I am now in my third year as Mission Director at the Brighton and Hove City Mission (BHCM).
Looking back at the journey we have been on, seeing where we currently are and where we believe we are going in the future, is a great encouragement. As a Christian, I can see the beautiful and distinctive fingerprints of Jesus leading this charity. In 2015, we focused on rebranding and streamlining BHCM, ensuring that we are on the right track to serve the city, church and Christ, whilst remaining faithful to our roots.
In 2016, we emphasised how the lives of people are being changed through the work that we do. The sub-theme of “Your Story” was echoed throughout our publicity. As a supporter, you had the opportunity to hear 15 testimonies at Taste and See, and read 12 testimonies in our postal newsletters and 14 testimonies in our e-news.
In 2017, we want to highlight partnerships, real Kingdom building partnerships, between churches and agencies in Brighton and Hove, stretching out across Sussex. We said we are here to serve city, church and Christ, and we are.
This year, our design still points to our roots in the Victoria era, whilst still echoing the heart of Brighton and Hove, with its amazing design features of refurbished old brick walls and new stylish light bulbs. But these light bulbs also point to the theme for this year:
Matthew 5:16 says:
“…let your light shine…”
As Christians we are called to shine our lights, the light Jesus has put in our hearts. One light bulb on its own can be effective. However, light bulbs are always connected to a power supply and are, quite often, on a lighting circuit.
A whole string of light bulbs, connected to the same power supply on the same lighting circuit, can really illuminate a dark place.
That is why we are passionate about real partnership. We aim to bring unity by equipping and supporting Christians and churches, across our city, so we can shine brightly together to illuminate the dark places – I feel privileged to lead this kind of work for BHCM.
Let’s build the Kingdom together.