16 January 2022 | Watford, England | Sharon Platt-McDonald and Sam Davies with tedNEWS
With a global brand value of $849 million, Tottenham Hotspur football club is one of the wealthiest in the UK Premier League. In contrast to the location of its new state-of-the art stadium in North London, the borough of Haringey is the fourth most deprived area of child poverty in London.¹
Two miles down the road from the stadium, the local Adventist church describes itself as ‘Tottenham’s Lighthouse church’ which has developed an outreach mission to meet the long term needs of the community.
The vision and power of the local church
Under the leadership of Pastor Jude Jeanville and his leadership team, a vision was shared with members which realised the significant needs of individuals struggling to cope with soaring inflation, increased energy bills and rising fuel costs. Together they designed a plan to respond in practical ways to meet the daily needs of individuals, unable to supply their families with essential items. Driven by the values of scripture, “Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God,” (Hebrews 13:1) members felt compelled to act.
This winter over 250 community residents have visited the Tottenham Lighthouse church to receive essential resources to literally keep them going. As with many examples of food banks run in local churches throughout the British Union Conference (BUC), recipients receive fresh, dried and tinned foods, and opportunity to collect a wide-range of non-perishable household items. But something unique occurred when the Lighthouse church opened its doors to the community on the first Sabbath of 2023 (7 January).
In partnership with BUC Community Services, and in addition to the household items available, each resident received an Advent booklet in a gift bag, with a cash donation of £40 towards help with energy bills. In total 200 bags were given away, making a total of £10,000 gifted to the community.
The Impact
Reflecting on the scope of this initiative, BUC Communication & Media Director, Pastor Sam Davies observed, “During the past two years, the consistent humanitarian outreach programme driven by the Tottenham Lighthouse church has significantly impacted the community and the church, resulting in ITN News featuring their latest outreach endeavour in its Sunday 8 January broadcast. The good deeds have undoubtedly given the church a positive presence in its community, with increasing numbers continuing to turn to the church for their supply of groceries and other essential food stuffs.”
“Like many churches within the BUC” continued Davies, “Tottenham Lighthouse church has been encouraged to be community-focused. And churches and individuals who have pursued this call have seen engagements from their community members and leaders, including politicians who are often attracted to such humanitarian efforts. Enoch Kanagaraj, who started a similar programme with the Stanborough Park church in Watford a few years ago, attended the Tottenham Lighthouse event to give a hand. His efforts in collaboration with the Stanborough Park church have also been a testament to attracting the attention of community leaders who favour humanitarian endeavours.”
BUC Adventist Community Services Director, Sharon Platt-McDonald, agrees. “The timely, compassionate, relative and consistent outreach of the Tottenham Lighthouse church is a wonderful example to the watching world, and a credit to the Lighthouse members, who are a witness of the power of the gospel in changing lives for the better in 2023 – a story shared with the nation.
Community response
The BUC media team, represented by Kofi Osei-Owusu, also attended on Sabbath, 7 January, to see the Tottenham Lighthouse church displaying love in action as they reached out to their community. Filming the interaction of church members and community residents was a heartening experience as he witnessed Christ’s method of ministry through compassionate acts of loving service.
Grateful recipients of the donated goods were thrilled to share their response with Kofi, as he captured the human interest stories through filming and interviews. Many shared how the church’s intervention has positively impacted their lives over the past two years. You can access a video of this event via the link below, to find uplifting testimonials from community residents.
Many individuals accessing the Food Hub also now join members for sabbath worship. One is now a baptised member of the Tottenham Lighthouse church. This beautiful testimony demonstrates the power of love and truth to transform a life.
Pastoral reflection
Speaking with Jeanville, his passion for ministry, connecting with people and meeting community needs is evident, in the vibrant way he recounts the varied stories of community residents accessing the church’s outreach initiatives. Commenting on the recent ITN coverage of the Food Hub in action, he enthused, “We now have the attention of the media, let’s keep it going, but more importantly, let’s build community! God wants to do something big through His church for His glory, He wants to give us more extensive opportunities than we can imagine, but it starts with us extending ourselves in compassion and faith. However, the most important principle is love. Of the close to 300 persons visiting our Food Hub weekly, we have Muslim women who attend church on the Sabbath. Our clientele is 95% White Europeans, including English. You cannot stop love; meeting people’s needs is powerful.”
“The Tottenham Lighthouse members stepped outside the box and gave a total of £10,000”, continued Jeanville, “funds which were sacrificially and equitably distributed with transparency and accountability. Members and the church gave what they did not have because of vision and courageous leadership motivated by love for our fellow men.”
In an appeal to all Adventist members, Jeanville reminds us of our mandate, “The Bible teaches…’As much as you have done it onto the least of these my brethren you have done it to me’ (Matthew 25:40). The Rich Young Ruler was commanded to ‘go sell all you have and give to the poor’ (Matthew 19:21).
“And, when Jesus returns, He will separate people into two categories, those who PROFESSED and those who PRACTISED: ‘Then the king will say to those on his right, Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: For I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you welcomed Me; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me’ (Matthew 25: 34-36).
“God and men will note extraordinary acts of kindness; therein lies our sanctification.” May each of our churches become a lighthouse, shining out in the darkness of human need, bringing help, hope and healing to lives for restoration.
The original version of this article was published in BUC News, 13 Jan 2023. [Photos: courtesy of BUC News]
