As followers of Jesus we are called to mission: to make disciples, meet the needs of those in poverty or distress, help refugees and other displaced people, train people for ministry in other parts of the world, and support others in their calling. In addition to our own ministry and mission within our parish, we support and pray for mission in other places: in other parts of Croydon, elsewhere in Britain, and abroad.
Each year we set aside part of our income to fund this. How the global mission budget is spent is the responsibility of the Global Mission Committee, which reports to the PCC. In addition, some of the parish support fund we give each year to the Diocese of Southwark supports mission in poorer parts of South London.
We support a wide range of people, projects and organisations aiming to achieve a spread across work in evangelism, social action, justice and discipleship. Many of the projects and organisations we support were begun by Emmanuel members or have an Emmanuel member actively involved in them. We aim wherever possible to maintain these personal links, so that our mission spending is about relationships as well as giving money to good causes.
We also support our mission partners through prayer and each week in church we pray for at least one area of mission. Regular prayer meetings are held for mission with a particular focus on people with whom we are linked. From time to time we send Emmanuel members out to visit the people we support or have visits from the people involved in the work we support elsewhere.
To find out more about the people, projects and organisations supported by Emmanuel click on one of the below or scroll down this page.
To find out more or to give to Emmanuel where part of the income is set aside for the global mission budget, click here.
Mission Partners
Our mission partners are people who have gone out from Emmanuel or with whom we have a personal connection. They are serving God outside our own parish in other parts of the UK or the world, or to train for mission service elsewhere.
Simon French
Simon and his wife Sue served with Africa Inland Mission (AIM) in Tanzania for 13 years. Since they returned to the UK in 2018 Simon has been leading AIM’s work among the African Diaspora in the UK, people from the African continent, many of whom have not heard the Gospel.
Simon spends part of his time working in Croydon, meeting and supporting refugees through the Croydon Refugee Day Centre and teaching them English as a foreign language.
He also oversees and facilitates AIM’s work in other parts of the UK that have a large African population.
Please pray:
- that God will open doors for Simon and enable him to develop good relations with Africans who have settled in this country and help them
- that Simon will have more and more opportunities to tell others about Jesus
Ruth Kade
Ruth is a South Sudanese woman, a former colleague of Jan King at Emmanuel Christian College. She works among South Sudanese women in refugee camps such as Palorinya and Bidibidi in northwest Uganda.
Ruth teaches them to lead Bible studies in their homes and about forgiveness, trauma and counselling skills. They are instructed and equipped to establish kitchen gardens, which can not only feed their families but also provide an income from the sale of surplus produce.
Ruth reports her work in meticulous detail, and we know that every penny we sent is used wisely.
Please pray;
- against the twin enemies of drought and excessive, heavy rainfall
- for Ruth and her team of trainers to be able to continue visiting the camps
- for the women who attend training to put into practice what they learn
Jack & Sarah Winterburn
Jack and Sarah, with their son Ben, live in Tours, Northern France, where they serve as pastoral assistants in an evangelical church.
They are involved in many aspects of church life including worship leading (Sarah), preaching (Jack), youth work with 12-18 year olds and a variety of evangelistic activities.
PRAY for their work, that they may continue to build friendships in their church and community, and for Ben, growing up in a French environment.
For more information about European Christian Mission and its work in Europe, go to www.ecmi.org
Emily Speed
Emily, formally a worship intern here at Emmanuel is setting up a hub to work with Croydon primary schools through Spinnaker Trust.
Spinnaker’s mission is to inspire primary school children to engage with the Christian faith and explore its beliefs and values by creating and providing quality resources appropriate for the teaching of Christianity through RE and Collective Worship.
It also offers appropriate training in primary RE and Collective Worship for schools staff.
Donald & Becky Kamese
Donald and Becky live with their sons, Ben, Elliot and Ethan, in the “Circle of Silence” in Mexico, an area with a population of over 23 million people and the largest concentration of unreached people in Spanish-speaking Latin America.
Their Predica Vida Bible training course exists to equip local people to take the gospel to least reached places and to plant Christ-centred churches.
PRAY for their ongoing work and family life, and for the boys, growing up as “Third Culture Kids” in a Spanish-speaking environment.
To find out more about them and their work in Mexico, visit their website, www.kamesesinmexico.co.uk or the SIM (Serving in Mission) website www.sim.co.uk/mission-workers/donald-and-becky-kamese/
Scripture Union in Tajikistan
Emmanuel has been supporting the work by M in Tajikistan through Scripture Union International for many years. Although Tajikistan is a Muslim country it has allowed some work by Christian missions although changes to their laws on religious practice have made this much more difficult in recent years.
