Getting Out & About in East Sussex

The impact of the fortnight long misson 'Walk East Sussex Coast' in September on churches and communities was far-reachingIt involved 54 churches, 230 volunteers, 10 months of planning and passionate prayer under-girded the event. "This was a brilliant mission," wrote Bishop Wallace after-wards. "The teams were hugely appreciated by local churches who found their work and presence a real encouragement to their ongoing mission."

"There is no doubt many churches have had a life-changing experience," said Stephen Talbot from the Prayer Centre in Eastbourne. "God has been at work in a wonderful way and we now have a huge amount to do to follow up all the contacts."

From Hastings to Newhaven and north up to Lewes, churches in towns and villages worked with teams recruited and trained by Through Faith Missions (TFM), who had been approached last year by local church leaders to co-ordinate the fortnight, following similar large-scale missions it has run all over the UK.

The strategy is for men-only teams to be accommodated on church hall floors, whilst mixed teams of men and women are put up in local homes. The teams, wearing distinctive sweatshirts, find it's a way of sharing the Christian faith which has affected thousands. "In all our Walk missions we see almost no hostility," says TFM's founder, Daniel Cozens. "Their success resonates around England, so requests keep coming."

The emphasis on each mission is to meet people outside church walls, and WESC saw many creative examples of this. In Eastbourne, Old Town Community Church (OTCC) organised ‘Labours of Love'. Requests for help with odd jobs such as DIY or gardening came flooding in from the local community, and the mission team found itself shifting rubbish, painting and gardening throughout the week. Significant, God-centred conversations came as a result of many asking, "Why on earth are you doing this?" As a direct result of the mission, OTCC have now run two Alpha courses and appointed a community development worker for one day a week.

Up the road, church members and the TFM team based at St. Michael and All Angels could be found during the evenings in the Hurst Arms, playing pool badly and answering questions about the blue mission shirts. The pub landlady promised to cross the road on ‘Back to church Sunday' at the end of the week. She told the congregation: "There's not really much difference between my pub and your church - we're both friendly places and we both deal in spirits. It's just that I charge for mine and yours is free."

As part of the mission, teams went from door to door with a survey inviting residents to give their views on Christianity. Several churches commented on how favourable was the welcome on the doorstep. For example, with some results still to come in, of 561 replies, over 55% of people said ‘yes' in answer to the question: ‘If you could know God personally, would you be interested?' One church, which had done a similar thing four or five years ago, found that a typically sceptical response from that time was replaced with a much greater openness. That church still has over seventy follow up home calls to make.

More than 4,000 people from all walks of life have been part of TFM teams over the last 20 years. All have a reference from their own church leader, go through CRB procedures and must attend at least one training weekend.

"We always want to work in partnership", says TFM Minister of Missions, John Hibberd. "It's not about us doing mission for the church, but always with them. It's why we welcome local church members coming out with the visiting team, and it's why we want the church to set the mission agenda."