Church Gate: Latest Update

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It took a little longer than we’d hoped, and there were some tricky twists and turns along the way, but on Monday this week we exchanged contracts with the sellers of Church Gate. Praise God!

Completion is set for Friday 17th May, at which point we will have the keys for Church Gate, along with planning permission to turn it from an office block into a multi-use building for our church. If you’re unsure what Church Gate is all about then please click here to read about our plans or click here to find out about the costs and challenges involved.

Of course, owning the building is just the start to our Church Gate adventure – we now have lots of work to do to make the building useable, and turn our plans into reality.

What happens now?

There are several steps ahead for us once we get the keys:

First: we will be holding various ‘stakeholder’ meetings inside Church Gate, with each of the different user groups, to talk about our plans for inside and outside the building. It’s currently something of a blank canvas but, to quote Proverbs 11v14, “victory is won through many advisers.”

Second: in June this year we will hold open days for people from Welcome Church to come and look around Church Gate and see what we’ve taken on, and also to give opportunity for more people to comment on the plans. For reasons of safety you will need to book a time slot to attend an open day, and they will be for adults (16 years+) only. Details for booking a slot will be available soon. I hope you’re as excited to look around as I was.

Third: we will consult with professional advisors to help us plan how to turn our ideas into reality. Ideally we hope to use some of the same people who worked with us on the last building project and did such a great job.

Fourth: we will hold Gift Days at the end of June and the start of July to help us towards our financial goal of raising at least £2 million for the project over two years. So far £1.3m has been given or pledged so we are well on the way but we still have some more ground to cover together.

More information

During May we will be giving out a new booklet about Church Gate with all the details people need to know, so do be on the look out for this (it’s currently with the printers). When you get your copy please read it carefully and prayerfully and, if you have any questions, please just ask.

Philippians 1v4-6 says,

“I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”

It’s a great thing for us to be in partnership together for the gospel as a church and, like Paul, I’m confident that He who began this good work in us will now carry it on to completion. So, as we come to look around the building, let’s look around it prayerfully, with our spiritual eyes and ears open to what God wants to do in the lives of children and young people through Church Gate, and also what He will do through us to help those in need in our town – not least through our planned Community Grocery.

Our big goal in all of this is to see many lives transformed through Jesus; this is all about the gospel. It’s now time to press forward into this adventure together!

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Good times in Togo with Compassion Uk

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Last week it was my honour and privilege to visit Togo, with Compassion UK, to see first hand the impact of their Child Sponsorship and Child Survival programmes.

Through Compassion UK, people from Welcome Church currently sponsor around 225 children in Togo, which is often recognised as the least developed country in Africa. We’ve also provided funding as a church for a Child Survival project there. I know people from our church also sponsor children in other countries, which is great too.

Project visits

We visited several church projects during our time in Togo, each being run by a local church to serve their own community.

Amongst the church projects we visited was one where over 140 children are sponsored by people from Welcome Church – and they pulled out all the stops to welcome us! There was singing, worship, a marching band, prayer, presentations and performances from the children, alongside a chance to take a tour and see what happens at the project. I also got to see inside the church building where over 700 people gather each week to worship. The pastor insisted I stand in the pulpit for a photo 🙂

It was great to meet the pastor and the project leader, and to meet lots of the children who people in our church are sponsoring. We had a lot of fun and games with them all – mostly involving chasing, running and footballs – and they were a lot fitter than any of us.

I also saw the Child Survival Project that we’ve funded as a church and met the leader of that, alongside lots of mums and their babies. We heard testimonies from some of the mothers and caregivers (grandma in one case, auntie in another) who’s babies would not have survived without this project. It really is making a huge difference.

Local churches in action

What quickly became clear is that this is the local church in action doing what it does best – serving its own community. During one visit to a church project in a rural area the village chief came to see us and say thank you for all that is being done by the church to serve the children and families of his community. His big hope now is for a bore hole to being drinkable water to their village. During another visit, to a church project in a more challenging area, there were children outside the project picking through a rubbish pile for anything they could use or sell.

