“We want God to less Bootle,” say Ali Horton and Janet Hughes.
“We don’t want it to be known for drinking and drugs. We want people who don’t know Jesus to meet him.”
Since 2011, Janet and Ali have run a social enterprise, the Gateway Collective. They make and sell chutneys, pickles, jams and craft and textile products, and are building connections with non-Christians in their deprived Liverpool suburb via a community garden.
The project began after Ali felt God told her to ‘make chutney for me’ and Janet sensed him telling her to use a social enterprise to connect with her community.
A conversation at church brought the pair together and they began selling chutney and craft items at farmers markets soon afterwards. But the project grew rapidly when Janet and Ali, both members of Bootle Elim, were given land to use for a community garden in 2015.
“One day, the charity I worked for was doing an event in the park and the parks team was there,” says Ali.
“Tongue in cheek, I asked them if they had any land we could use. A council officer pointed to an old bowling green with an area fenced off to the side and said we could have it. So North Park Community Garden came into existence.”
The garden flourished as word about it spread. Today, it attracts dozens of volunteers each week and has tripled in size, creating space to grow everything from carrots, cabbage, beetroot and sweetcorn to potatoes, tomatoes and a huge variety of fruit.
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
‘Imagine Everyone On This Planet Is Your Equal'
David Beasley, Executive Director of the Nobel Peace Prize-winning UN World Food Programme, reveals the words his work is founded on
God Sets The Example Of Adoption...
Many people have ruled themselves out for fostering or adoption when the system would rule them in, explains Krish Kandiah
The Work Of Missionaries In Lockdown
When lockdown brought Ian and Katie Moore’s mission work in Macedonia to a halt, they used the time to seek a refined vision for reaching their local area. They told Chris Rolfe their story
How Nurse Helped Acid Attack Model Find Faith
Katie Piper explains how a life-changing incident changed her life in more ways than she expected as she recovered in hospital
Big Challenges Issued At Online Conference
Elim’s first online theological conference examines how our understanding of the ‘End Times’ shapes our view of mission
Lockdown in London deepened my faith
Living alone in London may not have been what he dreamed about, but Chelsea’s Christian Pulisic says it has driven him closer to God
The Really Good News about new initiative!
Elim’s new online mission programme could be the biggest evangelistic outreach we’ve ever done, says national evangelist Mark Greenwood. As we gear up for Easter, he gives the lowdown on the campaign
It's the gospel of liberation, not renovation
When Jesus was 30 he went to the prison of sin, and knocked on the door. Satan opened that little window and said, “What do you want?” Jesus told him: “I have come to set the captives free!” A sermon by the late Reinhard Bonnke
The mystery of Skull Hill
Skull Hill is a rocky hill rising just outside the north wall of Jerusa-lem, not far from the Damascus Gate. It was given that name because of the striking resemblance to a human skull appearing on the weather-beaten formation of its southern face.
A decade of mission
With an Easter evangelism programme, the Elim Leaders Summit and a renewed call to mission, General Superintendent Chris Cartwright outlines Elim’s plans for 2021 and beyond
