Elise and Jon Fletcher live in a slum community in Thailand where they are sharing Jesus with their neighbours through daily life. This reflection invites us to pay attention to what Jesus is saying to us through the people and places around us.

Elise and Jon Fletcher live in Khlong Toei, Thailand’s biggest slum community, where 100,000 people are living in material poverty, unaware of their God-given worth.

Elise and Jon have immersed themselves in the life of this vibrant community and share Jesus’ love for people living on the margins through everyday life. They turn up and show up for people living and working alongside them.

Elise writes:

When we first moved to Thailand, we inherited a collection of odd plates. They were perfectly functional, if slightly garish, but we made do. After a year or so we found ourselves feeling homesick in IKEA and caved in to buying a matching set – plain blue, not plastic!

Once we were more settled into the community, we began to receive gifts of food. If a neighbour was cooking something good, they would bring over a plateful so we could enjoy it too! Though we didn’t dare compete with samples of our Thai cooking, we soon learned who appreciated our occasional baked offerings! One thing niggled. People didn’t return the plates… and they seemed shifty when I returned theirs! I bought a stack of paper plates to get around this problem and let the donated plates stack up by the front door for neighbours to take back if they wanted them. We still had eight of the 12 matching plates so all was well…

Then, one day I handed a plate back to a friend who feigned shock that it was empty… it was a lightbulb moment as I realised where I had been going wrong. I had underestimated the reciprocal nature of community life. Not that people wanted anything in return, but that it was natural to give out of whatever we had, whether that be a few bananas from a bunch or the excess rice that would go to waste. This could be an everyday thing, not just a grand gesture when we baked brownies.

A few weeks ago, I commented on the delicious smell of a soup cooking in a clay pot outside the home of a new neighbour. We hadn’t talked before but I learned that she had moved here from the countryside to cook and clean for two grown-up sons. As I drove away, I suspected I’d be tasting that soup later in the day. Sure enough, my new neighbour appeared at the door with a bowl later that morning. She wasn’t home when I returned it filled it with lamyan fruit so I left it on her outdoor cabinet.

That bowl has moved back and forth every few days (changing colour occasionally, as I’ve learned that the specific plate is not what matters!) Though we’ve not exchanged many words, my new neighbour and I have bonded over shared food. As I passed her house the other day she had a suitcase packed and told me that she is going to care for her sister who is very sick. Every time I see her plate in our cupboard, I am reminded to pray.

We are now down to four matching plates that get used most days. But they are mixed in with ten or so randoms, which I’ve learned is exactly how it should be; we are right back where we started! As plates circulate between houses, I’m reminded of how much we need others and how diversity makes life richer. Though there are certainly members of our community excluded from the circle of reciprocity, by participating we can help to expand its scope and reach.

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Meet first year undergraduate student Adam Robson who has discovered life-changing theology and radical honesty at CMS

HH: Please can you share a little about the journey that led you to CMS?

AR: After a period of prayer and discernment, I felt called to theological study as the next step in helping me understand where God might be calling me.

The next challenge was deciding where to study for an undergraduate degree, and I must admit, I had a preconceived idea that theological study was only for a very particular type of person or demographic.

My local DDO mentioned CMS to me and spoke about its focus on pioneering, so I picked up the phone, called CMS, and from that first conversation, I knew it was the right place.

CMS has an openness and realness that I had not experienced before. It is a place where people are truly met where they are, and until you experience the honesty of CMS for yourself, it is hard to put into words.

Can you tell us about life before CMS?

I have been married to my wife for 16 years. I am a Chartered Quantity Surveyor with over 20 years’ experience, and I currently work in the rail industry, dealing with commercial disputes, contractual governance and assurance. I am also a former business owner.

I was raised in a single-parent family and did not meet my father until I was 11 years old, so I experienced many of the financial and class challenges that often come with that kind of journey.

I feel called by God, in some way, to help flip the script on how class is currently viewed and managed in mission, ministry and society. That is a big part of what shapes me, my faith, and the way I understand mission. I see so many people in the community with gifts that are often overlooked.

Jesus came and did mission on the fringes of this world, and I think recognising that is a big part of what it means to be a disciple.

I am dying to ask about your role as Mission Lead in Soup for the Soul Cafe.

