Crouch End

Forever has established its second team in London! Following the planting of Esther’s House in Stratford, now Forever has planted its second team in the nation’s capital. Helena Kittle, Forever’s youth and children coordinator and from the UK, and Rebecka Larsson, a member of the Forever sports team and from Sweden, have formed a YWAM team in Crouch End (North London).

The team will be partnering with an Ichthus church-plant that is keen to invest in their few youth and reach out to the local community. At the same time, they will pursue their other roles in Forever, such as the coordination of youth and children’s outreach and prayer projects, sports projects and general missions coordination.

The heart behind this new team plant is that this year has a lasting impact. To see that happen, the team will continuously organise local outreaches, such as football events in the park, prayer walks, children’s events and seasonal outreaches, such as a hot cross bun give-away at Easter. Forever’s vision to use the Olympic Games to make a lasting impact fits perfectly, and Crouch End offers numerous opportunities for the team to serve and feed into something that is already established and is hungry for growth.

As Rebecka says, “I want to see God reach out and bless people in Crouch End with his great love by using sports and other creative ways to connect with the young people.”

Crouch End is an area with many coffee shops and the famous Alexandra Palace Park only a five-minute walk away. Within walking distance there are several other parks and open spaces with good resources for children’s and sports events. Two of the team’s and church’s nearest neighbours are a secondary school and a leisure centre. These bring amazing possibilities to engage with the people that are walking by or queuing for the outdoor swimming pool during sunny days.

Both Helena and Rebecka are both looking forward to seizing these opportunities for outreach, both as YWAM and as advocates for their Ichthus congregation. “We want to see young people get to know God and get His heart for their community and friends,” says Helena. “We also to see the church grow as they reach out to their community.”

As well as focusing locally the team is also recruiting outreach teams and partnering with churches across London and the UK. They will continue to do this through Forever, but now they will also be able to use links within the Ichthus network around the UK to prepare for the Olympic outreach.

For more information, contact Rebecka on Rebecka@forever2012.com.