Meet Anjela

Based in West Yorkshire, Anjela serves across two very different ministry settings. She works with the Destination 211 Bus Ministry in Dewsbury and also serves as a Child and Family Worker in Seacroft, Leeds, one of the most deprived areas in the country. Through both roles, Anjela spends her days sharing the love of Jesus with children, young people, and families who may never otherwise encounter church. 

Although she grew up in a Christian family, Anjela says her faith became personal when she was 15 years old after hearing a visiting preacher speak at her church. 

“I’d heard the Gospel hundreds of times before,” she reflects, “but that night God really touched my heart.” 

Years later, while working as a bus driver, Anjela became involved with the Destination 211 Bus Ministry after being asked to help drive the converted double-decker bus used for outreach. What began as occasional volunteering soon became something much deeper. 

“I started talking to the young people and getting more involved,” she says. “Then one day a Commissioned Church Army Evangelist told me, ‘You’d make a great evangelist.’” 

At first, Anjela resisted the idea, feeling nervous about the commitment and unsure whether she was equipped for ministry. But after prayerfully exploring Church Army, she found herself stepping into discernment and eventually beginning training as an Evangelist-in-Training. 

Today, the Destination 211 Bus Ministry reaches around 120 children each week across several council estates in Dewsbury. The converted bus acts as a mobile church and outreach space where children and families can encounter God in creative, welcoming, and accessible ways. 

“It’s very much a think-on-your-feet ministry,” Anjela explains. “These are largely unchurched children, so you can’t approach it like a traditional Sunday school.” 

Instead, the team builds relationships through crafts, conversation, worship songs, games, and simple Gospel messages shared in the middle of everyday life. Some children stay only a few minutes, while others never want to leave. 

The work is not without challenges. The ministry regularly faces disruption, hostility, and opposition, but Anjela remains deeply committed to continuing faithfully. 

“God gave me the word ‘tenacious’,” she says. “He told me to keep trying and not give up.” 

Over time, Anjela has seen remarkable signs of transformation. She recalls one teenage boy who initially showed no interest in faith but later picked up a Bible from the bus and began reading it constantly. 

“A few weeks later, he told us, ‘I’ve given my life to Christ.’ It was absolutely amazing.” 

Another deeply moving moment came when a young girl returned to the bus years after her grandmother had become a Christian through the ministry. 

“She told me, ‘I love God because he helps us all the time,’” Anjela says. “Moments like that remind you that God is always at work.” 

Alongside her practical ministry experience, Anjela describes Church Army training as life-changing and deeply formative. 

“It’s not just academic learning,” she explains. “It becomes heart knowledge. God speaks to you through the process.” 

She particularly values the encouragement and personal support offered throughout training, as well as the emphasis on reflection, discipleship, and spiritual growth. 

“Church Army helped me discover who I am in Christ,” she says. “I knew it in my head before, but through training it became real in my heart.” 

The confidence and assurance she now carries have transformed the way she approaches ministry and leadership. 

“The Anjela before training was nervous and unsure,” she reflects. “The Anjela now knows she’s walking in the path God has set before her.” 

As Anjela prepares for Admitting and Commissioning, she describes the occasion as both a celebration and an affirmation of God’s calling on her life. 

“It feels like an official recognition that I’m stepping into what God has asked me to do,” she says. 

Following Commissioning, Anjela hopes to continue serving through youth and community ministry while remaining open to wherever God may lead next. Although future plans have recently become less certain due to changes in her family circumstances, she remains rooted in faith and trust. 

“Whatever happens, I know I’m safe and secure in God,” she says. 

Anjela asks supporters to pray for the young people and families connected to both the bus ministry and Seacroft, that hearts would continue opening to Jesus, and that God would provide ongoing wisdom, strength, volunteers, and practical provision for the ministries she serves.