Plans are underway for a new church plant in a deprived area of Liverpool.
The Cornerstone Collective – a group of FIEC and Acts 29 churches on Merseyside – will, God willing, plant into the Kensington area of the city in January 2021.
Hope Church Kensington will be led by George Osborn, and is a great example of partnership working between independent churches in very different contexts.
George was serving as an elder at Send Evangelical, a village church in Surrey, and was introduced to the Cornerstone Collective while studying with Crosslands. He and his wife Kate have now moved to Liverpool and George is training as a church planter with Cornerstone. Meanwhile, Send is supporting the couple both financially and prayerfully.
Steve Robinson, Senior Pastor at Cornerstone Church, Liverpool and leader of the Cornerstone Collective said: ‘This is a great example of a church in a small village in Surrey supporting church planting into a deprived area of Merseyside. What we are seeing is two churches working together as Send supports George in this ministry.
‘Pete and Sophie Killingley (Pete is the Pastor at Send) have visited us at Cornerstone and the church there has sent George and Kate into this ministry. The fact that both churches belong to the FIEC is vital as it means that we all trust the partnership.’
Pete Killingley says the church at Send has been challenged to ‘give away their best’ and they are delighted to see this ministry taking shape in Liverpool. Pete added:
‘We’re so happy to be able to partner with Cornerstone Liverpool. We invest in mission locally and globally, and this is part of the way we can support church planting and the national mission field of the UK. We miss George and Kate greatly as people, and feel their absence in ministry. But God is the one who raises up workers, and He is building His church, both in Send and the surrounding area of Woking, as well as in Liverpool.’
George now has a team of 12 people who will join the plant, and by January he will have spent 18 months training with Cornerstone when Hope Church launches. He is really excited to see the good news of Christ proclaimed into Kensington. George said: ‘If you live in Kensington in Liverpool you have a life expectancy of 18 years less than if you live in Kensington in London. The area is diverse, with varieties of nationalities and many refugees and asylum seekers. It also houses students and the city’s main red light district, and is battling with problems – drugs, alcohol abuse and social issues.
‘This area needs to hear about the hope found in Jesus. We are asking the launch team to move directly into Kensington and are seeing people give up comfortable lives and secure homes to live in a challenging area. Please pray that Hope Church Kensington would be seen as a beacon of Christ’s light and that many would come to know Him and love Him.’
