Pioneering ministry 12 and

ALL pioneering takes a unique approach. To engage with people on the margins of church, a fresh expression must know what its community needs and be willing to respond accordingly. For Beth and Jon, this took shape in answering God’s call to simply ‘be in this place’.

Salvationist last caught up with the team in 2020, a year into their ministry. Since then, ‘three pillars’ have presented themselves that Beth and Jon use to address the mission of discipleship, outreach and evangelism.

THE CHOSEN

As the Covid-19 pandemic rolled on, it became apparent that there were people wanting to connect with God who considered their literacy skills to be a barrier to joining a Bible study. With inclusivity at the heart of their response, Beth and Jon launched a Bible study with a difference.

Instead of focusing on the written word – which had the potential to leave people feeling alienated – they took the group through the story of the gospel as presented in TV show The Chosen. The atmosphere is welcoming and casual, the principal intention being to connect with the journey of Jesus and to encourage each other in digging deeper.

‘It’s such a blessing to do this,’ Jon admits. ‘We’re journeying with people who have lost their faith or recently come to faith.’

‘There are people here who are confused and lost,’ adds Beth. ‘They are turning to substances or tarot cards or crystals. When we started, I felt God speaking to me saying, “I’m here, but no one’s listening.” And we’re the walking testimony in that. We’ve been through similar valleys, and it drives me every day.

‘We have a passion for inclusivity, but this year God has really laid young adults and mental health on our hearts. We’ve had so many conversations about mental health in our Bible study, as God has brought people through traumatic relationships with the Church. Much of what is happening in our Bible study, as well as throughout the Church today, is a deconstruction of people’s perceptions of what faith and church are.’

COMMUNITY WARDROBE

Complementing their ‘love God’ discipleship is ‘love others’ outreach. Fruitful outreach doesn’t just respond to a specific need, it also taps into what people care about. The Community Wardrobe scheme is an example of this.

Operating as a sort of swap shop, it provides pre-loved school uniforms free of charge. The team encourage people to donate old uniforms in exchange, but there is no expectation or pressure. In fact, the team have been so blessed with donations that they currently don’t have capacity for more.

‘We had a young mum come to us with two sets of twins,’ Beth recalls. ‘She could afford to get them uniforms each but using the Community Wardrobe meant that she could save enough money to have a day out with them in the summer holidays.

‘That really feeds into the values that we hold. We want to invest in the town’s community, and family is key to that. As people face this cost of living crisis, I know a resource like this is going to be a beacon.’

The programme extends beyond the benefits of helping those struggling to afford school clothing. It also touches on a hot topic that affects everyone and is close to the heart of the fresh expression: environmentalism.

Buying brand-new school uniforms and disposing of the old ones every year is a wasteful practice. The opportunity to give pre-loved uniform a longer life is a sustainable way to care for creation. This has led people who aren’t struggling monetarily to engage in the uniform exchange, playing their part to protect their planet.

Bridging the gap between the outreach and discipleship is the final of their three pillars: digital evangelism.

An important part of any Salvation Army fellowship is taking the gospel to the streets. Jon explains how they felt God calling them to evangelise in every ‘street’ where people are. Nowadays, this includes the likes of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and even TikTok – massive digital thoroughfares that see immense traffic every day.

To meet these denizens of the world wide web in their own domain, the team have been crafting bitesize gospel nuggets for each platform, proclaiming the good news and demonstrating that church is more than a single building on a single day.

Moreover, the message that you can meet the Messiah on your mobile is only step one. The follow-up goal is to bring this digital audience into a deeper conversation about big issues and how the Bible interacts with them.

The At the Table podcast combines the intimacy of small group discussions with online availability across the globe. Co-presented by team members Joe and Lucy Halliday alongside Beth and Jon, the podcast is an honest expression of four friends bringing their questions to Jesus and having fun while doing it.

Although the team have taken a break from recording, the first two seasons of the podcast are all available online and the team is preparing to launch a third season soon.

‘We have had so many great conversations with people who are housebound but found us on social media and journeyed with us,’ Jon explains.

This three-pronged mission is simple yet unique, and Beth reminds us that it is something God can produce through anyone: ‘We challenge people that God can do this through anyone who responds to his call. Everybody in our team is retired or works a secular job. What God can use you for is endless, and we’re excited to see where he takes us next!’

Check out favershamsa.org.uk for links to the At the Table podcast, YouTube videos, Spotify playlists, social media, a mailing list and much more

SIMON HOPE

Editorial Assistant Salvationist

Next time

Sam Ellison introduces us to the territory’s Online Corps