Every Thursday night, in the heart of Northeast London, members of a new church plant gather to host a friendship café for people who have been forced to flee their homes and are now newly arrived in the UK.

They meet at 6:30pm to set up the space and to pray. At 7pm, they head to the hotel up the road to invite people who are displaced to the café.

Games, activities, food and beverages are provided. But more than that, welcome, compassion, and friendship are offered.

Dan Skead, who leads this new church plant, says these Thursday evenings are a key outreach opportunity for the church.

“We’re very open as a church and what we believe. And we want to see people blessed spiritually as well,” says Dan.

“This is an important ministry for us because it allows us to reflect Jesus’ heart for unreached people. Mark 6 and Matthew 9 says Jesus had compassion on people who were like sheep without a shepherd. And this is a way for us to extend that compassion to others.”

For Isabella Dias, LCM Mission Associate who has been working with this church for the last six months, it is an opportunity to share the gospel with people from all over the world.

“There’s a lot of people in the hotels with different ages, from different cultures and religions. There are families. There are young people who have travelled alone or with their families. A lot of children and their mothers,” highlights Isabella.

“We want them to know there is a community they can be a part of, to belong to if they are interested. We would love people to feel welcome, to come back and start attending other activities we have at the church such as bible study or prayer groups.

“We can share our stories and we can share the love of Jesus with them.”

Isabella is also grateful for the opportunities to pray with people who have yet to know Jesus as their Lord and Saviour.

“Sometimes it’s not easy because they can’t speak English. We use google translator sometimes to open the conversation and we listen as they share deeply personal stories with us. This is where we get to pray with them and share that God loves them and we are so encouraged to see God working.

“Some families have started coming to church and they are getting more interested in understanding the impact of the gospel on their lives.”