Outreach Project

The first project of the London congregation pastoral council was to explore ways of reaching the community. This was discussed prayerfully with the congregation, and, bearing in mind that they are a gathered church, it was realised that they could not offer sustained support for the community during the week, and that the optimum time for outreach was a few hours at the weekend.

So what can be offered for a few hours? It became obvious quickly was that what could be offered was very simple and yet very significant. Prayer. The theme of this first outreach came during the prayer time. Jesus said, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” Hence the words on the banner, “A place to rest”.

Thus it was decided to offer prayers to passers-bys in Fitzroy Square (where the church meets) from 11am to 5pm on Saturday, 7^th July, and to let people know about our weekly church services. A team of half a dozen church members offered their help, and approx 35 people were prayed for, 3 of whom attended the church service in the afternoon.

Olivier Carion, chairperson of the pastoral council, commented, “We were keen on doing Something simple and low-key that would speak to people's needs.  Throughout the day, we were amazed at how readily people responded to our offer to pray for them.

Praying is such a simple yet powerful thing to do.  It makes it so easy to point people to Jesus Christ. After praying, we told people that we would keep them in our prayers and that we would ask our friends in church to pray for them as well.   This made it easy to talk about our local church: who we are and what we do. Everything seemed to flow naturally."

Elizabeth Ryan, who was part of the prayer team, remarked, "It was so good to see what God had put together through the harmonious input and effort of all those involved.  I was so delighted to see so many people, some with sicknesses, receiving prayer for God's intervention in their lives. It was a little bit like bringing the prodigals home.  I look forward to the next time; we must cover it with prayer again like we did this time."

Several of those involved remarked how easy and stress-free it was to get involved with the community, adding that there was a clear sense of "God guiding the whole thing and making the connections."