M has worked with Scripture Union over many years and their work has included the creation of a camp site where they can run Christian camps for youth and children. She also works with childrens clubs and with girls and women in her home where she is able to share the good news of Jesus with them.”
Ordinands from Emmanuel
Emmanuel encourages its members to consider what ministry God is calling them to. We seek to support and encourage those who go to train for ordination or other forms of ministry. If you think God may be calling you to a particular ministry, please have a word with our Vicar, John Adams or with Clare Jeffries, our Vocations Co-Ordinator.
Although we don’t currently have any members training for ordination we list below some of our more recent Ordinands who now serve as ministers:
Rev. Alistair Forster as the Priest-in-Charge of Axbridge with Shipham and Rowberrowas
Rev. Hannah Gordon as Rector of St Margaret’s, Chipstead.
Rev. Helen Fraser as Head of Vocations for the Church of England
Rev. Robert Gooding as Vicar of St Peter’s and St Leonard’s, Iver
Rev. Carole Gooding as Assistant Minister at St Peter’s and St Leonard’s, Iver (N.B. Carole was ordained after leaving Emmanuel)
Please pray for:
- The ministry of all of our former ordinands in the communities in which they serve.
- The ability to discern God’s calling, and for those who are called to have the courage to respond.
Organisations we support
We support these organisations regularly. We believe they are doing good work in their various fields of activity, some in the UK and some in others parts of the world. Their values and aims reflect those we ourselves hold as a church.
Tearfund
Tearfund is an international Christian development organisation and relief agency, following Jesus where the need is greatest, working through local churches to unlock people’s potential and helping them to discover that the answer to poverty is within themselves.
See www.tearfund.org
Open Doors
Open Doors is an international ministry serving persecuted Christians and churches worldwide. They supply Bibles, leadership training, literacy programmes, livelihood support and advocacy services.
Fusion
Fusion helps to connect students with local churches while studying at college or university. It supports the churches as they prepare to welcome and disciple students.
Its website is www.fusionmovement.org
Christian Family Concern
Christian Family Concern was founded many years ago by members of Emmanuel. It offers supported accommodation in South Croydon to young mothers, teaching life skills such as cooking and looking after their babies. It also offers a counselling service and runs Birdhurst Nursery.
For information, see www.christianfamilyconcern.org.uk
UCCF
UUCCF (Universities and Colleges Christian Fellowship) works among students through Christian Unions in universities and colleges. It helps to make disciples in the student world and helps students to share the gospel with fellow students.
Its website is www.uccf.org.uk
A Rocha International
A Rocha International is a Christian nature conservation organisation that pursues its vision for the good stewardship of God’s world through scientific research, community-based practical conservation projects, environmental education and climate action.
A Rocha UK runs the Eco-Church Award Scheme for churches who want to demonstrate that the gospel is good news for God’s earth.
A Rocha are currently running a project in Dakatcha Woodland in Kenya. For more information see the PDF bellow.
http://www.emmanuelcroydon.org.uk/app/uploads/2024/01/A-Rocha-Notice.pdf
For more information go to www.arocha.org
Church Pastoral Aid Society
CPAS (Church Pastoral Aid Society) is an evangelical Anglican mission agency working with a wide variety of churches across the UK and the Republic of Ireland, with the aim of enabling churches to help every person hear and discover the good news of Jesus.
CPAS also runs, through its CYFA organisation, groups for children and youth in local churches and a programme of holiday camps to enable young people to hear the gospel and have fun together.
CPAS is also the patron of Emmanuel – meaning that it is responsible for appointing our vicar.
See www.cpas.org.uk
Langham Partnership
Langham Partnership, founded by John Stott 50 years ago, is committed to the centrality of the Bible in the life of the church. It runs three programmes:
- Langham Preaching works in 87 countries to train pastors to deliver biblical teaching and preaching.
- Langham Literature equips them by distributing biblical resources and supporting indigenous publishers in 20 countries and 47 languages.
- Langham Scholars multiplies the influence of biblical scholars, equipping them through theological studies to serve the church in their home nations.
John Libby, the National Director of Langham Partnership, is a former member of Emmanuel.
To find out more, go to www.uk.langham.org
Mission Projects
We support these projects and the work that they do in their communities – in the UK and in other parts of the world. Some of them have a longstanding relationship with Emmanuel and in most cases there is a strong link with a current or former member of Emmanuel.
Bishop Barham University College
Bishop Barham University College is a constituent college of Uganda Christian University. For many years Emmanuel has sponsored students who are training there as a way of building future church leaders in that area of Africa. Each year we sponsor three theological students, and each student is supported for up to three years of study.
