Holy Trinity Hounslow have been going out on the local high street with LCM missionaries, starting conversations about Jesus. And men and women from the local community are turning to follow Jesus.
It was an unremarkable day on Hounslow High Street when Kishor Shah noticed a table set up on the footpath, with a small group of people standing by it greeting people as they passed. “I was just walking by,” he recalls. “I saw people standing there and thought, let me go and ask what this is about.” That simple decision changed his life. Recently widowed, Kishor was struggling with grief and loneliness. A Hindu all his life, he felt like he was being visited by spirits. “My wife passed away, and I couldn’t sleep. I felt like ghosts were coming to my house,” he says. When he approached the book table, Kishor met London City Missionary Brother Mann and a couple of volunteers from Holy Trinity Hounslow. They took the time to hear Kishor’s story and share Jesus with him – how he lived, how he died for people, and how he offers new life.
The start of a friendship
It was the start of a relationship. The team visited Kishor’s home to pray for him and invited him to attend the Hindi Fellowship at Holy Trinity on Saturdays. “They explained everything,” Kishor says. “Before, I had a lot of problems. But after I started coming to church, everything changed. Jesus helped me. “I waited one week, and then I decided. I wanted to be part of Jesus, part of Christianity. I thought, Jesus is better for me. I want to change.” “Now I tell my own family – this is a good place. Come to church.”
Kishor’s story is just one of many that begin at the Book Table Ministry – a simple but powerful outreach that takes place every Friday on Hounslow High Street. From 12 to 2 pm, a team of volunteers from Holy Trinity, supported by Brother Mann and other missionaries, sets up a table with Christian literature in multiple languages – Hindi, Punjabi, Gujarati, Arabic – and a bright yellow banner that reads, “Believe in Jesus.”
A presence of hope on the high street
“Our desire isn’t primarily to give out books and leaflets,” says Brother Mann. “Our desire is to have as many conversations about Jesus as possible. It’s a visible expression of our faith.” The need in Hounslow is great. “There are many people like Kishor from different faith backgrounds who are searching for the truth but have no Christian friend who could invite them to church or share the gospel with them,” says Brother Mann. The sentiment is echoed by Pastor Immanual, Associate Minister at Holy Trinity. “There are so many people who pass through these streets who don’t know about Jesus,” says Pastor Immanual.
“There are financial struggles, drug issues, and poverty – but the biggest need is spiritual.” However, there are often internal barriers that prevent a Christian brother or sister from sharing the good news of Jesus Christ that need to be overcome. “People have the heart to share the gospel, but because of fear, they don’t have boldness. Once we encourage them to overcome their fear, people are ready. “LCM has helped a lot,” continues Pastor Immanual. “Not only supporting the evangelism that happens on the book table, but also by training people. We have different discipleship courses – how to reach Sikhs, how to reach Hindus, how to reach Muslims. With the help of LCM, we are encouraging the church to do evangelism.”