Soup for the Soul Cafe is part of a larger St Frideswide community outreach mission called the Water Eaton Community Hub, or WECH. This includes a cafe with a free meal once a week, a food larder, pastoral care, debt advice and a Bible study class.

The WECH is located in Bletchley, Milton Keynes and it is an initiative that began during the Covid pandemic, in response to the rising food and loneliness crisis.

Soup for the Soul Cafe feeds, on average, around 60 people each week, and it serves enormous amounts of tea and coffee.

We are an open space where we have a 20-minute God slot while people eat, and it is always theologically rich.

We welcome any theological questions, and we operate on the basis that people can ask us anything they want about the Christian faith and the nature of God.

It is also not uncommon for whole tables of atheists to request prayer or join in with prayer. It is a place where we witness the Holy Spirit at work, and I feel so blessed to be part of it.

How do you feel the course is going so far, and have you been able to use what you are learning outside the classroom?

From the day you turn up to CMS for your first lesson, you know that your theology is going to be challenged, in a good way.

I feel really blessed to have been taught by people who are truly doing mission and ministry on the front line, in places near and far that we, as Christians, sometimes prefer not to venture into.

The contextual and cultural theology tools I have been given have been life-changing. I now approach my own mission by first looking for where God is already at work, because he is always at work, you just have to slow down enough to see it.

Studying at CMS has been fantastic, when you remove God from a box and the manmade limitations we sometimes place upon him, his mission emerges from the fog of our assumptions. 

What might be next for you, Adam? Is it more study, or is it a change of direction?

I am staying on to complete the BA, while I continue the process of discerning ordination.

I am open to wherever God might be calling me, but I also feel very assured that I am supposed to be at CMS.

How can we pray for you?

Please pray for WECH. We are currently rolling out a fundraising framework with the aim of becoming self-sufficient, or at least less reliant on grants, and we would really appreciate prayers for success in that.

Please also pray for our wonderful WECH volunteer team, clergy and ministry leaders at St Frideswide. I am always deeply moved by people who are willing to help others, while they themselves are often healing in the process.

And finally, please pray that we all continue to value the ordinary: the tea shared with one another, the tears and laughter, and the simple moments of human connection. This is the theology that holds Soup for the Soul so tightly.

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Ali Mascarenhas attributes her start as a pioneer to Pioneering Parishes. 

by Rev Tina Hodgett

Ali attended one of our earliest courses and took our content and ran with us. We’ve told her story to lots of different groups of people round the country (and the world via our website), and she’s contributed to every First Steps course we’ve put on online. Her story has inspired hundreds of people and helped them realise that pioneering is something ordinary people can do.

We featured her slow but steady transformation of the churchyard at St Mary’s Brighstone in the Isle of Wight into an outdoor place of encounter with God through community scrub clearance and establishment of a beautiful Biblical olive garden where Celtic Encounter worship services take place outside in summer months.

She excitedly shared with us all the gorgeous mosaic art projects – Celtic cross, advent calendar, nativity scene and many others, that were made by members of the local community learning the skill of glass art together working inside the ancient church building on long tables, coming together for companionship and creativity.

Over the five years since Ali set off from very small beginnings she has continued to carefully discern where the breadcrumbs the Holy Spirit lays down have led. Recently she and her lay worship leader companion who creates beautiful Celtic liturgy have planted two new small Celtic Encounter congregations in a local village (which had no Christian expression of worship) and the town of Yarmouth. She calls this a ‘ministry of smallness’.

Ali was commissioned last year as a Lay Pioneer by the Director of Ministry at the Diocese of Portsmouth in a church full of community members. She has facilitated over the years a wide variety of talks on aspects of creation care and the environment, and has a programme for this summer including bird-watching, wild orchids of the Isle of Wight and dinosaurs which inhabited the area 125 million years ago!

The latest mosaic project is intended for the annual church Christmas Tree Festival which will be on the Narnia theme of C S Lewis’ book ‘The Lion, Witch and Wardrobe’.  She writes: ‘You’re going to be able to walk through the wardrobe to Narnia and be greeted by a ‘mosaicked’ Aslan, Mr Tumnus and the beavers by the lamppost and you can have your photo taken with them.’  Ali herself hopes to arrange some storytelling of the book and to explain the Christian message of the book in various ways along with dressing up as the character of Queen Susan with a bow and quiver strapped to her back. In a wide range of ways that are appropriate to the rural island context Ali and her team (made up of members of both church and community) are putting the church at the heart of the village and enabling opportunities for encounter by all ages of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Find out about how you can shift the energy of your church outwards through the Pioneering Parishes book: Into All the Parish: Pioneering Practices for Every Local Church.

