In Bristol, UK, churches are coming together to offer practical help and spiritual support to those around them. As people bring life to others, they are seeing communities blossom, flourish, and bear fruit.  

In the city of Bristol, there are many who face financial challenges, with families struggling to afford sufficient food, clothing and shoes. Some are dealing with multiple health challenges that impact life in a very real way. Many of these communities have suffered from lack of investment for generations.

Rev Dr Andy Murray, vicar at St Peter’s Lawrence Weston and St Andrew’s Avonmouth, and Dean of Priority Communities for the Diocese of Bristol, is part of a team championing a new response to these areas of the city. "We've started using the term ‘priority communities’," says Andy. "We want to invest, and make supporting and resourcing churches a priority in those areas that have been overlooked and disadvantaged.

"I've lived on a housing estate for the last ten years, and also built great relationships with friends in the community over the last 14 years. We're hoping this term, priority communities, is a more positive description of these inner city and outer estate communities that have struggled for many years."

Part of the support for these communities is facilitated by a range of services such as food banks and homeless shelters, alongside advice clinics, cookery courses and skills workshops. Since 2011, the Bristol Northwest Food Bank – a partnership of several churches, organisations and schools – has helped more than 74,000 in crisis with the provision of emergency food parcels. “We see this as a core part of the mission of the church,” says Andy. “We want to proclaim the good news of Jesus through words and actions, and to demonstrate his love in very practical ways.”

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There is a also skills workshop that teaches and encourages a range of activities such as woodwork, as well as computer design using a laser cutting and engraving system. But it’s not only about the practical skills - the space seeks to reduce loneliness, strengthen families, and engage young people and adults to develop confidence, aspiration and expertise for work. A number of those experiencing mental illness or loneliness have found safety and encouragement through the workshop, sometimes in a way that they haven't had before.

"We've seen people joining the wider church or the listening café community with their head held high and a sense of hope for the future," says Andy. "For several people who have been unemployed for long periods of time, it's given them the confidence to then start applying for jobs and getting back into work. We've seen people moving forward in their life in a way that they wouldn't have imagined."

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A place of safety

The listening café provides a space where people can meet with the team to talk through issues. They'll then be signposted to additional support, either internally or with other organisations. As connections are forged and relationships built, Andy and the team of volunteers are talking to people about Jesus.

“There is a sense of growing trust; often questions are asked about why we are doing this, why we serve the community in this way. As a result of finding a place of safety, finding community, finding a space to ask big questions of life, we've seen people joining the church family, coming to faith and being baptised; and finding security, peace and life that they haven't experienced before. That's such a joy to see.

"We have the opportunity to share something of the light of Christ where families are sometimes living through real darkness,” says Andy. Lifewords resources are a helpful part of these relationships, offering not only something that is accessible, but that people are keen to read and take home.

“The Lifewords booklets are really effective at connecting with people who are exploring faith, and seeking answers to some of the difficult questions of life. We’re really grateful for the support that we've received from Lifewords- being able to put Scripture in people's hands, to be able to answer some of those really difficult life questions, has been really useful.”

Last year, 14 churches in the diocese received a Little Bricks of Little Books, with some contexts receiving multiple Bricks due to the popularity of the books. The Little Books have been really great for the community who aren’t always ready to talk to someone about faith, but who are encountering something of God. “

People subtly grab some of the books and take them away,” says Andy. “These people are coming back months or weeks later, and saying, ‘I took some of those books and read them, and I keep reading them and they have impacted my experience of life and the challenges that I face.’ There is a move of the Holy Spirit, stirring people to want to explore faith in a new way. We long to see that grow, and to see the opportunities to go deeper with people in their exploration of faith. The Little Books will continue to be part of that journey.”

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‍Life in all its fullness

Above the door of the skills workshop is the verse from John 10:10, where Jesus says: “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” This is what Andy and the team are reflecting to those they minister to: a life that is not just about overcoming challenges, but where people, families and communities are thriving and discovering life in all its fullness – using their gifts, growing their skills, and finding out who they are in Jesus.