Blackpool Centre of Mission

Blackpool has some of the most deprived estates in the country, and Grange Park folk face some of the greatest challenges. With a population of over 7,000, Grange Park has a reputation of having high levels of unemployment, poor educational standards, crime and drugs. Launched in June 2018, Blackpool Centre of Mission is a new and exciting partnership between Church Army and the Diocese of Blackburn to breathe new Christian life into the estate and the deanery of Blackpool. Lead evangelist Matthew Rowley and his family have moved into the heart of the estate, where his wife Lucy has already been making an impact as a church community worker. God is already opening doors and connections are being made. Soon a pioneer evangelist will join the team, and they will work with local people to grow new disciples and establish new Christian communities. In time they will offer their experience and gifts in evangelism to the churches of Blackpool as a resource for mission and fulfil the Church Army DARE strategy.

Bradford Centre of mission

The Bradford Centre of Mission is home to the Sorted Project – a church for young people, run by young people. It was established as a fresh expression of church in 2005 by Andy Milne, and his wife Tracy has since grown into three separate youth churches with a focus on teenagers and young adults from non-church backgrounds. It has been awarded a Bishops’ Mission Order which officially recognises it within the Church of England. It's work includes: three youth churches; outreach to schools and housing estates youth clubs; worship evenings; home groups and one-to-one mentoring and discipleship. Carl Firth is also based at our Bradford Centre of Mission. You can find out more through Sorted's website or by reading their latest supporter newsletter.

Greenwich Centre of Mission

The Greenwich Centre of Mission in South London works across a number of housing estates and deprived communities and is led by Nick Russell and Nicholas Lebey. Their work includes: The Superkidz Community Trust, which reaches out to hundreds of deprived children, young people and parents each year through youth and children’s clubs, home visiting and mentoring, families work, holiday clubs and trips and employment advice and training, with specialist work with young offenders and those at risk of offending; Coffee Stop for socially excluded adults; Friendship Tea – an accessible Christian service for adults; Messy Church; a partnership with the youth charity, XLP, to help those struggling at school and at risk of exclusion and the Friday Night Youth Club in Abbey Wood with the vision of growing this into a youth congregation.

Hackney Centre of Mission

Our Hackney Centre of Mission was launched in September 2018, in partnership with the Diocese of London. It will be led by Stephen Plumb, who says: "I have a calling to serve people from difficult backgrounds and share God's love through words and action with them. The new Hackney Centre of Mission will be all about transforming lives through Jesus." Outreach efforts will be concentrated on the Kingsmead Estate, a dense area featuring high-rise flats (which has a legacy of drug and arms dealing) and the Clapton Park Estate (with a large proportion of socially isolated older people and single parent households). The 2011 Census reports that 39% of Hackney's population was born outside the UK. It also highlights that Hackney has the UK's highest proportion of people claiming to be of 'no religion'.

HARLEsTON Centre of Mission

The Harleston Centre of Mission serves a group of villages in a rural part of south Norfolk, mostly between the towns of Harleston and Diss. Church Army is learning fast what it means to bring Good News in both words and actions in a rural area, where great poverty and great comfort often go cheek by jowl. Trevor Clarke is the evangelist who leads this centre of mission, and during 2018 he will be joined by a colleague so that they can not only help people hear about Jesus for the first time, but also encourage nearby churches to be Good News in their communities.

Kings Lynn Centre of Mission

James Hawksworth is the evangelist who leads the Kings Lynn Centre of Mission. He ministers in an area of considerable poverty – the kind of area where Church Army has made its home in all the fourteen decades of its history. The vision is for evangelism to become a way of life for many Christians not only in Kings Lynn but in the surrounding churches in the north-west of Norfolk. His heart is with young people and their families. James has been working with the YMCA, who have started a youth club in the North Lynn estate and James will act as a YMCA Chaplain at the youth club. This has also opened up avenues to do mentoring with some of the young people on the estate, which he hopes to begin in the near future. James is also a Chaplain at a local school. In South Lynn, he is working alongside a local church to help them develop their evangelism and outreach on the estate. You can read more news from the Kings Lynn Centre of Mission in their latest newsletter.

Liverpool Centre of Mission 

The centre of mission in Liverpool, based in the parish of Norris Green, was launched in November 2017. This is a strategic partnership between the diocese, the parish of St Christopher’s and Church Army. The Parish of Norris Green is based close to the centre of Liverpool. It is an area of social need but also there is much regeneration and new housing being built. Paul Smith leads the centre of mission and Cherith Collins is the pioneer evangelist. They currently run a foodbank, with a strong focus on listening to, befriending and praying with those attending. They also run regular groups for men, children, parents and toddlers, the elderly and a walking football club (in partnership with Liverpool Football Club). They are also building connections within the local schools, including regularly leading school assemblies and running monthly community coffee mornings, as well as offering pastoral support to staff. They run a youth summer camp and a group to get the young people involved in evangelism and outreach. Read the latest news from Paul and Cherith in their newsletter.

