I always knew pastoral ministry was my thing. I’ve always had a heart for people and wanted to help them,” says Jo Pratt.
Jo heads up the chaplaincy department at Bont Elim Community Church and her chaplaincy team has been serving the Welsh town of Pontarddulais since 2011.
“Our team of volunteer chaplains aims to share God’s love by visiting workplaces, schools and the wider community, providing love, support and encouragement,” she says.
One of the first town chaplaincy services to launch in the UK, it has served the community by offering everything from coffee mornings and craft fairs to counselling and river clean-ups.
“When we started, we decided to get involved in community initiatives and find out what people wanted.
“We wanted to do something that would bring people into the church, but not necessarily on a Sunday, to show we’re there to love and serve them.”
The team began by launching a coffee morning to ‘open the doors and show people we didn’t have two heads’.
“At that time, we had an influx of ex-drug addicts or people with a history of alcohol addiction, so this was a good place for them to go,” says Jo.
Denne historien er fra January 2020-utgaven av Direction Magazine.
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Denne historien er fra January 2020-utgaven av Direction Magazine.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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‘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
