Chris and Ali

As a family, we have always had a big heart for South East London.

I (Chris) was brought up in Bermondsey, and though we would be open to God calling us to move somewhere else, I’ve found that we continue to have an unrelenting God-given love for this particular part of London.

I’ve served as a pastor at a church called City Hope since 2005. I started off as the youth worker, and currently, my role involves heading up the City Hope leadership team.

Back in 2015, we found that though we still had a deep heart for, and a sense of call to the area, it looked increasingly likely that we would need to move on. We were in a two bed flat, with 3 growing kids (2 girls and 1 boy). The cost of renting/buying somewhere bigger was an impossibility on our income and so we began to pray.

At some point, a friend of ours told us about Mission Housing and so we contacted them, and they in turn helped us work out how we could partner with them, and others to find a property that we could afford.

I am so grateful to Mission Housing for their creativity and faith in the area of housing. In many ways, our home serves as a base for our families sense of calling.

Today, City Hope continues to be a church that is home to people from all sorts of social and economic backgrounds. A deeply important component of any church life should be hospitality, and our home enables us to show hospitality to others. And I hope it’s also a place that inspires others to be hospitable.

Contrary to many reports you read in the Media, my experience has been that many Londoners are seeking what only Christ can offer: forgiveness, freedom, purpose and hope… I’m so thankful we get to serve Christ, His church and our community at this time, in this place. And I’m thankful to Mission Housing for helping this be possible.