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Meet South West Hub student Rachel Harrison-French, who shares her learning about participating in the life of God already at work in the world.

HH: Rachel, where are you based and what you do in your life?

RH-F: I’m based in South Devon and am part of Sherford Community Church, a church serving the growing new town of Sherford on the outskirts of Plymouth. My life sits at the intersection of community work, creativity and church ministry.

Over the past few years, I’ve been involved in several community initiatives focused on food insecurity and community resilience. During the pandemic I worked as a project manager with Feeding Devon, helping coordinate local responses to food poverty and supporting communities to develop sustainable food support projects.

Alongside that, I’ve worked as a teacher and forest school leader. That experience has shaped a lot of how I think about learning, creativity, and how people connect with place and community.

More recently, I’ve been developing my emerging ministry as a worship leader at Sherford Community Church, creating reflective and creative resources that help people engage with Scripture, prayer and worship in ways that are accessible for all ages.

You’ve been on the South West Hub pioneer course. Can you tell me how you got onto the course and what motivated you?

Several strands of my life came together in leading me to the pioneer course.

Through my work as a forest school leader and teacher, I became increasingly interested in how faith connects with everyday life and community spaces. At the same time, my involvement in community food projects opened my eyes to the realities many people were facing locally.

The Pioneer course raised questions that really resonated with me, particularly around rural mission. What does the Missio Dei look like in rural areas? How do we recognise where God is already at work in local traditions, spiritualities, and communities? And how can the church learn from rural communities about issues such as food production, ecology, sustainability, and social justice?

Those questions felt deeply relevant to Devon, and the course provided a space to explore them alongside others who were asking similar questions about mission and church in changing contexts.

Can you cast your mind back to lockdown and your work as a project manager of Feeding Devon? What were some of the highs and lows?

Lockdown was an extraordinary and challenging time for many communities. Through Feeding Devon, we were helping coordinate responses to food insecurity across the region, supporting local groups and connecting organisations working to meet urgent needs.

One of the real highs was seeing how quickly communities mobilised. Volunteers stepped forward, partnerships formed, and churches and community groups found creative ways to support their neighbours.  For example, I was involved in engaging local churches with developing food support strategies, including working alongside the lay pioneer Methodist minister in Horrabridge to help develop an affordable Food Hub, which is now also supported by the local Anglican church. We also supported the development of Food Hubs in several other towns and villages, all of which are now operating as independent organisations relying on local volunteers.

At the same time, the scale of need could sometimes feel overwhelming as many households were facing uncertainty and financial hardship. That experience strengthened my sense that the church has an important role to play in listening to communities and responding practically to the needs that emerge.

How did the pioneer course impact your emerging ministry as a worship leader?

The pioneer course has had a significant impact on how I approach worship and ministry.

One of the most memorable pieces of learning came during a module exploring different expressions of church. As part of the assignment, I created a hand-drawn board game called ‘From Pew to Pavement’. The game explored different “zones” of church life – from the traditional parish setting through to community initiatives and more experimental spaces where faith begins to emerge in places that don’t yet resemble church.

Creating the game helped me see mission less as a programme we run and more as participation in the life of God already at work in the world.

This insight has shaped how I now approach worship at Sherford Community Church. I’ve become more confident in developing creative and participatory forms of worship that engage people of all ages and all the senses. Through the Altogether services at Sherford I’ve had the opportunity to develop ideas collaboratively with our pioneer ministry team, Revs Jon and Tammy Oliver, creating spaces where people can encounter God through storytelling, imagery, reflection, and shared experience.

What does the future hold for you?

Right now, I feel very much in a season of listening and discerning where God might be leading next.

In Sherford, we are continuing to explore how church can respond creatively to the realities of a new and growing community. For example, delays in local facilities meant that access to affordable food became challenging for some families, particularly those working during the day. In response we developed an early evening food club so that households could collect food after work – a small but practical example of adapting to the needs of the local context.

