We aim to have a small number of Mission Partners which we collectively support as a church, whilst recognising that there are many ongoing individual and personal links with a diverse range of Christian ministries across the congregation.
We have mission partnerships as a church community in order to:
- Inspire us by the movement of Christ beyond our church
- Help us collectively be more focussed outwards
- Support and enable ministries outside the church
- Learn and extend our perspective of the work of the God’s kingdom
- Inspire us individually to build personal connections with the work of Christ beyond the church
- Inspire others in their work for Christ
- Model partnership and provide opportunities for people to get connected and stretched
- Engage with the diversity of work in the kingdom of God
We support our mission partners through prayer, joint activities, and financial support. We have mission-focussed services throughout the year when we invite our partners to share with us about their work. We communicate with the church about our mission partners' needs such as news, prayer requests and other ways for the church community to support them.
Our International Mission Partners
Mim Friday and Viva Africa
Viva inspires lasting change in children's lives through the power of collective action. Viva is a worldwide organisation, but Mim is the network director for the four hubs in Africa, the largest and most impactful of which is in Kampala. Through their links with local partner organisations, each network seeks to improve the lives of children at risk, through education, economic empowerment, and reintegration of children into families and improving maternal and child health.
http://www.viva.org
Tearfund
Tearfund is a Christian charity with over 50 years of experience in international development. We believe that poverty is not God’s plan, and an end to extreme poverty is possible.
We work directly, and/or alongside local partners and churches, in underserved communities in more than 50 countries to tackle complex poverty in three main ways:
- Humanitarian response
We respond quickly to disasters and conflicts, supporting those in greatest need throughout the recovery process. - Community development
We partner with local churches and organisations, mobilising resources and empowering communities to lift themselves out of poverty. - Advocacy and influencing
We help individuals and churches speak out on issues of poverty and injustice, and we challenge unjust policies and practices at a local, national and global level.
Our Local Mission Partners
Wonersh and Shamley Green CE Primary School
Tim Cheesman is the current headteacher of our village school which has recently grown from a small infant school, to a primary school, educating up to 210 local children in a nurturing Christian environment.
http://www.wsg.surrey.sch.uk
YMCA Downslink Group
YMCA DownsLink Group is a charity working to transform the lives of children and young people (16-24) across Sussex and Surrey.
They work to prevent youth homelessness and provide a home to over 650 young people every night. We reach a further 9,000 children, young people and their families through other services such as, counselling, support and advice, mediation and youth work, so that all young people can belong, contribute and thrive.
The main project in Guildford is supported housing for up to 34 young unaccompanied asylum seekers.
http://www.ymcadlg.org
Guildford Foodbank
Our Mission Partnerships are managed by our Mission Partnership Committee. The Committee is focussed on the following:
- Building and maintaining strong relationships with our Mission Partners
- Praying for our Mission Partners
- Being a conduit for communication between the Mission Partners and the church family
- Making stewarding decisions around the allocation of the annual mission giving budget across our partnerships, and recommending this to the PCC
- Proposing the giving focus for events such as the Harvest Appeal etc.
Please contact any member of the Mission Partnership Committee to find out more about our mission partners.
Members of the Mission Committee
Caroline Stearman (Chair), Alex Vinall, Keith Bateson, Alice Bounsall-Hughes,
Anne Heine-Carmichael