News

Mission teams from Estonia and the USA have descended on City Gates Church in recent weeks.

During June and July, the church hosted two diverse groups of Christian volunteers who came to London on short-term mission trips.

The first arrivals were a lively 14-strong team from Ohio. They spent a week joining in with the life and ministry of City Gates and its sister congregation, New River Baptist Church in Islington.

The American group, many of whom were actors, worked alongside the two congregations and participated in a number of their outreach projects.

This included helping with a club for elderly people, praying around central London and performing theatrical presentations in schools and on the streets.

The Ohio contingent also joined in with City Gates' Friday night outreach into Soho, an all-night Bible reading event in Islington and a community barbeque on the Regent's Park Estate.

Just a few weeks later, they were followed by a small but enthusiastic team from Tartu in Estonia, who spent several days in London lending a hand with various outreach and mission initiatives.

Following on from these successful visits, City Gates will continue to seek to build further links with Christians overseas.

It hopes to become a church that is well-equipped for receiving mission-focused teams from across the world.

International chaplain Cleverson Souza says: "Receiving people is sometimes challenging, but it gives us many good opportunities. For instance, with the help of a large group we can do activities that we can't always normally do. This is a blessing for the church.

"But it's also a good opportunity to bless those people who come to us in teams, as it gives them an opportunity to get involved our work, learn new things and, most importantly, to share the Gospel."