I’m also exploring creative ways that churches can connect with communities through wellbeing, creativity, and outdoor learning. For example, at Sherford Day this year I’ll be offering face painting as a free gift to the community – a simple way of creating relational spaces within a local celebration. Alongside this, I’m currently studying for a Certificate in Therapeutic Skills for Outdoor Leaders. Through this I’m exploring how outdoor learning, emotional wellbeing, and creative practices can support children and young people. My hope is that over time these ideas might develop into accessible resources that churches can use to connect with schools and communities.

At the heart of this work is a simple conviction: creativity, community and the natural environment can become spaces where people encounter God in everyday life.

Finally, how can we pray for you?

Please pray for wisdom and discernment as I continue to explore the next steps in my calling and ministry.

I would also value prayer for churches and communities across Devon as they seek to respond creatively to the needs around them, and for more pioneers to be encouraged and equipped for mission in their local contexts.

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Andy Roberts reflects on the changing shape of mission from his personal experience of founding ReVive International in Brazil – and why true success meant stepping aside and letting local leadership flourish.

In May we had the joy of welcoming Elise to CMS House in Oxford.

Elise is the current leader of ReVive International in Brazil, the organisation Rose and I helped to start many years ago in response to the abuse and exploitation of girls in the city where we were living. Many of those girls were being harmed by the very people who should have protected them. It was heart-breaking, disturbing and impossible to ignore.

Seeing Elise here in Oxford reminded me how long the journey of mission can be. It also reminded me how much mission changes over time – if we are willing to let God disturb us, challenge our assumptions and release things into the hands of others.

Moving from “Gringo” to local leadership

I first met Elise when I went to Brazil as an 18-year-old gap year student with SAMS. I was helping with a street children’s project connected to a local church.

Elise was also part of the church where I met Rose. A few years later, when Rose and I were sensing a call from God to begin some kind of ministry among vulnerable girls in the city, Elise and her husband Felipe joined the prayer meetings around our dining room table as we asked God what he wanted us to do.

When ReVive became a reality, Elise became our first ever employee. Again, it began around the dining room table. I have often thought that some of the best things in life begin there: with prayer, friendship, food, uncertainty and a shared sense that God is inviting us into something we cannot yet fully see.

Over the years, Elise grew with ReVive. She became part of the leadership team Rose and I invested in for more than 15 years. And when the time came for Rose and I to move to the UK and follow God’s call into the next phase of life, CMS asked us a very reasonable question: would we like CMS to find another mission partner to take over from us and lead ReVive?

I remember thinking at the time: if another foreign mission partner needed to come and replace us, then perhaps we had failed in one of the most important tasks of mission leadership.

Far too often, mission work has been built around the foreigner, the founder, the person with access to money, networks or power. And then, when that person leaves, the work collapses – because knowledge, resources and leadership were never truly shared. We can dress that up in spiritual language, but sometimes what we have built is closer to our own little kingdom than the kingdom of God.

Overcoming the internalised colonial mindset

Right from the beginning of ReVive, we wanted to invest in local leadership. We had seen this modelled badly elsewhere. We had seen founder’s syndrome rear its head. We had seen people protect power rather than release it. We did not want to do that.

So, when the time came, we told Elise and the other Brazilian leaders that we believed they were the right people to take ReVive forward.

I still remember their reaction. They burst into tears. They told us they had assumed another “gringo” (foreigner) would ome and lead. They were taken aback that we were willing to entrust the future of ReVive to them.

That moment has stayed with me. Because the colonial mindset works both ways. It is not only something held by those who come from outside. It can also become internalised by local leaders who have been taught, subtly or explicitly, that leadership must come from somewhere else.

But the gospel tells a different story. The Holy Spirit is not the possession of one culture, one passport, one institution or one sending nation. God raises up leaders from the edges, through the local church, within communities, among those who know the language, the wounds, the hopes and the possibilities far better than we ever could.

And under Elise’s leadership, ReVive has thrived.

That does not mean it has stayed the same. In fact, one of the signs of healthy mission is that it keeps changing.

Challenging assumptions about children’s care

A few years ago, Jesus the Great Disturber disrupted our thinking at ReVive. For a long time, we had assumed that the answer to the needs of vulnerable girls was to open more and more residential homes. That was the model we knew. It was what we had built. It was what people supported.

