Grace Church Beckenham: 5 Years In!
On paper – we had a good plan. I’m definitely at the risk-embracing end of the spectrum, but even Mary, my more pessimistic wife, thought it wasn’t completely crazy! We believe in what God can do as he gathers a small, prayerful new church family to help serve an area. We’d enjoyed the 9 years […]
Reaching the unreached
Harrison knocks at a door on the fifth floor of a Vauxhall Estate and waits. He’s used to waiting. This isn’t his first time door-knocking, and he’s in no rush to move on to the next. No one answers. It’s not unusual – with 2,000 homes on the estate and an estimated 5,000 people living […]
Our Prayer for London
Our task in Co-Mission is to reach London by planting churches for Christ. This goal defines us in everything we do. However, while this goal is clear, it will be very difficult to fulfill it. For a start, our city is big and complex. There is so much spiritual apathy in the population. We are […]
Celebrating 25 Years of Christ Church Mayfair
When asked to reflect on planting CCM at our 25th anniversary service, Richard Coekin answered, “God did this”. How fitting. Praise God for his work in starting, sustaining and multiplying Christ Church Mayfair over 25 years. I joined CCM in 2021, a grateful beneficiary of those who laboured before me. Our focus on God’s word […]
A Place to Roam!
‘Someone needs to open a play cafe in this area.’ That was the WhatsApp message I sent to another mum from church on yet another rainy afternoon when I just needed to get out of the flat. Walking through Vauxhall in the dark at 3:30pm, with my newborn in the pram and my toddler on […]
InterLondres
Diego grew up in poverty with four siblings, in a home where his father was always drunk and violent. Life changed dramatically when his mother left Ecuador for Spain to find work. She took her children to a new country where their faces and colour immediately marked them as different. As young immigrants whose mum […]
Kicking and Screaming
Do you remember the first time you shared the gospel with someone? Where were you? Was it easy? And a thrill? Or nerve-wracking and daunting? Looking around our church family at Christ Church Balham, I’m grateful that we have a congregation made up of older folks, working professionals, newlyweds and a host of families with […]
The World at Our Doorstep
At a recent planning day, the English Conversation Café team mapped out some of the countries that guests who attend the evenings come from. Take a look. What do you notice? In short, you’ll see that God has brought a mission field to our doorstep. Regularly around the tables on Monday nights are guests from […]
Responding Wisely to “Unite the Kingdom”
How should we respond to the “Unite the Kingdom” marches? What do we make of Tommy Robinson and his central London carol service aiming to put Christ back into Christmas? Here are four thoughts that might move us in a helpful direction. 01. Resist polarisation Our nation is increasingly divided. We have lost the art […]
When pregnancy isolates, together we can make a difference
According to the WHO, every year there are around 73 million induced abortions in the world. This corresponds to approximately 200,000 abortions per day. In the UK, there are around 690 abortions each day, amounting to roughly a quarter of all pregnancies. In the Bible, God makes plain that, in his eyes, unborn life is […]
Cross Cultural Ministry
Our city is wonderfully diverse and all the nations are represented here in London, with many from different ethnic backgrounds who follow different religions. They have no understanding of the life-giving, life-changing gospel of Jesus. How might those nations and communities in our city be reached? We believe it is by having godly and gifted […]
Where to start? Try a Zumba Class!
Sometimes the task of going out and telling people about Jesus seems such an enormous one. Where to start? How can we persuade people to come and hear? One of our church family is a Zumba instructor, and has the opportunity to connect with people in the local community at her fitness classes. We decided […]