The churches we visited were all passionately committed to serving children and seeing them lifted out of poverty and given a future and a hope that impacts the whole community, and it’s all done in the name of Jesus. Our sponsorship is what makes the work these churches do to transform their own communities possible, and we should never doubt its value and importance.

Home visits

Part of the trip included making home visits to some of the sponsored children, and among these were a young lady who Jo and I sponsor and a young man sponsored by our son Zac. The various home visits we made put into perspective the difference that sponsorship makes, as we saw first hand the living conditions of the children and their families; they really are among the poorest of the poor. The prayer request of one mother we visited was for a front door for her house to keep the animals out, especially when they sleep on the floor at night.

These home visits also highlighted the importance of letter writing as the letters are kept, read, re-read and treasured and they help build connection and a sense that they know you. When I showed our sponsored child’s father a photo of Jo on my phone, the response from the whole family was “we know her from your letters”.

I was impacted by the way child sponsorship lifts up not just the one child but the whole family, and this impacts the whole community in turn. Sponsorship is a great funding vehicle for holistic development that impacts a whole area.

One fact we discovered during the visit is that Togo has a population of around 8.4 million people, and Compassion sponsor more than 83,000 children there, and those numbers don’t include the children who have already graduated from the program. This means that roughly 1% of the population is currently a Compassion sponsored child who is being given a future and a hope in the name of Jesus. On top of this is the positive impact on their families and communities. Culture can be changed from the top down, but it can also be changed from the bottom up.

Get involved

On Sunday May 12th we’ll have a chance as a church to sponsor more children from the same project. Let’s be on the front foot to do that; it’s all part of Jesus’ mandate and mission that we bring good news to the poor. If you’re not yet involved, let me encourage you to step up.

I’ve included some photos, but I have been a bit careful about posting pictures of individual children. If you have any questions, please do just ask me.

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Next Stop Togo

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This Sunday (14th April) I’ll be flying out to Togo in Africa with Compassion UK, for a five day trip to visit the projects we’ve been supporting as a church. I won’t go into the details of the trip here because I wrote about that a few weeks ago; if you want to know more please click here for details.

Remember, these are great projects being run by local Togolese churches to serve families in their own communities, just as we do social action to serve our own community. Compassion don’t run the projects, the local churches do that. Compassion bring advice, support, funding and accountability. I’m hoping we’ll learn a lot from the faith of these great churches and leaders.

Please do take a moment to pray for me while I’m away, and also for Jo who’ll be busy at work back here in the UK. Here are some specific prayer requests:

  • I’m still getting over the tail end of a nasty cough/cold (as some may have noticed on Sunday). Please pray it clears up fully before we depart – a blocked nose and ears is no fun on a plane!
  • Please pray for safety during our travels: there’s an election coming up in Togo soon which can create ‘flashpoints’ (as happens in some other countries). After advice the trip is still going ahead, and we’ll have security travelling with us throughout the trip, but do please pray for us all.
  • Please pray for the health of everyone involved. We’ll be staying in a good hotel between the various visits, but it would be nice if we all stayed healthy in our bodies and safe out on the roads.
  • It’s a trip for church pastors. Please pray for good relationships to be built between us. I know some of those who are going, but certainly not all; what a great opportunity!
  • Please pray that I would represent Welcome Church and our connection to Compassion well. I would love some other churches to do what we’ve done, and for the lives of more children to be transformed and set free from extreme poverty.
  • Please pray for God to speak to me during the trip and shape me in whatever ways he wants to.
  • Please pray that we would grow in faith and learn from being around these Togolese churches and leaders, who are faithfully serving the poor in their own communities.
  • Lastly, I’ll be meeting the child who Jo and I sponsor – please pray that goes well. I’m slightly nervous about the emotional impact of that 😥

Thanks in advance for all of your prayers. See you next Sunday

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Happy Easter! (and a few updates)

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We’re looking forward to a great Easter Weekend at Welcome Church. Here are a few bits of news to keep you up to date, and also some prayer requests:

Prayers for the council

My Easter weekend begins this evening: I’ve been invited by the Mayor of Woking, Cllr M Ilyas Raja, to open tonight’s Council Meeting at the Civic Offices with prayers. It’s only a short slot but it’s a great chance to pray in person for our council as they make key decisions about the future of our town. Do be praying for wisdom for them all at this time. It seems that the financial challenges being faced in Woking are only just starting to bite, and worse may be yet to come as services come under pressure. Let’s pray for our town.

Church Gate

We had hoped to exchange contracts on Church Gate, the building we are buying, today (28th March) but sadly this has been delayed due to some small last minute queries being raised by banks and solicitors. This has been made worse by people raising queries and then immediately going on holiday … 🙄

Anyone who’s bought a house will know how drawn out these things can be! Please do pray that we exchange contracts next week. We are keen to get started on our plans for the future of Church Gate as soon as possible.

Good Friday

We’ll meet as a church at 7pm on Good Friday, for an hour or so, to worship, hear from the Bible, and take communion together. I’ll be giving a short talk reflecting on the cross.

Children are welcome to attend if you feel they are old enough to access this kind of meeting, but please be aware that there is no kids work, so they will need to remain with their parents/carer at all times. The meeting will be live-streamed at WelcomeChurch.online. Do join us one way or the other for a great chance to connect with Jesus on Good Friday.

Easter Sunday

Our Easter Sunday meetings, at 9am and 11am, will both include baptisms. 17 people are expected to be baptised with us that day. There will be a chocolate Easter gift for everyone who attends, so do invite your friends and family to come with you. Please also be encouraged to pray for all of those being baptised.

EARLY WARNING: It’s clock change Sunday, so the clocks will go forward one hour this Sunday morning. Don’t get caught out 🙂

Holidays

The church offices will be closed on both Good Friday and Easter Monday, and our Welcome Cafe will not be operating on Easter Monday either. A number of the team have also booked some days off next week, including myself. I’ll be back again for Sunday 7th though, when I’ll be launching our new preaching series on the book of Exodus. Don’t miss it!

Whatever you’re up to this weekend I hope you have a great Easter.

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Welcome Church Trustees – An Update

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In addition to being a church, Welcome Church is also a registered charity. Being a charity means we can claim Gift Aid on people’s giving, which makes a big difference to what we are able to do as a church to serve our community.

As a charity we have a team of Trustees who are responsible to ensure we operate in ways that are safe, legal and in line with our charitable purposes. Technically speaking the trustees are …

“accountable for the management and administration of Welcome Church in pursuit of the Welcome Church charitable objects as set out in the Company’s Articles of Association.” 🙂

That’s quite a mouthful!

This doesn’t mean the Trustees carry responsibility for the spiritual government of the church or for the leadership of it; responsibility for that sits with the Eldership Team, supported by many other faithful and gifted leaders.

Among other things the Trustees act as the employer for the staff and set the staff salaries. They also agree budgets, agree and review policies and help to keep us abreast of legal changes that could affect us.

Our Trustees usually serve in the role for a three year period, after which they can either step off the team or they can be re-engaged for another three year term. This cycle means we get a good balance of fresh faces, and also of long term wisdom and experience.

Changes

There have been a number of changes to our Trustee Team over the last couple of years, so I wanted to give an updated list of who our trustees now are. First here’s a photo montage to help you recognise them:

In order of appearance:

Mike D is Chair of the Trustees. He joined the church in 1978 (46 years ago!) and has been part of our church family ever since. Mike worked for over 50 years in the construction industry and has served the church in many different roles over the years too. He is also a Trustee of The Useful Wood Company, a social action project started by people from Welcome Church a few years ago.

Mike R has been part of Welcome Church for 17 years. He works as a Chief Underwriting Officer for the UK division of a global insurance company. Mike also serves the church as an elder.

Debo F joined Welcome Church in 2018. She works as a Maritime Law Solicitor and serves the church as part of the Sunday Production Team and the prayer team.

Mel C (who is not a Spice Girl) has been part of Welcome Church for around 7 years. She works in financial audit as a Senior Manager. She serves the church as part of the worship team, the youth team, youth worship, prisons ministry and as a CAP Money Coach. 

Nick H has been a part of Welcome Church for 40 years. He has spent his career working in People related roles, including HR roles within Global Financial Services companies in London. You may also see Nick early on a Sunday morning, as he is one of our Sunday Meeting Managers.

Robin W has been in the church since he was 21 (a total of 43 years). He is a Senior Independent Director for two insurance companies, and a Trustee/Director for the amazing charity Christians Against Poverty (CAP) who we love to work with. He also serves the church as an elder.

Lisa G has been part of the church since 1991. She works as a solicitor and serves the church in both youth work, and in leading the Bereavement Course. She has had many other roles in church life over the years too.

We are well served

I’m sure you’ll agree we are being well served by a highly skilled group of Trustees who each add expertise and experience to the mix. Please do express your appreciation to them all, and support them with your prayers and encouragements.

Lastly, I’d like to say a personal THANK YOU to those who have faithfully served as Trustees during my time at Welcome Church but have, as the right moment came along, stepped aside from the team, namely Phil M, Peter G, John F and of course our much beloved Alan H, a former church elder and trustee who sadly lost his fight with Covid-19 in the early days of the pandemic. We miss you.

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Compassion at Welcome Church: an update & an upcoming trip to Togo

/ Steve Petch / 2 Comments

In April this year I’ll be flying off to Togo! 🇹🇬 Here’s what’s going on:

In 2019, Welcome Church launched a partnership with Compassion UK, focussing on Togo in Western Africa. Togo is one of the least developed countries in the world and Compassion work in partnership with local churches there to see children released from poverty in Jesus’ name. They bring a lot of this about through a sponsorship model, through which you can sponsor a child and build a relationship with them through letters, photographs and prayer.

Compassion are Christ centred, Church based and Child focussed – values that connect well with us at Welcome Church, and they work to help the poorest of the poor. Jo and I have sponsored children with them for many years now, and it’s been a joy to write letters to those children and receive updates, photos and letters in return.

Our Church Partnership

When we launched this partnership with Compassion we gave people the chance to sponsor a child in Togo, and many responded to that (another chance will come up to do that in May this year!)

We also gave 10% of our June 2019 Building Project Gift Day to a UK government backed “matched funding” initiative for Compassion to fund Child Survival Projects in Togo. We gave just over £40,000 to that appeal which, due to the matched funding initiative, was doubled to £80,000.

This is vital work because, in Togo, 1 in 20 babies die before their first birthday, mostly from preventable causes, and 1 in 58 women die due to pregnancy or childbirth. These are shocking statistics, and Compassion are working to change this through their Child Survival Projects, which are run by local churches in Togo. As a result of our giving a new Child Survival Project was opened.

Latest Update and a Trip

On Sunday 14th April I will be flying out to Togo for 5 days, with Compassion, to see the project we’ve funded first hand. During this trip I will also get to meet some of the children we are sponsoring, including a girl who Jo and I sponsor. Please pray for this trip!

We recently received an update on the Child Survival Project. It’s a great report with lots of photos and includes an encouraging letter from one of the mothers who has been helped. The report is attached, so please be encouraged to download it and read it.

tg0941-child-survival-update-february-24Download

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Welcome Church needs your help!

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If you’ve been around Welcome Church for a while you’ve probably noticed that we’ve grown a lot numerically over the last couple of years, and much faster than we expected. We’re often seeing around 1000 people on a Sunday morning now and new people are still appearing regularly. This is great news, and what it now means is that:

  • The 9am meeting has grown well, but still has space for more people to attend
  • The 11am meeting has grown a lot more, and is now almost full (and occasionally overfull)

11am being full is a nice problem to have … but it’s still a genuine problem, especially because we want to continue to grow and reach new people, so we need your help.

The way forward

Assuming we continue to grow (which is not guaranteed, but we pray it continues) we will need to make more space somehow; perhaps we need to make the space in order to continue to grow.

We could, of course, create space by starting a third Sunday meeting at a different time, or by starting a new ‘site’ of Welcome Church in another part of town, or by some new ‘church plants’ being sent out … any or all of these are possible in the future as God leads us.

HOWEVER … right now our big focus is on getting Church Gate up and running (click here for details) and we expect that this will absorb most of our teams capacity for the next season.

Thankfully, at this point in time, we do have another option to create some more space on Sundays … so with this in mind we want to make a few requests of those who call Welcome Church their church.

Some requests for those who usually attend at 11am

Firstly, for the sake of the gospel and for the sake of our mission to Woking, we would like to ask for at least 50 adults (plus their families) who currently attend the 11am meeting each week, to move to the 9am meeting instead. It’s a big ask, we realise, but we would ask you to please take this request very seriously. It could be the single most evangelistic thing you do all year.

There are some advantages to attending at 9am: easier parking, better choice of pastries, and an earlier finish, leaving you more of the day free to enjoy.

We would love at least 50 brave pioneering people, plus their families, to make this call for the sake of all that God is calling us to as a church . Maybe there are a couple of life groups who might make this call together. Please pray and ask God: is it me/us?

Obviously we don’t want everyone to do this, so it would help a lot if you could let us know that you’re making the switch by emailing us (click here for a link). Some have done this already – thank you. We will have to work through the impact on serving rotas too, so it will really help for people to let us know.

Secondly, for those who don’t move to 9am, you could help a lot by filling up from the front and using every seat – just 2 empty seats in each row is 80 empty seats in the meeting, so please use them all 🙂

Some requests for those who usually attend at 9am

Firstly, please don’t start attending at 11am – we have no room for you 🙂 – please stay where you are!

Secondly, please be on the front foot to invite guests and welcome new people. 9am has grown more slowly than 11am, but it is still growing with new people.

Thirdly, we actually need a few more people to serve in some key areas at 11am! This may sound counter-intuitive with the extra number of people in attendance at 11am, but the needs are actually greater at this meeting too, and many who attend are still new to us. It means that the demands for serving have grown more quickly than those ready and able to do so are available. Maybe you could consider attending at 9am, but serving at 11am one week in three? If you’re up for this adventure please let us know by emailing us (using this link) and we’ll be in touch

One more thing

Please pray for God’s wisdom and timing in all we do – especially that he would guide us clearly in terms of starting any new meetings or sites in the future, and also that we’d get the keys to Church Gate by the end of March. Of course, if we continue to grow, every step like this will only be a temporary step!

I’m looking forward to the next chapter in our adventure together as a church, whatever that may be. Thanks in advance for your help!

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Introducing Jonathan and Sabrina

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I’m delighted to announce that Jonathan and Sabrina arrived this week from India. They will be here for a year, working in the Welcome Church Offices as “Leadership Trainees”.

I asked Jonathan to write an ‘introduction to them both’ for us as a church (I’d have asked Sabrina too, but she has no sooner arrived than she’s been laid up with a bad cold and sore throat – probably the result of living in 3 different countries in 3 weeks …)

Here’s what Jonathan had to say:

“Hello! It’s always a little weird having to write an introduction about yourself. There’s something about writing things down, as opposed to speaking in conversation, that feels like it’s being set in stone. Like everything I say is on the record and will have existed beyond the limits of a verbal introduction. However, I will do my best as I briefly let you know who we are. Before that though, thank you Steve for having me on your blog. Love what you’ve done with the place! 😉

“My name is Jonathan. I’m a 20-something aged film and board-game lover who hails from Mumbai, India. It was only earlier this year that I married my best friend Sabrina, who comes from Visalia, California. How we ended up together is quite a story; you might even call it a miracle.

“Like I said, I was born and raised in Mumbai, India. I was born into a Christian family. My father (Vinu – some of you may know him) has led our local church for as long as I can remember. I am what you could call a pure-blooded PK (‘Pastors Kid’ for those wondering!) I love film and music, and have dreams to write and direct my own features someday. I am a storyteller at heart, and that permeates everything I do, or have done. I’m also a musician.

“Sabrina was born and raised in California and can be considered a half-blood PK (her dad was a youth pastor briefly). She is a highly creative, funny and artistic woman, who is excellent with kids and that has permeated everything she has ever done. She loves working with youth especially.

“We met in 2021 when I traveled to the USA to do a year long Bible school that Sabrina’s home church was organising. We both come from very different cultures and backgrounds (I’m Indian; she’s of Hispanic origin – a Mexican American), and it is truly God who brought us together. We are so grateful for it.

