We are in the thick of planning and preparing, seeing great answers to prayer, and feeling the spiritual battle.
For over a year now, the elders and the members of Christ Church Balham have been praying and planning towards a church plant. We are wanting to balance prudent planning and risk-taking; wisdom and faith; bold expectation and sober realism.
We have identified an area in great need of a gospel-centred church: Hackbridge, which is six miles south of Balham. In many ways it’s a very ordinary place – a fairly generic urban/suburban area, an uninspiring high street but some nice green areas nearby. In God’s eyes it is a harvest field, and he has promised an abundant harvest (Matt. 9:38)! Living there are 8,000-10,000 image-bearers (depending on where you draw borders). They are like sheep without a shepherd, and need to hear and see the gospel of Christ that can bring them from death to life.
The more established working-class population is increasingly being added to by an influx of newer commuters, with 1,500 new homes having been built in the last ten years. As a launch team, we are preparing to relocate from the Balham area to Hackbridge in the coming months, so that we can really get stuck into the local community. We are praying that God would fill us with such a love for the people there that we would be ‘delighted to share with [them] not only the gospel of God but our lives as well’ (1 Thess. 2:8). It’ll mean a longer commute for most of the team, but we also hope that it’s an area where people can commit (a bit more affordably!) for the long term.
At every step of the road so far, God has been encouraging us and answering prayers. He is building an increasingly broad support base of gospel partners, and he has assembled a launch team – seventeen adults and seven children to date – who are willing to relocate, pray hard, hold out the gospel and see what God does. There is always scope for discouragement and fear – please pray that we would resist the devil’s attacks and stand firm in Jesus.
From January 2025 we began monthly meetings in Hackbridge, gathering together in prayer and fellowship, and building our mission on the core truths of the gospel from God’s word. Please pray that we build a strong, united team as we embark on mission and disciple-making in the area, and that God would be pleased to use us in his hands.
