Sharing God’s love with food & family at The Beacon

A church planted in Hinckley, Leicestershire, is sharing the love of God with an estate community by offering physical and spiritual nourishment, and an invitation to become family.

Situated in the heart of an estate, The Beacon, Hinckley, is well placed to respond to the needs of local people. The team has a deep desire to share God’s love with their community, feeding them physically as well as spiritually, driven by values of being worship-centred, authentic, relational and missional (WARM).

Each Sunday sees a hot meal offered to anyone who comes, followed by a time of worship. Leader Revd Kim Ford describes it as a family, with lots of chatting, laughing and ‘children running everywhere’. There are many opportunities to share the true love of God, especially with those who bring a lot of pain and other needs. ‘If they don’t have a family, then we can become their family,’ says Kim. ‘They’re not alone and not isolated.’

During the week, the team goes into school assemblies, and on Thursdays there is an after school club for children, where parents too can come in to relax, knowing their children are safe. ‘We’ve grown from about 12 to 30 children,’ says Kim, ‘and it’s a real blessing to see the children just come and have fun, basically!’