In North London, Eden Tollington N4 is partnering with Tollington Parish, a Church of England team of three churches: St. Mark’s Tollington, St. Saviour’s, Hanley Road and Emmanuel, Hornsey Road. Tollington is classified as a UPA (Urban Priority Area) which has seen multiple waves of immigration, becoming densely populated and wonderfully ethnically and religiously diverse.

The church runs night pastors, youth clubs, work with refugee communities, drop-ins for mums and toddlers, Alpha in the community centre, and much more, including the hugely successful annual Soul in the City event aimed at young people and families.

The new Eden Tollington team is led by Jahaziel Elliot. A successful and award-winning rapper, Jahaziel felt God calling him and his family more deeply into the life of a needy local council estate. Jahaziel is also the subject of the latest film in the Being Extra Ordinary series. In the film, he talks about his experiences moving his family on to the estate and what he thinks success really means.

Watch it now and comment on the Eden Network website.

Find out more about Eden in London and how you can get involved.

The films give a window into the lives of people who have chosen to live in challenging communities as part of the Eden Network.

Collecting the award on behalf of the production team at Message:Creative, Eden’s National Director Matt Wilson spoke of the inspiration behind the short films: ‘The Being Extra Ordinary films are designed to foster a richer understanding of what life is like in the communities we’re serving. Through the real-life stories of our team members and their neighbours, we hope to break down the assumption that you need to be a superhero to be involved in this kind of ministry.’

The latest film, number four in the series, features Chris and Laura, team leaders of Eden Byker, who talk about how God interrupted their lives to call them to the North East. Watch it below.

It follows number three in the series, telling the amazing story of Tony Grainge and his work with young people on the Easterside estate near Middlesbrough.

Click to watch Part Three on YouTube

Part Two featured Jackie and Simon Blanchflower, part of Eden Notting Barns (W10). They talk about how they moved on to the Lancaster West estate, the thrill of living in multicultural London and their dream to build ‘a local church for local people’.

Watch Part Two (featuring Jackie and Simon) on YouTube

Part one featured Ben and Amy Woodfield, team leaders of Eden Old Trafford, which gives glimpses of life on Eden Old Trafford together with some of the couple’s experiences and motivation behind being part of Eden.

Watch Part One (featuring Ben and Amy) on YouTube

Eden is looking for 100 people to join their teams in Manchester, London and in the North East in 2011. Could you be one of them?

Find out more at the Eden Network website

The latest film, number four in the series, features Chris and Laura, team leaders of Eden Byker, who talk about how God interrupted their lives to call them to the North East. Watch it below now!

Number three in the series, tells the amazing story of Tony Grainge and his work with young people on the Easterside estate near Middlesbrough.

Click to watch Part Three  on YouTube.com

It follows Part Two, featuring Jackie and Simon Blanchflower, part of Eden Notting Barns (W10). They talk about how they moved on to the Lancaster West estate, the thrill of living in multicultural London and their dream to build ‘a local church for local people’.

Click to watch Part Two (featuring Jackie and Simon) on YouTube.com.

Part one featured Ben and Amy Woodfield, team leaders of Eden Old Trafford, which gives glimpses of life on Eden Old Trafford together with some of the couple’s experiences and motivation behind being part of Eden.

Watch Part One (featuring Ben and Amy) on YouTube now.

Eden is looking for 100 people to join their teams up and down the country in 2011. Could you be one of them?

Find out more at the Eden Network website.

***

London is one of the world’s most popular tourist cities but my time in London hasn’t involved the usual sightseeing. Instead I’ve been well off the beaten track exploring London’s many council estates – places you’ll never see in the travel brochures.

The differences between Urban Manchester and Urban London include both the obvious and the subtle. Urban London estates are more obvious on the landscape – tall, concrete, fortress-like, and often very compact, unlike Manchester’s endless sprawls of low-rise council semi-D’s and terraces.

Another curiosity to me is the way that the London estates often sit side by side with rows of pricey gentrified houses. The most striking symbol of this wealth–poverty divide has to be the East End communities along the Dockland Light Railway where overcrowded council flats are overshadowed by the glittering towers of Canary Wharf.

