Missions

Missions Team

The Christ Church Missions Team aims to encourage the congregation to spread the Gospel and support the needy through direct involvement with specific Mission Partnerships as well as by holding seasonal appeals and responding to natural disasters and other emergencies.

Each year, the Parochial Church Council sets a budget, and the Missions Committee makes recommendations as to how it can best be spent.

Mission Partnerships

Christ Church has five Mission Partnerships. The aim is to strike a balance between local, national and international charities, all of which are Christian in outlook and outreach. Each Partnership has a member of the committee acting as their Mission Champion.

Current Mission Partnerships are:

Each Partnership has a few weeks of Mission Focus time each year. On one Sunday during that period, the Mission Champion – or a visiting speaker from the Partnership – will talk to the congregation about the charity’s valuable work and the challenges it is facing. 

Seasonal Appeals

Harvest and Christmas appeals are chosen annually and members of Christ Church contribute directly, with cash and card donations organised in church. In 2025, Christ Church supported The Bishop of Guildford’s Communities Fund during Lent, Christian Aid week in May, and the Farming Community Network and Epsom and Ewell Foodbank.

Emergency Funding Allocations

The PCC retains a small fund for response to urgent global crises. Usually this funding is sent via the Disasters Emergency Coalition, a UK coalition of charities. In recent years, Christ Church has responded to earthquakes in Myanmar and Afghanistan, and to a Tearfund appeal for those displaced by the war in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The Children’s Society

Mission Champion Marilyn Brown

A national charity working in all parts of England and Wales to support disadvantaged and vulnerable children.

Projects include work to prevent sexual and criminal exploitation, to end trafficking, to end childhood poverty and to improve access to mental health care. They work directly with those leaving the care system, young carers, young refugees, asylum seekers and runaway children.

Christ Church has supported the Children’s Society for many years, inviting speakers and holding an annual Christingle Service.

Annual update July 2025

  • The Society’s goal is to overturn the damaging decline in children’s wellbeing by 2030.
  • Hubs have been set up around the country (the nearest to us at Newham) where young people can drop in and meet trained staff, one to one, without an appointment or a referral.
  • There were big celebrations at the 25th annual Young Carers Festival.

Find Out More

Christian Solidarity Worldwide

Mission Champion Anne Fraser

CSW’s vision is a world free from religious persecution, and it challenges laws, behaviours and policies which abuse the right to this freedom. It works closely with the United Nations and governments and has specialist advocates working across the world gathering evidence to raise awareness. It also works with victims and their families and encourages us to send messages of hope through the Society. Participating churches are asked to pray for individuals and enhance God’s work in the field of human rights and justice.

Our church has supported CSW for the last four years. In that time, Audrey Skervinat, CWS Funding director, has spoken at the 10am Sunday service on two occasions and the Missions Team have sent cards with messages of support to a number of people being held in prison.

Annual update May 2025

  • Pastor Lorenzo Rosale from Cuba was released from prison on 17 Jan 2025. The Missions team had previously sent Christmas wishes to him
  • Psychosocial workshops are being held in Colombia to help those with trauma and those subjected to human rights abuse, including human rights defenders
  • There are on-going problems in India, Myanmar, Vietnam and China

Find Out More

Spinnaker

Mission Champion Anne Sturton

Spinnaker provides support for Christian worship and religious education in primary schools across London and the South East. Each geographical hub is largely responsible for their own content and delivery. Volunteers from the Epsom and Ewell Hub, including members of Christ Church, visit local schools to provide assemblies, religious education days and a lunch time Fish Club. Christ Church has supported Spinnaker since 2016 and has hosted an RE Easter Day in the church for Year 6 children from local schools. 

Annual update July 2025

  • Spinnaker held a leaders’ training session ‘What good RE teaching looks like’ – focusing on ‘bigger questions’ and wider humanity issues with reference to various faiths 
  • RE Days held at St Martin’s, Southfield Park and Stamford Green. Plus two schools have booked after several years’ absence from programme
  • Four school programmes planned for Easter 2026

Find Out More

Univida

Mission Champion Avril Shipton

Univida brings life, hope and opportunity to children living in poverty in the slums of Fortaleza, Brazil. The University of Life is an after-school project – Christian teachers offer a safe and inspirational place for 260 children each day to study and play. 

Academic support, computer studies, sport, music, dance and drama, hot food and clean water are all provided. Chapel Meetings encourage spiritual growth, and the staff offer a listening ear and prayer for children and families.

Founder Marc Marques and his wife Ruth visit Christ Church regularly. Three past students and a teacher have also visited, and groups from Christ Church have been to the University of Life to experience the project and offer learning experiences for the children.

If you would like to follow Univida’s activities, you can sign up for the bimonthly newsletter.

Annual update June 2025 

  • Univida recently took a whole day to teach students about prayer. They prayed for each other, the teachers and for the project. It was a beautiful time.
  • At Christ Church in June, we showed two videos in church – the first a thank you from Ruth and Marc for our support, the second ‘A day on the Project’ made by the staff. 
  • Honesty, Respect and Responsibility are Univida projects for 2025, designed to develop curiosity, a love for reading, and a thirst for information.

Find Out More

Vision People in Mission Korogocho

Mission Champions David and Rosie Blacoe

VPMK reaches out to families in the Korogocho slum area of Nairobi, Kenya with the Christian Gospel. Activities include The Haven (a school with basic education), a daily feeding programme, vocational training for adults, a primary health care programme, a chapel and an orphanage. Currently the Nairobi city government is attempting to modernise the Korogocho area, is causing disruption to these institutions. Founder Bishop Franklyn has spoken at Christ Church on several Occasions. 

There are usually two newsletters each year.

Annual Update July 2025

  • VPMK is struggling to gain possession of reallocated land to enable them to rebuild.
  • There is an ongoing legal appeal against taking down their buildings too soon. 
  • Individual personal donations are supporting the feeding programme.

Find Out More

Seasonal Charity Appeals in 2025

Online and cash donations are organised in church when Appeals are running.

For the Season of Lent – Bishop of Guildford’s Communities Fund

The Fund offers grants to community projects initiated by Church of England churches (and those in active partnership with them) to assist in fulfilling any aspect of the Diocesan vision “Transforming Church, Transforming Lives”. Projects include those supporting people with disabilities and mental ill-health issues, giving practical help, training and skills, and support for older citizens, children and young people.

For Christian Aid week 

Christian Aid helps global neighbours living in severe poverty, or affected by natural disasters, climate change, war or injustice by working with professional, well-vetted local partners who know the area and the people affected.

There are currently 29 overseas areas of assistance. In Gaza, Christian Aid supports local partners with mobile medical and psychological care, and in Ukraine it has provided first aid supplies.

Christian Aid is sponsored by 41 different Christian churches in the UK and Ireland. All humans are equal in the sight of God, people of all religions and none are helped. It is a key member of the Disaster Emergency Committee, a UK coalition of charities that responds to global crises.

For Harvest – The Farming Community Network and Epsom and Ewell Foodbank

Harvest financial donations go to FCN. Donations of food go to Foodbank.

The Farming Community Network supports UK farmers and their families through challenging times. It does this by providing a listening ear and ‘speaking the language of farming’, promoting health, wellbeing and business resilience, and helping people access specialist support when needed. 

Foodbank helps local people in crisis. Donations of food must be in date, unopened and not contain alcohol.

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