But over time, God challenged that assumption. We began to see more clearly that his preferred place for children is not an institution, however loving, but a family. Psalm 68 says that God “sets the lonely in families”. That simple truth began to reshape the work and led to the closure of one of ReVive’s homes.

In recent years, ReVive’s fostering service has grown significantly, and that has been largely due to Elise’s leadership. The work has adapted because the mission required it. Faithfulness did not mean preserving the original model at all costs. Faithfulness meant listening again, learning again and allowing God to lead the work into a better future.

I was later awarded an MBE for the work we had led in Brazil – an irony not lost on me, given its attachment to empire. But it was a real privilege, and I remember receiving it on behalf of the whole team. ReVive was never just our story. It was, and is, the story of a Brazilian team, local churches, supporters, CMS, children, families, volunteers and many others responding to the disturbing, healing love of Jesus.

And that, I think, says something important about how mission is changing.

Mission today cannot be about exporting our models, controlling the agenda or assuming that leadership must come from the outside. It has to be about joining in with what God is already doing, building with others, investing in local capacity and having the humility to hand over power when the time is right.

That same lesson has continued through the story of Rosie and Stu Bayford.

Around seven years ago, Rosie and Stu were sent by CMS to ReVive as mission partners. At that time, ReVive was receiving a number of people from CMS who felt called to similar ministries. I helped do some training in mission theology and practice. 

Redefining poverty: from deficit to relationship

One of the key questions we explored was: how does our definition of poverty shape our response to it?

If we see poverty simply as a deficit – a lack of money, food, education or opportunity – then our instinct is to provide whatever we think is missing. Sometimes that is necessary. But if we are not careful, that approach can reinforce unhealthy power dynamics. We have what you need. We give it. You receive it. We remain powerful. You remain dependent.

But if we understand poverty more deeply as broken relationship – with God, with others, with self and with creation – then our response begins to change. We begin to think about dignity, participation, community, justice and shalom. We ask not only, “What do people need?” but, “What gifts are already here? What relationships need restoring? What can we build together?”

Rosie and Stu took that seriously.

As they listened, learned and looked at the wider social issues around them in Brazil, they began to dream of pioneering a community market. But because of the training and the relationships they were part of, they did not want to create a hand-out model that stripped people of agency or dignity. They developed a model where families could buy food themselves at a much-reduced rate.

They partnered with a local church in a very poor community. They worked with local people to identify families and with supermarkets and businesses to provide the food. And, over time, the market became much more than a market. It became a community.

People came not only to buy food, but to stay, talk, pray, learn and belong. Volunteers from the church helped run devotionals, worship and practical sessions. Every few weeks someone would come and speak on a relevant issue: preventing abuse, parenting, nutrition, preparing for work and much more.

And people came to faith. I remember three sisters being baptised in the church after first coming along to the market.

Now, as  Rosie and Stu return to the UK, they too have handed over leadership of this ministry to a team from the local church – a team they have invested in over the years.

That is mission at its best.

Not mission that creates dependency. Not mission that keeps the foreigner at the centre. Not mission that measures success by how indispensable we become.

But mission that joins in, builds up, shares power, releases leadership and leaves something stronger in the hands of those who are best placed to carry it forward.

This is deeply connected to where CMS is going.

Decolonising mission in practice

Our vision is to see our world made new through the love of God as we follow Jesus to the edges. Our purpose is to make disciples of Jesus at the edges. And increasingly, we are recognising that this means mission must be more collaborative, more locally rooted and more willing to be led by those who have too often been treated as recipients rather than agents of mission.

Through our mission strategy, and through work such as Acts 11, we are continuing to ask what it means to decolonise mission in practice. Not as a fashionable slogan, but as a deeply biblical commitment to humility, partnership and the releasing of gifts across the whole body of Christ.

Acts 11 is a fascinating chapter because the church in Jerusalem has to catch up with what God is already doing elsewhere. The Spirit moves ahead of the centre. The edges become places of revelation, surprise and new understanding. The question is whether the established church has the humility to listen, recognise and bless what God is doing beyond its own control.

That is still the challenge before us.