Medway Centre of Mission 

In its glory days Chatham was home to Henry VIII's navy, but over four centuries have gone by and the town is now a place where people with many needs live. Stephen Ramshaw is the lead evangelist and he is determined that people's lives will be better because of the centre of mission. He wants to give people hope in a place where there is low aspiration, security where there is practical need and a Saviour in a place where many people don't know how much God loves them. His vision is for the Medway Centre of Mission to be a beacon of light and love to the people of Chatham and the surrounding Medway towns, telling people how much they are loved, valued and worth. Stephen is involved in a number of different initiatives in the area, including: a Sunday service at the Tap 'n' Tin nightclub in Chatham, chaplaincy work on a Monday evening at the same nightclub, a community cafe and fortnightly pop-up furniture shop in Strood and prayer walking in Chatham every Saturday morning. They also are building relationships with the homeless in the area, including a monthly gathering at the Tap 'n' Tin where they give our food parcels and clothing and have a more relaxed "service" with hot drinks, cake and biscuits. Find out more about what Stephen has been up to since he moved to the area in his recent newsletter.

scunthorpe Centre of Mission

The vision for Scunthorpe Centre of Mission, which was launched in July 2017, is 'Transforming Communities, Building Church'. It is led by Paul McDonough and Sean Andrews and works in three communities across Scunthorpe (the Riddings estate, Westcliff and Berkeley). The role of Scunthorpe Centre of Mission is to encourage the present church communities and also bring hope to the wider community and show that Jesus is relevant and that he cares about the folk who live in these areas. Paul and Sean have been building relationships with statutory and local organisations across Scunthorpe. Paul has been leading assemblies in schools in Berkley, where he is based and is currently establishing a messy church in the area. He has also become chaplain to the Forge Centre in Brumby, which works with homeless men and women, providing a drop-in and food. Sean is based on the Riddings estate and works a lot with young people in the area, including at the local youth centre and he also does school visits and assemblies in the three schools on the estate. Sean also visits the local pub where he is there as a listening ear, which has led to great conversations about faith, life and death. In Westcliffe, Paul and Sean have been working with the local foodbank and creating a community garden and nature and conservation area for local schools and groups. You can read more about what Paul and Sean have been up to in their most recent newsletter.

Selby Centre of Mission

"Where change is possible" could be the motto of the Edge Community, Selby. Richard Cooke leads the Selby Centre of Mission, where he is working with Amy Hayes alongside local Christians as they reach out to families of the Flaxley Road estate. It is one of the most socially deprived estates in North Yorkshire, where there is much brokenness and hurt. With no overt Christian presence or outreach for 100 years, the poverty is spiritual as well. Richard and Amy work with the local church to bring the Good News of God's love and power for change in a variety of ways: in the local primary school with assemblies, RE and a Christian after-school club; running DNA youth group and Youth Alpha style meetings; a women's Bible study; supporting young families through a parent and toddler group and helping people practically with parenting and debt. You can find out more about the Edge Community through their website or by reading their latest newsletter.

sheffield centre of mission 

Kinder Kalsi leads the Sheffield Centre of Mission, working alongside Deborah Battersby. Across the city they are involved in: establishing fresh expressions of church for those who are vulnerable or mentally ill; youth clubs; schools’ work; outreach on housing estates; one-to-one mentoring; providing evangelism training to churches and individuals; food banks and practical support and outreach to workers in the city centre.

Southampton Centre of Mission 

Tim Hyde and Ruth Hills are based at our centre of mission in Southampton. Church Army has had a very long association with Southampton, so it is appropriate that it was one of the first cities in the UK where Church Army developed a Centre of Mission. Changing to meet changing needs, its work now has the scope to encourage and enable evangelism across the city from a base on the east side. Tim is based in Sholing Parish where he works alongside St. Mary’s Church, Sholing. This includes running Impact youth group, including fun and games as well as the 'Deep Impact' sessions, which the young people have begun to lead themselves on an issue which is personal to them. They also take the young people on a summer youth camp each year. Tim and his wife Kathy are also involved in a number of community projects, including Repair Cafe, which offers free homemade cakes and a bike repair service and Monty's, which is somewhere for people to sit and chat. Ruth is based in the Bitterne Park area of Southampton, where regular outreach events include: Footsteps, a weekly tots group; Kids Rock, an after-school club in both the local infant and junior schools and EFC (Extreme Fun Club), an evening group for junior aged children. Ruth also leads Hope, which is a faith community in the area, which meets in people's homes and eats together and shares life together. You can read more about the latest news from Southampton Centre of Mission in their supporter newsletter.

Thanet Centre of Mission

The Thanet Centre of Mission brings hope to communities in Margate, Ramsgate, Broadstairs and the surrounding villages on the east coast of Kent and is led by Lynne Bone. Across the deanery, there continues to be good collaboration between the centre of mission and other agencies including the Police, Food Link, schools, Manston Army base and community projects. Its work includes: Prayer Care, where the team visit residential care homes on a regular basis and build relationships with residents, family members, staff and management; St Georges Ramsgate Project where they build community and show God’s love in a practical and relevant way; Men’s film and chippy nights which are run on a monthly basis in two churches; The Dream Team, which is an exciting new venture aiming to “enthuse the pews” with reaching out to our local communities in mission and evangelism; taking assemblies and visiting classrooms on a weekly rota; we are also a part of Schools+, an ecumenical group who run Christmas Unwrapped and Easter Cracked events for year 6 pupils across many different primary schools. Catch up with Thanet's latest news by reading their summer newsletter.

Torbay Centre of Mission 

The Torbay Centre of Mission was launched in September 2016 and is bringing the Good News of Jesus to Paignton, Torquay and people who live in the bay between. Torbay was once a thriving holiday destination, but now it has a very high rate of poverty among children, old people and those of working age. The local churches long to respond, and they have identified people aged 18 to 30 and their families as a priority. Jeff Hill has been living and ministering on the Foxhole Estate, Paignton since August 2014. He is serving families practically through community lunches, a toddler group, work in the school, a big termly community event for families and a Messy Church. Adrian Prescott joined the team in September 2016 to live in nearby Torquay and begin new projects that bring help and hope to people who live in the forgotten corners of the town. Between them they long to encourage other local churches in their mission, and gather people around them to share the vision for introducing Jesus to people who do not yet know how very much God loves them.

Find out about our other centres of mission in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland.