From music to nerf guns: right across the UK - this is mission today

What does mission in the local church look like in 2022?

The answer is that it is as gloriously varied as each individual congregation and its members.

Many churches across the British Isles have used the Life ’22 mission initiative from A Passion For Life as a springboard for outreach. Here are some of the very creative ideas that have been used.

1. Newcastle. St Joseph’s Benwell: Ladies’ event with local chocolatier.

St Joseph’s Benwell hosted a delicious event for ladies in their community, inviting them to come and decorate chocolate Easter eggs with a local Christian chocolatier. Guests enjoyed hearing about how chocolate is made, and what it means to find and have lasting life in Jesus Christ. A wonderful evening for sweet-tooths and even sweeter truths.

2. Kent. St Peter’s Tunbridge Wells: Butcher & Beer night.

Great meat, great beer, great chat – Butcher & Beer was a fantastic event run by St Peter’s Church in Tunbridge Wells. With an insightful demonstration and food from a local butcher, washed down with some superb beers from a local brewery, and an evangelistic talk from Tom Heasman, it was an event to savour for all who attended.

3. East Scotland. Musselburgh Baptist Church: Youth Nerf Gun event

It was so encouraging to see churches hosting all kinds of fun and creative events for young people in their communities. Musselburgh Baptist Church took things to another level with their Nerf Gun event. Nerf Guns fire foam projectiles. The young people battled it out with their friends and also got to hear the gospel message.

4. Edinburgh. Cornerstone Edinburgh: Think and Drink event.

Cornerstone Edinburgh hosted a successful ‘Think and Drink’ event at their local pub The Black Ivy, giving guests the opportunity to enjoy a drink and think about the big question, ‘Aren’t we better off without religion?’ Events like these are brilliant for inviting people to engage with the gospel in a neutral, familiar setting where they’ll feel comfortable!

5. South West London. Dundonald Church: Around the Braai with the Bodyguard

Over 300 people came to Dundonald Church’s event, ‘Around the Braai with the Bodyguard’. Guests enjoyed eating a combined 42kg of boerewors – South African sausage – and hearing Rory Steyn, one of Nelson Mandela’s ex-bodyguards, talk about his experiences, and how the person of Jesus had an even greater impact on his life.

6. South London. Grace Church Brockley:

Millwall FC training event

One for the football fans – Grace Church Brockley gave people the amazing opportunity to have a training session at Millwall FC’s stadium, followed by lunch and an evangelistic talk on racism and the gospel. Afterwards, they watched Millwall FC play Middlesborough FC in a Championship game. Despite the 0-0 draw, everyone was a winner after enjoying a great day!

7. Norwich. Surrey Chapel Norwich: Dress without Stress event

Over 100 women went along to Surrey Chapel Norwich’s Life event, ‘Dress without Stress’, where a Christian style consultant led an interactive session on tips for how to put great outfits together that suit different body shapes, colouring and personal styles. Alongside celebrating God’s creativity and our uniqueness, guests were urged to find their ultimate security in being clothed in Christ. The talk led to some great discussions and follow-up with guests.

8. Cardiff. Highfields Church: Handel’s Messiah

Handel’s Messiah is one of the all-time great choral works – and Highfields Church assembled a talented cohort of musicians from its church family to give a rousing rendition in front of a packed church building. Guests also got to hear the gospel message in what was a memorable night for the church and the community.

9. Eastbourne. South Street Free Church: Easter flyers

Flyering is often a great way to get the good news out into the hands of people in the community – and South Street Free Church invited its church family to hand out over 5,000 beautifully-designed Life Easter-themed flyers along with some delicious chocolate! These flyers pointed people to a webpage with a video further explaining why the real meaning of Easter is infinitely better than an Easter egg, and inviting people along to Easter services and Christianity Explored.

10. Jersey. Jersey Baptist Church: Demo & Dine event

Jersey Baptist Church hosted an evening of cooking demonstrations and great conversation during their week of Life events. Guests were treated to in-depth insights from various church members on how to cook delicious dishes, and also had the chance to enjoy them for themselves. The talented panel of cooking enthusiasts also shared their testimonies about their experience of life in Jesus. St Jude’s Belfast: Men’s 11. Belfast. Breakfast event

St Jude’s Belfast hosted a whole range of different events for their Life mission – and it was fantastic to see them create a variety of events for various groups of people in their community. One of these was their Men’s Breakfast, which saw dozens of local men come together to share a delicious breakfast and hear about finding lasting life in Jesus!

12. Isle of Wight. Grace Church Isle of Wight: The Mark Drama

Grace Church on the Isle of Wight put on a production of The Mark Drama, where 15 members of Grace Church and St James’ Ryde acted out the whole of Mark’s account of Jesus’ life and ministry. Those who attended said that the performance was brilliant, real and moving.

The great thing about The Mark Drama is that anyone in any church can get involved and put it on! Google it to find out more.

13. Derby. St Alkmund’s Duffield & St Paul’s Little Eaton: Murder Mystery event

An evening of delicious fish and chips, a gospel message and a deadly mystery – what more could you want from an evangelistic event? St Alkmund’s Duffield and St Paul’s Little Eaton’s cast of character actors immersed guests in a thrilling murder mystery. James Hughes, St Paul’s pastor, gave a ten-minute talk on the theme of the mystery of Jesus and the true meaning of Easter. There was a wonderful buzz throughout the evening and everyone thoroughly enjoyed themselves.

14. Wales. Monmouth Baptist Church: Narnia trail

A local Christian artist created and placed different characters from C.S.Lewis’ The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe in public places for the community to find and enjoy for a week. Each character had a QR code that led them to a webpage with more information and a map to find the other characters, as well as an invitation to a Narnia-themed event where the gospel message was shared and people were invited to explore it further. The trail was a real hit with local families!

Le Fras Strydom, Operations Lead for A Passion For Life writes: We hope these stories have encouraged you with all the creative ways that churches stepped out to share life in Christ for Life ’22. Now, what about you?

A Passion for Life is passionate about encouraging, equipping and enabling local churches for a lifetime of evangelism – and we’re here to help you keep going in running your mission and reaching your community with the gospel of Jesus.