In the face of extreme overcrowding and huge ethnic diversity, establishing Eden teams in London is a big challenge. Your prayers are needed on both these fronts. Because living in the community is central to the way Eden goes about its ministry, we need to see some real breakthroughs in the provision of property.

We need divine favour with local councils, housing associations and private landlords if we’re to find homes for all our workers. We also need to get our recruitment message through to non-white church networks if our teams are to reflect the diversity present in the communities they are serving.

All the signs are that God is making a way where there was no way – which is exactly what we’re believing for!

If you want to become part of the adventure in London, or want to get a ticket for the launch celebration on March 18, visit www.eden-network.org.uk/london

Eden that first aired on national TV over Christmas is now available to view online.

‘Eden: A Story of Hope’ can be viewed for free via the Eden Network website.

The 25-minute film traces the history of Eden and how it has impacted the lives of the young people living in partner communities, together with Eden’s vision for the future. It features interviews with Eden workers, and National Director Matt Wilson (pictured).

The Eden Network is a series of community-based partnerships which aim to improve the lives of young people living in the most deprived communities in the nation.

There are currently 10 partnerships running across Greater Manchester, with youth workers moving into each community and working with local churches and organisations to provide activities and a ‘safe place’ for young people to hang out.

New partnerships are also being set up in other parts of the UK including Sheffield and London, marking the start of nine Eden ‘hubs’ in the most deprived areas across the nation.

story of Eden on national TV this Christmas.

UCB TV will show the 30-minute documentary about Eden titled ‘Eden: A Story of Hope’ twice over the Christmas period, on Sunday December 27 at 9pm, and on Wednesday December 30 at 7.30pm,

The programme traces the history of Eden and how it has impacted the lives of the young people living in partner communities, together with Eden’s vision for the future. It features interviews with Eden workers, and National Director Matt Wilson (pictured).

The Eden Network is a series of community-based partnerships which aim to improve the lives of young people living in the most deprived communities in the nation. 

There are currently 10 partnerships running across Greater Manchester, with youth workers moving into each community and working with local churches and organisations to provide activities and a ‘safe place’ for young people to hang out.

New partnerships are also being set up in other parts of the UK including Sheffield and London, marking the start of nine Eden ‘hubs’ in the most deprived areas across the nation.

Watch the documentary on UCB TV, Sky Channel 586 or via UCB’s website.

Broadcast Times: Sunday December 27 at 9pm, and Wednesday December 30 at 7.30pm.

As National Director of the Eden Network, Matt will oversee the growth and development of Eden, including the implementation of eight city ‘hubs’ to coordinate the rolling out of many more new Eden partnerships across the nation.

In September this year, Matt and his family will move to London with a view to setting up the first hub outside of Manchester in the nation’s capital.

Explaining the vision for London, Matt says: ‘By autumn 2010 a London City Director will have been handed responsibility for the London network and six new plants will have commenced, each with a full time leader and contextualized mission strategy to work out.

‘Ultimately the vision is to see potentially dozens of Edens all over the Greater London conurbation positively impacting tens of thousands of unreached youth with the gospel in word and deed.’

Matt has been part of the Eden movement since its inception, overseeing its development for the last six years.  He will remain closely involved with the Message as a part of the Executive Team travelling up to Manchester on a regular basis.

Message CEO Andy Hawthorne comments, ‘Right now we’re in one of those crystal clear “if-we-don’t-go-for-it-we’re-being-disobedient” seasons with the national vision for Eden. I am absolutely convinced that God is behind us and that this is the right time to roll out new Eden projects up and down the UK as well as doubling the number here in Manchester.

‘That’s why it’s a joy to be sending Matt and Grace to start the London ‘Eden hub’ in September and to start planning for another eight hubs around the nation.

‘We have been brought back to those early promises from Psalm 37 as we dream big for Eden: I’m convinced he promised that the “righteousness of the cause will shine like the noonday sun” and that we will ‘inherit a land’ through this long-term incarnational work on the toughest estates.’