Of course, we are all still called into mission. This is not about stepping back into passivity. It is not about saying that cross-cultural mission no longer matters. Far from it.

But it is about a different posture.

The posture of modern mission

• Listen before speaking.
• Co-create rather than control.
• Build movements rather than monuments.
• Recognise that those closest to the pain are closest to the wisdom needed for transformation.

When I look at Elise, I see the fruit of that kind of mission.

I see someone who was there at the beginning. I see someone who prayed around a dining room table before there was a strategy, a structure or a name. I see someone who helped bring ReVive to life, then grew into the leader who could take it further than Rose and I ever could.

Mission is changing. It needs to change. But at its heart, it is still the same invitation: to follow Jesus to the edges, to join in with what the Spirit is doing, and to participate in making all things new.

And perhaps the real test of our mission is not whether people remember our names when we have gone.

Perhaps the real test is whether, by God’s grace, the work continues, local leaders flourish, communities are transformed and Jesus is made known long after we have left the room – or the dining room table.

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In 2019 the first CMS Pioneer Mission Training students embarked on a doctorate in theology (DTh) at the University of Roehampton. In February this year, the first of those students, Paul Bradbury, successfully defended his thesis in his examination and was awarded his doctorate.

Dr James Butler, leader of CMS Pioneer Mission Training, talks to Paul about his experience of doing the doctorate,  what he studied and what’s next.

James: Why did you want to study for a DTh?

Paul: I started a DTh because I wanted to explore an issue that arose through my ministry as a pioneer. So much resource from the central Church of England was going into particular models of mission and particular forms of church that many pioneers were struggling to find the space or resource to carry out their ministry.

J: So, what did you discover?

P: In my thesis I argue that the nature of the church can’t be reduced down to particular models or forms. Instead, the very nature of the church is a becoming: it is always being formed and reformed through its engagement with the world.

I discovered that pioneers often resist predetermined models. Instead, pioneers build community through conversation with people in their context. Their focus is on prayer and the leading of the Holy Spirit who they regard as present and active in the midst of the community that is forming. As I listened to the stories of how these new communities were forming, I heard how the pioneers involved were often surprised by what happened, finding that their assumptions about forms a church could take were disrupted.

I also learned from two dioceses about how they were trying to encourage pioneer ministry alongside more traditional parish ministry. I’ve argued that the tension experienced in this process might be seen as a creative tension as we develop toward a mixed ecology of church.

J: Sounds interesting, how can we find out more?

P: I hope to develop the thesis into a book soon. In the meantime, if anyone wants to have a conversation about what I’ve been learning they’re welcome to get in touch. [You can contact Paul via CMS here]. I’m also working with CMS to create a space for the kind of listening and discernment that is needed to support and enable a becoming church. We are looking to develop a resource of theological accompaniment, research and reflection to support pioneers and others.

J: And how has it been studying a DTh with CMS at the University of Roehampton?

P: The DTh has been a great experience. It’s honestly been the hardest but best thing I’ve ever done. There was never a point where I wanted to give up, though there were numerous times when I was pushed to think harder and more deeply than I thought I was capable of! It has answered the question I set out with, in ways I hope will be helpful to others. It’s also raised a whole host of other questions for the future!

J: It’s been a pleasure working with you on this Paul, and we’re so delighted that you have achieved your doctorate. All the best with sharing your findings more widely.

The DTh programme is designed for those who are actively involved in mission, ministry and pioneering and want to explore the things they are discovering in more detail. The first two years are taught part time, helping you to focus your ideas into a research project, before you then carry out your research over the following three to four years.  Do get in touch if, like Paul, there is something you’d like to explore.

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It feels sadly fortuitous that I am writing this on the day it was announced that from this month onwards the UK government will halt study visas for people from Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar and Sudan.

In the past few months, I’ve been thinking a lot about the country of my birth. I was born in Myanmar, in a small village in the northwest region of Chin State. Although my tribal and ethnic affiliations – and a long history of tense majority–minority relations – mean that I identify first with my ethnic group, the Zomi (a predominantly Christian ethnic minority from northern Chin State), before I identify as Burmese, nevertheless this news weighs heavy on my heart. I am not personally affected by this policy, but I cannot help but think of my fellow countrymen and women who have spent years studying and working hard in Britain, paying expensive tuition fees and enduring the struggles of life in a new world, away from their families and everything familiar – only to be told they are not welcome to stay and make a home here. It feels cruel and unfair. Their forced return sits uneasily alongside my own exile of sorts.