“We got engaged in February 2023 and planned to get married in November of that year. Everything was set in place, bookings were made, deposits paid. However, on returning to the US after a short visit home, I was denied entry and deported on grounds of having an incorrect visa (there’s a whole other story there …)

“Every plan, dream, and desire seemed to be crushed in that moment. We were forced to pivot whilst not really knowing what was next or why any of it had happened. Long story short: God had a plan all along. As part of that very plan, here I am, writing on Steve’s blog.

“At the same time as the USA closed it’s doors on me, India began to close its doors on Sabrina in a different way, as she developed all kinds of health complications related to being in India (not least, she has a severe tree nut allergy and India loves nuts). So we got before God and asked him to lead us and to send us where he wanted us to go. We both had plans and jobs serving God is the USA, so the question became ‘If not here Lord, then where?’

“That’s when Steve invited us to join Welcome Church for a year as Leadership Trainees. After much prayer and consideration – not least of the weather 🙂 – the answer was clear: this was God’s plan; this is where we needed to be; this is what He was building up to all along.

“In many ways England is a perfect middle ground for us. A little bit of similarity to the USA, a little bit of similarity to India and a whole lot that is completely new to us.

So we were married in India and, just 2 weeks later, packed our bags and moved to Woking.

“And now we’re here. Ready, willing, and able. Ready for God to use us in a new place, in a new culture and amongst a new people. Willing to say ‘Yes’ to God in this new season in whatever He’s calling us into. And able to serve his church and kingdom in whatever way he sees fit.

“We are very excited to join Welcome church and, in case you were wondering, you are true to your name! We have felt very accepted into this family already, and are eager to begin this journey God is taking us on.

“Our plans may fail and then some, but God knows best and we have faith in his mission for our lives.“

Let’s look out for them both

God has entrusted something precious to us as a church in sending Jonathan and Sabrina our way. It’s His doing, so let’s be faithful with this gift of two developing leaders.

Jonathan and Sabrina each come from a different culture – India and the USA. Now they are starting out on married life in a third culture. Let’s look out for them both, and pray for them. Let’s make them feel really welcome for the year ahead.

Dinner invites will be appreciated for sure – but remember: no nuts!

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Welcome Youth Weekend Away – an update

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Last weekend, our amazing Youth team took 84 of our Welcome Youth to Runways End in Aldershot for a non-stop weekend of outdoor activities, teaching, craft, food, games, and worshipping God together.

Year 7–9 slept in dormitories in the main building (including the occasional vertigo-inducing triple bunk!) while Year 10–13 took the heated “camping pods” (more glamorous than they sound).

James, who heads up the youth team, says:

“Our memory verse for the weekend was,

Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us (Galatians 3:13)

“In the talks, we looked at the catastrophic results of The Fall, and how the whole of creation has come under a curse, facing guilt and shame, death, and separation from God; but then we saw the wonder of what Jesus did for us on the cross, reversing the curse by taking it on himself, taking our guilt and shame, taking our death sentence, and being separated from his Father, so that the curse could be lifted from us. Finally we looked ahead to the new creation still to come, where guilt and shame are gone, there will be no more death, and we will be in God’s presence for ever.

“That gave us plenty to thank God for, so we spent time together worshipping him for his goodness, and praising him for reversing the curse by sending Jesus!

“Also we got big spiky hats and threw sausages at them.“

Here are some pics to capture a few highlights from the time away

We love our Youth!

We love seeing them each Friday evening and Sunday morning, but the weekend away is a rare opportunity to spend an extended period of time together, forging deeper relationships, and going deeper in our walk with Jesus.

Highlights from the team

We asked the youth team to give us their individual highlights from the weekend. This is what came back:

  • Ruby: “Cassie squeezing into a tiny wooden box to explain the Temple”
  • David: “Youth who initially didn’t want to get their clothes muddy literally rolling around in the mud to steal a beanbag”
  • Ben: “Michael telling Euan to turn his alarm off”
  • Zac: “Going round bashing pots and pans to wake them all up”
  • Lucy: “Watching one of the Youth praying for another”
  • Chioma: “Arielle reciting the memory verse by heart, and then carrying on and reciting the bit we hadn’t even learnt”
  • Crispy: “Half of the youth not knowing how to put a new bin bag in a bin”

Thanks & Prayer

I want to say a big THANK YOU to our youth leaders for putting this event on, and for all the time and effort they put in to it. Parents, please do say your own thank you’s too

Let’s all be praying for good fruit to come from this time away together

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An Update On Luke Simone: on mission in a Favela in Brazil

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Luke Simone has been part of our Welcome Church family for over 30 years, although you may not have seen him around very much recently! Why? He was a finance lawyer in London and New York before God called him to work among the least and the lost in Brazil.

