A church to reflect the Kingdom

|PIC1|One Nigerian-raised pastor has left his comfort zone at one of the capital’s largest black majority churches to start a new multi-cultural church plant in East London that is passionate about taking the love of Jesus to the streets.

“If you look at London’s churches, not all but many are either white majority or black majority churches but God is saying to us to model a church that reflects the Kingdom, where Asian and Caribbean and English or African can all be together in one place and be one in the same community,” says Pastor Jonathan Oloyede, convener of Global Day of Prayer London and associate pastor of the newly launched City Chapel in Newham.

“It’s a challenge,” says Pastor Jonathan, but it’s not impossible. He takes as his inspiration the example set by the early church in the Book of Acts where believers gathered in each others’ homes and shared everything they had.

“When we began to pray God was saying to us that he wanted us to reap a harvest among the indigenous British people and grow and nurture a multi-cultural church that reflects the community and the cosmopolitan nature of the region and city we live in," he says.

"I am challenged by that because I know it is not going to be an easy task. It is going to take a lot out of us and take us out of our comfort zone. But the senior pastor at City Chapel is God and the Holy Spirit so I am challenged by the vision set before me but not daunted.”

Foundational to Pastor Jonathan’s vision for the church is loving God, loving all people, and fulfilling the Great Commission of going into the world and preaching the Gospel.

|PIC1|“The greatest need in the East End is reflected right across the whole of London. It is the need for love, the love of God, knowing that someone cares for you and really loves you, not because of what they can get out of you but because they want to love you freely and unconditionally. That and the need for the life that Christ can give, that people can receive His love and His life and step into the Kingdom, not having to qualify but just to respond to His love.”

Hence one-on-one soul winning is high on the agenda for City Chapel. This, he concedes, is more challenging for him than his many years of calling people to the altar from the comfort of the pulpit at Glory House, a flourishing Pentecostal church in North London where he pastored for many years before launching City Chapel last December.

“I was comfortable preaching and speaking. That’s not a big challenge to me,” he says. “But now God is taking me out into the streets and is telling me to walk up to people.”

Encouragement came recently when a Russian man approached him on the street trying to sell him something.

“I ministered to him and led him to the Lord on the spot,” says Pastor Jonathan. “I am praying every day that I want to be a soul winner and now I am working on winning souls personally.”

Every member of City Chapel is being encouraged to become a soul winner and Pastor Jonathan is planning one-on-one evangelism programmes that will see mission teams go out onto the streets to speak to whomever they meet about Jesus Christ. He is calling on the wider church to do the same.

“God told me that the harvest is ripe and the people are ready to be saved but the church is not going out. It is one thing to pray and another thing to act. And we have to do something in response to our prayer so that we can be part of an answer to our prayer. I feel that there are many millions in this nation who would come to the Lord and into the Kingdom if the church went after them," he says.

"To go in the Gospel or in the Great Commission needs to be obeyed. Whether it’s their neighbour or just a stranger, we want to literally go to the street and get young people - indeed anybody - saved.”