“My wife was commissioned as a pioneer minister two years ago and we moved to the estate Mereside in Blackpool.
The Willats Trust enabled me to stop running my business and work alongside her full-time, sharing the Gospel on the estate.
I run regular assemblies in the local school and through getting to know the children I’ve made connections with the adults on the estate too. We always say that I am the beacon, welcoming people in through building relationships and evangelism, and my wife nurtures them once they are in the church.
We regularly run a prayer tent at a car boot sale which is a great way of meeting with people. One couple came; the wife’s mum was dying of cancer and they had recently moved into the area. It was meant to be a fresh start, but they had already fallen out with local people and felt isolated. We offered them 1:1 counselling in the church and they’ve come along every week with their five children since! It’s amazing to see that kind of change and connection. It’s through things like this that our small church has grown from about 10 to 40 in the last year alone.”
