Church Army evangelists changing communities from inside out

Church Army evangelists are making their homes in the communities they are reaching out to with the love of God.

The organisation's new campaign, Inside Out, will be highlighting different mission projects in the coming months.

The Edge Community in Selby, north Yorkshire, is the first to be highlighted in a video on the Church Army website.

The Edge Community was formed by Richard Cooke and the local church when he moved with his family onto the Flaxley Road Estate.

They arrived six years ago, when there was no Christian witness. Unemployment, family breakdown and debt were some of the problems affecting residents on the estate.

Evangelist Neil Walpole arrived in 2011 to strengthen the project. Together they have set up a parent and toddlers group, a youth group, weekly assemblies, and an after school club in the local primary school, a parenting drop-in, holiday clubs and debt advice sessions.

Church Army Chief Executive, Mark Russell, said: "Like Jesus, we too want to invest in people, live alongside them and journey with them through life's ups and downs. And person by person we are seeing the gospel at work from the inside out."

Through all of these initiatives, the community have been sharing their faith and numbers at the weekly church gatherings are slowly growing.