“Growing up, I’d hear words like handicapped. Spastic."

“Those hurtful words brought me to the point where I wanted revenge. I wanted to hurt people. That’s the type of man I was,” says Elim Mindikoglu, a member at St Cuthbert's Church.

Elim was born with slight brain damage on the left side, which affected his mobility on the right. Hearing taunts about his disability throughout his life had twisted his heart. It made him angry and bitter.

But that was before Jesus completely changed his life.

“Then, one day, it just clicked. And I realised that I need Jesus, man. I couldn’t do this on my own anymore,” Elim explains.

“Jesus radically changed me through his word, through prayer, through fellowship, through life.”

He met London City Missionary Daniel Olteanu one day, who invited him to St Cuthbert’s Church – a church Daniel was working with to share the gospel in its community.

“I got to know the church through meeting Daniel. I’ve been here for two years now, and it’s just home,” says Elim.

“It’s just amazing to experience their love. They know what I’m going through as well. I was diagnosed with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis two years ago. My mobility has been on and off. Some days, I have good days. Some days, I have bad days. But the church has always been there for me.

LCM has kept encouraging Elim in his faith and to share the gospel.

“Especially when we're doing door knocking. Working with Daniel, I can honestly say God is working in his life. The love that he shows, the compassion that he shows because of Jesus. He's so passionate. And when I'm working with him, it brings out the zeal in me.”

For Daniel, it’s all about building people up in confidence to share their faith.

“So many people say I don’t have enough confidence to come with you to talk to strangers on their doorstep about Jesus. I tell them they don’t need to do anything. Just watch and see what I’m doing,” explains Daniel.

“I was so happy to see Elim stepping out and coming out of his comfort zone, getting engaged with people. He came to reach the local community with me. He started to come door-knocking and explain to people about the church and his faith.

“I was so joyful when I saw him stepping out.”

Now, Elim can’t stop sharing the good news of the precious salvation that can only be found in Christ.

“I can't stop speaking about Jesus because of what I've seen God doing through Daniel,” says Elim.

“Every time he keeps speaking to people about Jesus, it stirs me up. It's amazing, and I can honestly say I have peace within my soul.”

What Mark Jones Parry, Pastor at St Cuthbert’s church, particularly loves about partnering with Daniel is how LCM’s vision is shaped by Ephesians 4: 11 – 12.

“The work of an evangelist is not just to do it so that the other Christians don't have to share the gospel. The work of the evangelist is to equip everyday Christians for works of ministry so that they can make Jesus known,” says Mark.

“So, what I love about Daniel's work with us is how he's bringing others alongside and looking to empower and equip and enthuse them to take the gospel out to local people."

“We believe that the gospel is good news for everyone, whoever you are, wherever you're from, whatever you've done. God seeks to reach the nations through the good news of the Lord Jesus, and the nations are on our doorstep.”

Daniel and the team of people at St Cuthbert’s church have knocked on all the homes in the parish, distributing gospels and taking every opportunity to personally invite people to church. Even during lockdown, when they were more limited in what they could do, the team gave out about 2,500 gospels.

“A year later, a young man walked in on Sunday morning because he'd read Luke's gospel and wanted to meet with somebody and understand who this Jesus was, who he'd begun to get to know through the gospels we distributed,” recalls Mark.

The most significant change over the last couple of years as the church works with Daniel has been the make-up of the church family.

“If you were to walk into this church building on a Sunday morning now, you would hear many languages being spoken."

“I think the work of LCM is vital. That vision to reach the most marginalised, the least reached across London, the clarity with which LCM are looking to work with those communities and support churches looking to reach them for Christ is invaluable.”

For more information about how LCM can come alongside your church to engage in urban mission in London, visit here.