Current and recently graduated students include the following:
Rev. Enock Mpirirwe is studying for a degree in theology and due to complete in April 2026
Rev. William Majok is 26 years old, married with two children, and serves in the Diocese of Wau, South Sudan as Diocesan Secretary. He is studying for a theology degree and eager to teach others in his home diocese when he graduates in April 2026.
Rev. William Birungi is studying for a degree in theology and due to complete in April 2025
Rachel Wairimu Karanja recently completed her studies and returned to Kajiado Diocese in Southern Kenya, where she is a lay reader and works among the Maasai tribe.
Anne Bonabaana is a minister from Rwenzori, South-West Uganda. She recently completed her degree studies.
Rev. Robert Zziwa leads an urban model parish in South Rwenzori Diocese, South-West Uganda. 40 years old, married with three children, he recently completed his studies for a degree in divinity.
Rev. Dorcus Niwamanya is from Kigezi Diocese in Uganda. 44 years old, she is married, with three children. She serves as a deaconess in Noozi parish, has a diploma in theology and recently completed her studies for a degree in divinity.
Find out more about Bishop Barham University College here: https://bbuc.ucu.ac.ug/
The Daniel Spargo-Mabbs Foundation
The Daniel Spargo-Mabbs Foundation was started by Emmanuel members Tim & Fiona Spargo-Mabbs in memory of their son, Dan. Dan died tragically at the age of 16 after taking ecstasy at a rave. The foundation tries to prevent other families from having to go through the pain of losing a child, and to stop the damage done by drugs to young lives.
Through its widespread work in many schools and colleges it aims to make young people aware of the risks of substance misuse and experimentation.For the full story and further information, go to the foundation’s website: www.dsmfoundation.org.uk
Kick London
Kick London works with thousands of children and young people every week to make a difference to their lives through sport. It runs academies in partnership with local churches and works in over 76 Schools across many London Boroughs. Two current members of Emmanuel sit on the board of trustees, including its chair Matt King.
For information, see https://kick.org.uk/
Salmon Youth Centre, Bermondsey
Around 500 children and young people a week attend more than 20 different clubs covering both age-related general youth clubs and specialist youth clubs in sports, adventure, music and arts. Salmon also works with young people with disabilities and actively seeks to develop young people through mentoring, young leaders and apprentices’ programmes. All this takes place in a caring Christian context. Emmanuel’s Peter Knight is the Honorary Treasurer.
For information, see www.salmoncentre.co.uk
Friends of the Province of Alexandria
Each year we support a Community Development project through FAPA (formerly through Egypt Diocesan Association), which covers 8 countries in Northern Africa and the Horn of Africa.
This year we are supporting the Deaf Unit in Cairo, Egypt, which is dedicated to creating a space where the deaf and their families can better learn to communicate with each other and overcome barriers through rehabilitation, education and sign language classes. The unit strives, through academic education and vocational training, to ensure better academic, social and economic opportunities for the deaf, enabling them to become self-reliant and better integrated into the wider community.
In pursuit of its vision of a society with more understanding, respect and acceptance of the deaf the unit works to change cultural assumptions and stereotypes about the deaf through building relationships and friendships.
For more information about the deaf unit visit http://dioceseofegypt.org/community-engagement/deafunit-school/
For more information about FAPA, its website is https://www.fapa-egypt.org
Pastor Nathan in Egypt (International Needs)
Through International Needs we support the work of an Egyptian pastor called Nathan Bassally , who pioneers “Spiritual Life Studies” and operates a school and vocational training centre supporting families in the local community.
International Needs is a worldwide development agency working to help families suffering through poverty and crises to create a sustainable future. Based in Caterham, IN’s National Director, Danny Morris, is a former member of Emmanuel. One of its trustees, Wendy Riches, and its administrative assistant, Sarah Fletcher, are members of Emmanuel.
For more information about the work of Pastor Nathan Bassally go to https://ineeds.org.uk/countries/egypt/
For more information about the wider ranging work of International Needs go to http://www.ineeds.org.uk/
Croydon Refugee Day Centre
Croydon Refugee Day Centre is a friendly, safe meeting place offering practical assistance to all asylum seekers and refugees. Two Emmanuel members, Natasha Burt and Rachel Webster, provide English Language classes there, in addition to the classes they run at Emmanuel through SELAM.
More information can be found at www.croydonrefugeedaycentre.co.uk
Joseph Gama
Joseph is a former colleague of Emmanuel’s Jan King when she worked in South Sudan and someone for whom the late Betty Hartshorn (a longstanding member of Emmanuel) prayed regularly. So when he wished to study for a Master’s degree in theology it seemed appropriate to use part of her legacy to pay his fees as he continues his studies at the Africa Renewal University in Kampala.