Casa Cruzeiro

The work Luke started in a Favela (a slum) in Rio has steadily progressed from the first act of simply opening the doors of his living room almost a decade ago. When the neighbour’s rooftop could no longer support the number of people who were coming for prayer and to hear a simple Bible story, he and a friend established “Casa Cruzeiro” – a community centre and school grounded in the gospel and located at the highest point of the Rio slum that has become his home. 

Luke and the small team now serve up to 200 children and teenagers (and their wider families) each week, offering a safe and welcoming space for vulnerable, marginalised and disenfranchised youth in a neighbourhood fractured by gang violence and poverty.

Why is this needed?

Many of the young people in the Favela leave school illiterate or struggle with even the most basic principles of maths and Portuguese. The school they’ve established in the heart of the community now has over 70 students (aged 5 to 75) providing essential tuition to the poorest, who are often failed by the school system. The teachers also provide counseling to the younger children who frequently show signs of trauma through abuse in their homes or the loss of family members due to gang violence.

As the young people leave school, the team gives additional support and career counseling for the next steps, together with an opportunity to offer places on pre-vocational courses, providing simple and practical steps that enable those they work with to be able to eventually provide for themselves and their families. 

Alongside all this is the gospel, and they’ve had the incredible joy of seeing young people give their lives to Christ, get baptised and be discipled – no small thing in the Favela.

What does it look like to be on mission far from home?

Living in the Favela is not without risks. Gun violence and drugs are among the many day to day issues, alongside poverty, abuse and neglect. Despite all this, as Christopher shared in his preach last Sunday (quoting Paul from 1 Thessalonians):

“We were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us” (1 Thess 2v8)

Luke and the team’s overriding goal is to love and serve their neighbours, without an agenda, by sharing their everyday lives. They are aiming to live out the call of Christ day by day and to shine the light of Jesus in the darkness that is all around.

The work in this slum is very much a marathon rather than a sprint, but they are seeing lives impacted by the power of God with a goal of community-wide transformation – a break in the cycle of violence and brokenness faced by those on the margins. What Luke and the others have established is a “community within a community,” where disciples are made, relationships are strengthened and dignity is restored.  

Welcome Church is on this mission too

Welcome Church takes mission (both at home and abroad!) very seriously. Luke doesn’t do this work alone!

As a church we have been, and we remain, very much part of Luke’s sending, with groups praying and raising financial support for the ongoing needs.

How YOU can get involved:

If you want to know more about this, or you’d like to to support Luke in this mission to Brazil there are several ways to do that:

1. Get the newsletter: If you want to receive a regular newsletter from Luke, please use this link to send an e-mail to let him know – he will add you to the list.

2. Join the prayer group: There is a prayer group from Welcome Church who meet to pray for Luke and Casa Cruzeiro regularly. If you want to join them, please also use this link to send an e-mail and let him know – details will then be sent.

3. Give Financially: as a church we give to Luke each month out of our regular giving, HOWEVER there are a number of people who have wanted to give directly (in addition to their normal giving to Welcome Church) – and this has made all the difference. If you’d like to give directly to this work (either a one off gift or a regular monthly amount) you can do that by giving it to Welcome Church, and letting us know it’s for Luke Simone. We can then claim Gift Aid on your gift (if applicable) and pass both the gift and any Gift Aid on to Luke.

If you want to ask more about any of these things, please drop an email to Darren in the Church Office using this link.

Find out more

You can see more of Luke’s story by clicking here for a great video, but if you’d like to meet the man in person, he will be around this Sunday, at both the 9am and 11am meetings. I’ll be interviewing him briefly about his experiences in Rio and he’ll also be around to chat in person.

Here are some great photos from Casa Cruzeiro too:

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