Last month marked the five-year anniversary of the 2021 Myanmar coup d’état, when the democratically elected ruling party was overthrown by the military. Since then, the country has endured civil war, unrest, and economic and social insecurity. It has been more than six years since I set foot in the country of my birth – and more than six years of slowly coming to terms with the fact that it may be a long wait before I can go home again.

This exile-of-sorts is partly self-imposed. While the country is unstable, while members of my family have to flee the fighting or forced conscription, while my people struggle to rebuild their livelihoods after years of civil war and economic volatility, it seems to me unethical to return. By virtue of my passport and privilege, I have the power to come and go as I please – yet so many of my compatriots must risk their lives crossing treacherous seas for the chance of safety elsewhere. How then, can I, in good conscience, go home and enjoy the food, the comforts, the sights, all the while knowing that my cousins ache for the very same pleasures that I can easily indulge in, without having to worry I would be conscripted, or knowing that I can easily leave if I feel unsafe? So I stay away.

So it is a strange exilic condition I have found myself in, and one that is at odds with the situation created by the government’s recent crackdown. I, with citizenship and security, long to return to the country of my birth, my family, my ancestors – yet feel unable to. Meanwhile, Myanmar graduates here in Britain, who have also built their lives in this country, have no choice but to leave. I do not envy their position, nor would I expect them to envy mine. We both suffer from an absence of agency and choice.

Here at Acts 11, we often talk about the importance of the agency of migrants – because so often, the narrative around welcome and hospitality can actually be disempowering. Of course, we should welcome and embrace migrants and foreigners among us; it is a biblical imperative, as passages like Exodus 23:9, Leviticus 19:33–34, and Deuteronomy 10:19 remind us. But welcome and hospitality must go further than that.

There is an inherent power imbalance between host and guest. We are comfortable playing host because we hold the power. We know where the plates and linens are kept; we decide what food is served and who sits where; we choose which parts of our home are open and which are forbidden. The guest is always on the receiving end – and even then, there are unspoken limits on what can reasonably be asked of the host.

When announcing the change to visa rules, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood was quoted as saying she was “taking the unprecedented decision to refuse visas for those nationals seeking to exploit our generosity.” In anti-immigrant rhetoric, migrants are always positioned as taking from society, profiting off the system without giving anything back – while the host society is cast as the generous, altruistic provider who is exploited.

Setting aside scepticism about how generous and welcoming Britain has actually been, I was struck by the word generosity, which is so closely linked to the idea of hosting. When we are always the host, we can feel as though we are doing the kind, caring work that God calls us to. But there is also generosity in giving up power and control – in stepping aside to let others serve.

Think of the many times in the Gospels when Jesus himself was the guest. As an itinerant preacher he wandered from town to town, staying with friends and disciples – Zacchaeus, Simon Peter, the siblings Mary, Martha and Lazarus. He ate from their tables, slept in their homes, and allowed himself to be nourished and looked after. Even as Jesus offered the bread of life, he also allowed himself to be served – to have his needs met, to be waited upon. In doing so, he equalised the power dynamics between himself, as rabbi, and his followers.

Jesus models a receptivity that offers a better way forward in our relationships with those who are strangers among us. Being guest means that the foreigner, the migrant, the asylum-seeker, can move into the position of host – with all the joys and privileges that come from sharing and giving something of ourselves with those in our company. In so doing, they gain a small bit of the agency and choice that hostile systems and experiences so often strip from them.

We must move beyond seeing migrants as passive recipients of aid, second-hand clothes, coffees, meals, and English lessons. We must begin to see them as God sees them – valued, important, and created with purpose, skills, and character.

This is not about instrumentalising migrants or reducing them to what they can contribute. But we must recognise that playing host, however well-intentioned, is not a sustainable model of relationship, because it continually recreates an imbalance of power and privilege. It may be some time before I can conscientiously and safely return to Myanmar.

For the Afghan, Cameroonian, Sudanese, and Burmese students who must leave as soon as their education is completed – despite the instability that may await them at home – the wait may not be as long.

