Every Friday morning, a queue forms outside Revival House church long before the doors open.

The church is in Manor Park in the heart of Newham, one of London’s most deprived boroughs. One woman arrives an hour early. Her husband is battling cancer and is unable to work. She needs to collect food for her family before heading to her part-time job at a local school. Another elderly man walks an hour from his home each week, not just for the food, but for the warmth of the community he finds there.

Even before the doors are open, volunteers from the church, including Kevin, are outside, speaking with guests. Kevin is part of the team trained by LCM missionary Faith Edwards, in connecting with guests, having natural, yet intentional conversations – and sharing Jesus.

Once they started having those conversations, Kevin noticed a significant change in how guests responded.

“People became more open. And once they’re more comfortable with you, you’re better placed to invite them to church. Some have come to the Sunday service.”

FROM ISOLATION TO INCLUSION

One of the local people the team from Revival House have come to know is Ash. His story is slightly different to the others who have come through the church’s doors on a Friday morning. He now serves as a volunteer alongside members of the church, filling bags and handing them to guests.

“I like helping. I paint. I garden. I help in all sorts of ways,” says Ash.

“There’s a lot of isolation in this area,” explains Faith. “There are many practical needs, but even more so, people are longing for connection and belonging. Encouraging people to serve by using their gifts and befriending guests is a great way to address that.”

In Ash’s case, being profoundly deaf made him more vulnerable to isolation.

“Initially, I wasn’t aware Ash was deaf,” says Jess*, one of the volunteers at the food bank. “I thought he was just quiet.

"But when I realised he couldn’t hear us, that I couldn’t communicate with him or he couldn’t communicate with me, I was like, okay, I’m going to learn BSL. Let me get into it.”

Soon, the whole team started learning sign language to communicate with Ash, and as he volunteered each week, conversations started to gather momentum.

Faith encouraged the team to learn their names in sign language. Ash gladly assessed them to see who had best completed the task. When the team met to pray, this initially presented a barrier.

So, they began to voice-type the prayer, and from this Ash was able to read it and started asking questions.

“We saw it as an opportunity to share our faith with him,” explains Faith.

SOMETHING DISTINCTIVE

Like many people in Manor Park, Ash is from a Muslim background – but his involvement in the Food Bank provided a chance to get to know Christians for the first time. And he noticed something different about them.

"The people there show kindness and often pray for people because they love Jesus,” Ash signs.

As Ash continues to speak, he shares something unexpected with Faith and the team that takes their breath away. Ash signs that he has given his life to Jesus. His eyes light up with joy.

A huge smile spreads across his face as he shares his news for the first time. Faith offers him a copy of the gospel of John to read at home. Ash is delighted. He accepts the offer and rushes off to pick up his children from school.

It’s early days, but Ash is being supported by the church, and Faith is helping him get connected with other Christians from the deaf community.

A CULTURE SHIFT

For Pastor Boniface, Ash’s story is fruit of the change in culture which he has seen in the church in recent months.

“Through LCM’s training, we’ve become more confident in sharing the gospel,” he says. “They’ve helped us move from just giving out food to building genuine relationships. We praise God for what he has done through us in Ash’s life.”

The food bank is just one of the ways LCM have been supporting the church to connect with people from different backgrounds and cultures. This includes some of the area’s most marginalised groups.

“We also didn’t know how to reach vulnerable women in the community. Since our partnership with LCM, we have held a couple of pampering events where we shared the gospel while offering free haircuts and other treatments. Three women said they wanted to believe in Jesus at the last event.”

Pastor Boniface’s vision for the church is to go beyond its walls.

“It is our desire to see young and old, find new life in Christ,” he says. “And we’re using any way possible to go to where they are, as opposed to waiting for them to come to us.”