Luke and James have just completed their first years Eden West Bowling (Bradford) and Eden Top Valley (Nottingham). We recently caught up with them both to hear about the first twelve months, what they’ve been up to, how their communities have been impacted and what they’re looking forward in the years ahead.
TELL US A BIT ABOUT YOUR FIRST YEAR ON EDEN
Luke: What a year it’s been! I’ve loved getting stuck into life in West Bowling. It’s been a year of building relationships, making partnerships and finding ways we can help people both practically and spiritually. We’ve led sessions in local schools, helped disciple people in their faith and seen young leaders rise up through the PrimeTime course. The year has not been without its challenges including break-ins, fires and disappointments, but I see God working through all the team and in West Bowling.
James: Our first year in Top Valley has also been a really encouraging time of making new connections, supporting and building on existing ministry and growing a fantastic team. We’ve been focusing primarily on reaching young people and their families in two distinct areas of the estate.
DESCRIBE WHAT’S BEEN HAPPENING THIS SUMMER AND WHAT HAS ENCOURAGED YOU?
Luke: In the run up to summer we had five sessions with the Message Bus on our estate. We had lots of fun, great conversations and gave out 100 copies of Mark’s gospel. At the end of the bus visits, we had 20 gospels left. One girl asked if she could take them all as she wanted to give them out to her class – imagine the impact this could have! After the bus, we carried on with weekly sessions in a local park. It’s so much fun and we’re always being asked when the bus is coming back. Since then, the warm weather has meant we’ve been able to hold outdoor sessions a few days each week, helping us to connect with loads of new families. We took the opportunity to hold family events and youth volunteering days in areas of West Bowling that are often forgotten. We also held a Holiday at Home week with our youth group and local children, many of whom wouldn’t get away this summer. We took trips to the National Media Museum and Xscape and ran a forest school day. OTC also came and performed an incredible gig – they were definitely a highlight of the week.
James: Over the year we have met hundreds of local young people through giving out free hot chocolate and snacks after school. Some of them come along with their families as well and we’ve got to know them and build relationships and even invited some of them along to church. One of the most encouraging things was running an event back in April called ‘Beyond’ with a Christian DJ who came down from Sunderland – over 50 young people from different groups came and it was so positive.
We also have had the Message Bus come to our local park and it’s been a great catalyst for building relationships with families and other agencies working in the area.
Working with partners has been really key and we enjoyed hosting a bunch of New Wine Gap Year students earlier in the year as well – we ran a project to paint a local subway which was a real blessing to the community. Two of our team also brought along some of their neighbours to help and it was great to work together on this project.
WHAT IMPACT HAS THIS HAD?
Luke: Whilst a lot of what we do is practical, it’s all about pointing people to Jesus. Seeing people grow in their faith or wanting to know more about Jesus has been one of our greatest highlights. I loved that we got to take nearly 40 people along to Festival Manchester. Eden West Bowling is about long-haul, incarnational living so I’m really excited to see what God’s got in store next.
James: For us this is really just the start, we’re building foundations as we get to know people, developing trust and working with other partners. We’re really excited about what God has next and how he is bringing people alongside us to reach this community for him.
