“In the last six or seven years I felt called to Cornwall.”

Revd Jacob Tyers recently moved to the diocese to take his place at New Street Church, Falmouth, and is excited about what the future holds.

For many years Jacob has felt called to Cornwall and this January he and his family left St Wilfrid’s, Wilford, in the Diocese of Southwell and Nottingham, when he was asked to become New Street’s Lead Minister.

As he settles into his new role, he says he is spending much time praying and listening to God.

“One of the things I am really passionate about is the rich history of revival, deep in the soil of the land here,” Jacob reveals. “People want to see God.

“We feel really privileged to be here. We feel really blessed. It is a huge privilege, a joy to intercede. I believe significantly in the life of New Street.”

“I believe God wants to move in Cornwall.”

Jacob is now seeking discernment from God on how to build on youth work in the church and believes discipleship and evangelism will be an integral part of this.

He says he has felt a strong call of God on his life after becoming a dedicated Christian at 15 years old. His family moved to a smaller church his great granddad had started. He said this was where he experienced people displaying the love of Jesus practically.

He recalls: “When I was 15, I broke my leg quite badly. Lots of people from the church brought me gifts and presents. I felt ‘that’s how Jesus treats people – he has lots of gifts for me’.”

One evening, when his family members were sleeping, he Googled ‘How to be a Christian.’

“That was my way of figuring it out,” he explains, “I found a prayer online and prayed it – and that is how I became a Christian.

“It was not long after that I went for a walk in the park with my mum. She said, ‘maybe you are called to ministry’. That made a lightbulb come on. My life made sense, I had a reason.”

And so, after completing three BTechs in PE he was accepted into Moorlands College, Bournemouth.

“It was there I fell in love with Jesus,” he says, “that’s what bible college did for me.

“I developed a real love for the scripture. The fact that I was able to spend time to study the bible was unbelievable. The bible was not information, but transformation.”

Jacob had been brought up in Pentecostal churches, but while at college he started to get a sense he was being called to the Church of England.

“There was not really a reason why I felt called to the Church of England,” he explains, “it didn’t make sense, but for some reason it kept coming up in conversation.”

In his third year at Moorlands College, he was offered an internship in a Church of England Church.

Jacob says: “I had been asking God if this call to the Church of England was the right thing, and he showed me.

“I interned with Bishop Paul Williams in Nottingham for a year at Trinity Church.

“It felt really significant.”

“I had been asking God if this call to the Church of England was the right thing, and he showed me.”

In the second year of his internship, he worked supporting young people at Trinity Church. During the same year, the bishop recommended him for ordination.

“It felt surreal,” Jacob says, “It also felt like a relief – proof I was following the call of God. It felt like a joy.”

After ordination he stayed in Nottingham but reveals: “In the last six or seven years I felt called to Cornwall.

“I had known about New Street and prayed for Falmouth and Cornwall for many years.”

New Street Church is based in All Saints Church in Killigrew Street, Falmouth. It began 2019 and has grown in number over the years.

Jacob says: “I heard there was a vacancy and people said I should apply for it. I did – and had my application accepted.”

During the interview process he felt a ‘weight of responsibility’ for New Street.

He adds: “There were some nerves about the interview process, but more excitement for what God can do. I believe he wants to do something really significant in Cornwall. Not for the short term, but the long term.

“It is a wonderful time to join the Diocese of Truro, a significant time.

“I believe God wants to move in Cornwall.”

Isaac McNish, Head of Ministry at Diocese of Truro, said: “As a diocese, we’re committed to developing local patterns of ministry that are fruitful, sustainable and deeply rooted in their communities, and to ensuring every child and young person in Cornwall has access to a worshipping community where they can explore faith and feel at home.”