For decades, toddler groups and holiday clubs in local church halls have been lifelines for families across the nation, but in a time of increasing socio-economic challenges, the UK Church can do more.
Did you know there has been a staggering 50 per cent decline in local authority spending for early intervention services in the UK?
In this current climate of financial constraints, churches have an opportunity to step up and fill the void in a truly unique way.
At the heart of Spurgeons' church partnership strategy to establish local family hubs is the belief that local churches have a transformative role to play in the lives of families in their local communities.
This strategy is not a far-away dream or just impressive and empty words. I have seen what is possible when a church is passionate about its community and able to work effectively in partnership with its local authority.
I was part of a team who albeit accidentally, set up a successful family hub.
For fifteen years, prior to working for Spurgeons, I was working for a church in Somerset as their community strategic lead. I set up a family support programme as part of my role and within a year of the programme launch, we secured a contract with the local council and the programme has been running ever since.
Present day, in my role as Head of Partnerships Development for Spurgeons, I now witness this same successful cross-sector collaboration in various churches throughout the UK and more importantly, the need for more.
Some might say, that supporting families in our communities is the role of social services, not the church. We live in a developed society, with health care; education free and accessible for all up to adulthood; police forces; other emergency services, and a social services system to protect the most vulnerable in society.
Yet so many of these were started by Christians and churches.
We need better ways of helping and supporting people who find themselves in need before they hit a crisis point.
The number of children waiting for services or who are highly vulnerable is rising and more early intervention and support is critical to prevent and minimise the impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) on this and future generations.
We believe that this strategy of church family hubs could finally build a fence at the top of the cliff that stops people from falling off the edge.
We need to take the long view.
Last year the UK government launched its own family hub programme. As a charity, we had already identified some time ago that family hubs were the way forward. While the government's plans have brought focus and attention to this way of working, it is vital that the approach carries a legacy, not a pop-up shop approach.
This is where the unique role of the Church lies. Churches have always been needed by families. The legacy of toddler groups and afterschool clubs running out of church halls is highly significant to endless communities and families.
We are called to be the hands and feet of Jesus. If churches are to exist for the benefit of those who are not members, then we have an important role to play in the mental health crises among children and families. If this kind of hub is embedded into local churches, it will be embedded into local communities up and down the country.
There is more commonality between the sectors than one might think. The core behaviour that identifies us is our love. Our role as a church is to love God and love others. We are to love our neighbours and we must love strangers. Loving people looks like caring for them, noticing them, serving them, speaking up for them and helping them have a life that is flourishing.
A local authority's role is to ensure that we're safe, live a clean and tidy existence and all the systems are in place to have a thriving society. Similarly, the aim of many community charities and initiatives is to support and resource the vulnerable and enable change where systems and cultures have fallen short.
The common threads of care and enabling people to thrive make collaboration possible.
The sectors don't need to be wary of one another. Once the barriers of language and preconceived ideas are stripped back, we start to build a bridge of understanding and can serve the community in which we're based and indeed called to serve.
This transformative approach cannot happen without the UK Church. Our vision is to partner with 50 new churches by the end of 2025 to realise this vision. We will support churches to become a hub in the centre of their community. We can help by wrapping targeted support around universal services. We can provide a bespoke range of programmes and services to support churches to meet the needs of their community.
Stepping into a new landscape is scary. Many churches feel ill-equipped to respond to the needs of their communities. That's where our strategy comes into play and the reminder that we're in this together.
By embracing the Family Hub strategy and partnering across the sectors, churches can step into their calling of loving and serving their communities. When we are prepared to walk the journey with someone, when we are prepared to hold hope for them until they can hold it for themselves, we are all transformed.
Rachel Dyer is head of partnerships developments for Spurgeons Families Charity.
