Living Word Christian Fellowship

The pastors of the church are Curdell and Herby McLeod. Originally from Jamaica, both came to Britain in the 1950s.

In the 1970s they started a Homework Study Centre, facilitating after-school supplementary teaching for local underachieving and underprivileged children.

Curdell has worked in the Civil Service and in education for many years, seeking change on issues of race and gender. In 1992 Curdell left her job as Deputy Principal of a further education college to enter full-time Christian ministry. She has been involved in pastoral ministry since 1988, radio ministry through London's Premier Christian Radio, a TV series called The Living Word on Sky TV Channel 173 – HCN, and teaching at Hampstead Bible College and South London Christian College. She has an international ministry and an apostolic mandate to reach the world. She has a regular magazine feature called Living Faith in Keep the Faith magazine.[2]

Herby has devoted his working life as a motor mechanic, and served London Transport for 20 years. He has been involved in the ministry alongside his wife since 1988.

The church has a number of affiliations with other churches and organisations. The church has links with the ministry of Bill Hammon and Christian International, a ministry that emphasises the continuing ministry of apostles and prophets.[3] They also have a relationship with Ron and Jane Jolliff of Northside Community Church, Columbus, Ohio.[4]

There are also links with Ellel Ministries.[5]

LWCF is a member of The Evangelical Alliance of Great Britain,[6] The African and Caribbean Evangelical Alliance[7] and Churches in Communities International under the leadership of Hugh Osgood.[8]

LWCF believes that they have a mission to minister the Word of God and pray for the sick. They minister the Word with a particular emphasis on walking in faith, a doctrine of the Word of Faith Movement.

In addition to prophetic seminars, the church runs a School of Ministry that is open to all believers.[9]

The Word of Faith emphasis adhered to by LWCF is widespread within Pentecostal and charismatic churches. It has been criticised and has created controversy in theological circles of academia. One of the earliest critics of the teaching was Oral Roberts University Professor Charles Farah, who published From the Pinnacle of the Temple in 1979. In the book, Farah expressed his disillusionment with the teachings, which he argued were more about presumption than faith.[10]

In 1982, one of Farah's students, Daniel Ray McConnell, submitted a thesis to the faculty at Oral Roberts University arguing against E. W. Kenyon, Kenneth Hagin and the doctrines of the Word of Faith.

Other critics have included Hank Hanegraaff, Norman Geisler, Dave Hunt and Roger Oakland.

There is also support for the Word of Faith teaching. Frederick K. C. Price of Crenshaw Christian Center, a Word of Faith proponent, wrote Faith, Foolishness and Presumption to redress the balance on the genre teaching.[11]

• LWCF website
• Keep the Faith magazine