2025 was a remarkable year for CCL. We had more baptisms in one year than any other year before. We saw significant church growth across all our services (10% over the last 2 years), and some wonderful stories of Jesus transforming lives. Then there was the Gift Day. Our initial goal was £150,000. Some of us were secretly praying for £200,000. The total currently stands at £407,000. It felt like a significant moment for the church.
Over the last year we've been praying about what God wants us to do with the money. Should we store it up like Joseph in Egypt for a future kingdom opportunity, or is there something Jesus is calling us to do with it right now? The more we've prayed, talked and read stories of the UK’s ‘quiet revival’, we increasingly think it’s the latter.
Our three values of Presence, Formation, and Mission are foundations for what lies ahead. The question now is, “What is God asking us to build further?” We long for the renewal of London – what’s our contribution to that?
What we love about our church model is we get to build local services whilst being part of a bigger church family. We have a city-wide vision for renewal, coupled with the intimacy of local church communities. Therefore, to play our part in the renewal of London, our dream is to start a CCL location in every London borough. We’ve called this dream ‘The Heart Project’ - partly because we love London! But also in Hebrew numerology 32 represents the heart and there are 32 London boroughs, so the Heart Project stuck!
We know this is a big dream; it’s definitely something that will only be achieved with God’s help and power. It’s also a long game. We’ll give the best of ourselves to this for the next twenty years at least, and potentially pass it on to future generations. Regardless, we want to be ambitious in God.
So this is where you come in. Firstly, would you pray? Not simply because we should, but because we desperately need to. This vision cannot be done in our own strength, but only through a move of God’s power. We invite you to let this vision fuel your prayers and vice versa.
Secondly, consider your part to play. For many, this will permit you to continue bringing Jesus’ love to your neighbourhood in the service you’re already part of. But for some, might this be a calling to be part of a new CCL service plant somewhere in London? There’s no need to rush into anything. Pray and discern; we’ll be here when you’re ready. For now, register your interest by filling out the form linked to below.
Our vision as a church is to follow Jesus together, for the renewal of London. But what does that look like in practice? If we long to see London transformed, what is our role in that transformation? Co-senior leaders Andy Tilsley and Joel Wade guide us through both biblical narrative and CCL's story to introduce our 'Heart Project'.
Andy Tilsley
Joel Wade
If you’re interested in being part of a service plant in a borough near you, fill in the form, and one of our team will be in touch.
