. in psychology. It was here that he was ordained.

After his graduation in 1978, Keith moved to Wembley, North-West London, where the Lord used him to plant his first House Church. Starting with 8 meeting in a small flat, it later grew to 15 in one flat, and another House Church of 19 young people in another house nearby.

A year later Keith responded to a call to move to Brighton, and work with the Anglican Church there in evangelism and as advisors on the Charismatic Movement. Keith spent 3 happy years there. It was whilst in Brighton Clare was born. During his time in Brighton, Keith became a popular speaker at a number of Charismatic Events, become friends with many, who today are well known in church life.

In 1982, the Lord called Keith to leave his home in Brighton, to tour the country for 6 months in a motor caravan. In six months they visited over 50 towns and villages, preaching the Gospel and Teaching in various churches and fellowships. At the end of the tour they settled down in South East London, first working as Assistant Pastors in a Baptist Church, and later in another part of South East London, variously helping Anglican, Baptist, Pentecostal and House Churches.

During most of this time Keith had secular employment, as well as his work in the Church in South East London, Keith also traveled extensively, working alongside Churches on the South-Coast, Inner London and Merseyside.

In 1985 Keith and the other elders of the House Church where he was then working took the radical step of dissolving the fellowship and spreading out to bless all of the churches in our area. This had the effect of causing a mini-revival in the churches where we went. And has led to the planting of several powerful ministries from that seedtime. Keith went to a small Pentecostal Church, where they served until 1988, when they moved to Eastbourne on the South Coast, Where alongside their secular work, they helped to plant a church on a new estate. Keith resumed his studies part-time, gaining an M.A. in psychology and theology. In 1989 he was appointed both as elder of the church and director of the "Chat Shop", a professional Christian Counseling Center, partially funded by the church.

A little latter he also joined the faculty of the Berea Bible College, teaching Counseling, Missions and Biblical Archeology part time. During the summers Keith began to lead ministry teams to evangelize and build up the Church in Northern Spain.

In 1993, Keith, and the family finally succumbed to the call that the Lord had began to put in their life as early as 1982, and moved to Torrelavega in Northern Spain. Here after six months of hard work, they led a major evangelistic thrust to the province of Cantabria, with an evangelist and team from the UK, bringing their own "roadshow" vehicle. We had major outreaches in all but two of the main towns in the region. Many were saved and directed to local churches. During our second year, They helped a local pastor to plant a new church in Torrelavega. They also found themselves helping other missionaries who had come to Spain ill prepared for the work in such a hard place.In 1995, Keith moved to Santoña, to try to start a church there. Despite a lot of hard work, they saw few results. The Lord did however use this time to cement links between Keith and the leaders of the Gypsy churches. Mid 1996, Keith moved to Colindres. He had been invited to take over the work of an American missionary who was to go on extended furlough. However, it soon became evident that the group with whom the missionary had been working, had some extreme doctrines that in no way were to be found in scripture. When challenged about these doctrines, the regional leaders reacted very strongly, changing the constitution of the organization in order to have Keith, excluded from the work. This was not a great problem as Keith had already embarked of their next project.

The winter after Keith moved to Colindres, he began work at an English academy in the nearby town of Castro Urdiales, where he taught among others the secretary of the local police chief. One day two policemen presented themselves in the academy and asked Keith to accompany them. A woman had been trying to throw herself from a sixth floor flat. Anyone who approached she attacked, and she was threatening to set the flat on fire. They wanted Keith as a psychologist, first to "talk her down" and then to sign the papers so that a judge could commit her for a medical/psychiatric examination. As soon as the police opened the flat, the woman ran into a back room and started a small fire. As Keith looked around the walls he saw that they were covered in Satanic graffiti and paintings.

When the woman came out he immediately spoke to the demon, in English, telling it to be quiet and binding it in the name of Jesus. Straight away the woman was in her right mind. Keith offered her the possibility of giving her life to the Lord and receiving total deliverance, but the woman said that she wanted the demon, as it gave her power, so Keith sadly signed the committal documents.

The Police chief was amazed that the woman was so calm. He kept asking what Keith had done. Keith explained that it was something that he could never write in a report, so forget it. The next day, the town’s mayor, having read the police report went to see Keith, and after Keith explained what had happened, the Mayor said there and then, that if that is what an evangelical Christian could do, then he wanted Keith to open a church in his town as soon as possible.

As Keith looked around he found that the only other christians in the town were from an AOG church in the city of Bilbao, about 30 miles away. He spoke to the pastor, and they agreed to open a church there.

Sadly although the pastor had said that he liked the idea of House Church, it soon became clear that for him House Church was no more than an Institutional Church in a house.

As the church grew, the pastor insisted that we rent a storefront, and so forth. Keith was rather upset about this and asked the Lord what he wanted him to do. The Lord told him to stick with it, and He would make the transition.

During September of 2002, He started to: First, One of the sisters there got a little jealous about the fellowship that Keith had in the house Church in their home, and asked if she could start one in hers. After much humming and Hawing the AOG pastor agreed, if Keith would "keep an eye on it" and their church although autonymous, maintained fellowhip with the main church in Castro. This in turn led to another group (of mostly South American imigrants) doing the same, with the same terms, in Colindres. So now Keith leads a strange network of 3 House Churches and a now almost non-existant traditional Church.

But Keith’s work doesn’t stop there. He gives apostolic oversight to other groups in Spain, and various churches in the UK. He travels in Spain,the United States and the UK, speaking, especially on local Church issues, Organic House Churches and Healing Communities. He is the executive director of The Asociation "Castillo Fuerte", who’s five-fold ministry is: To plant and develop Churches, Providing professional christian counseling, Providing Training for Christian leaders and counselors, The Refuge and finally a widely used Christian resources centre. Keith has also recently been asked to co-ordinate the work of Outreach Fellowship International in Spain as their national director.

Keith is a "tent-making missionaries". They both work in outside employment, teaching and as a psychologist. However as this work is part time they are also blessed to be helped by churches that know of their work.

Keith's children both attended universities and are both presently in ministries of their own.

Download a free copy of the original “Organic Church” by Keith Smith

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