Though we may desire opposite things (a returning; a staying), we are bound together by our lack of agency, our inability to choose our own movements – or lack of movement.

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Helen Harwood interviews recent MA graduate Ruwani Gunawardene, who believes worship holds a key to reconciliation

HH: Ruwani, you have just finished a three-year MA, what originally led you to study at CMS?

RG: After studying for my ordination, I had a desire to go deeper into theology. During the time I was completing my discernment and training, I happened to meet Jonny Baker at a virtual event. I was privileged to have a one-to-one conversation with him about something that I have been aware of right through my life – the clash of faith and culture. After listening to me, Jonny mentioned the Pioneering MA. I didn’t think I would be able to study at Masters level but with encouragement from friends I was grateful to gain a position on the course. 

Can you tell us about your situation when you first came to us and how it is now?

As mentioned, I had just been ordained and started a curacy in the Diocese of London. I am a self-supporting minister and work for the diocese during the week. Studying, doing a curacy and working Monday to Friday meant I had a very busy three years. I always wanted to relate theological study to church life, and the curacy gave me plenty of opportunity to reflect and make connections with theory and praxis.

After three years in one parish, I am now in a different tradition and continue with my work in the diocese. I cherish the different traditions that the Anglican church holds together which is one of the most attractive things about this denomination. 

Can you tell us about your cohort, and what the course has given you that helped you?

My cohort was the best! We had a few of us leave after the first and second year and some of us continued to the end. But even the friends who left stayed in touch with us on our WhatsApp group and encouraged and cheered us on whilst we were writing essays and our dissertations. The group chat allowed us to ask questions we did not want to trouble our tutors with and was a great way to keep morale up during pressured times of writing.

The course has given me so much for understanding my context in life and ministry. The reading lists were amazing, and to be connected to a historic organisation such as CMS which has connections to my birth country was very special. 

I know you have said you looked at your context in a way that honours God, and I wonder if you can say more about that.

Well, having been raised in the Anglican Communion in Sri Lanka during my formational years and now living in the UK for most of my adult life brings about various cultural conflicts that unless you have encountered this mixture, one will find difficult to understand.

I like to ask the question why we do what we do? And sometimes my Sri Lankan upbringing and cultural practices do not give me the answers which I feel to be God honouring, let alone the freedom to ask the question! Equally, some Western Christian ways of seeing things raised questions in my mind. So, I try to ask the question in what way can I honour God when faced with conflicting situations?

For example, going through a divorce and asking the question how can I honour God in this mess? Honouring the years of marriage there were at the time of parting and doing it as well as I could in a way that we honour the family situation and not fight tooth and nail, was seen as foolish by some. For me this allowed space for my kids to grow up in a less contentious environment.

I know you have had reconciliation training, and your dissertation looked at worship as reconciliation. Can you say more about that, please?

My formational years were spent worshipping with Western hymnody. As a young person growing up in the City and worshipping in the original Anglican Cathedral in Colombo as a second-generation kid of post-colonial parents, this was normal. After arriving in the church in the UK and experiencing cultural differences, a myriad of questions arose in me about cultural expressions and faith. I strongly believe in reconciliation that is offered to us through the Eucharist as a gathered people of God. I feel the negative aspects of colonialism can never be repaid by material means. The imago deo of the persons affected can only be reconciled through the act of worship that touches the souls of all involved and the willingness of the Western church to be uncomfortable with new worship traditions and styles which adds value to another culture.

I am particularly interested in the region of South Asia where there is rich Indian classical heritage of the arts. I explored the use of Satsang style worship as a means of reconciliation in the Western church. People in that part of the world have sung English hymnody for centuries now, so why not give some space for the beauty of the Asian classical genre to come to the fore in the Western world and honour that culture. Embracing another cultural expression is missional reconciliation. We worship the Lord of the Nations and right now it does not feel that way.

We can despair when we look at the world around us which is increasingly polarised due to race, caste, creed etc. If we believe that we worship God the Creator of the universe, we have the gift of worship which can be the antithesis to shift culture around us.

Can you tell us about the Transforming Shame network, and how this works, please?

I was curious when I was introduced to this group during the pandemic and have remained closely attached to the core team since. The team consists of published authors on shame. Over the years I have come to understand that I have suffered acute shaming in my life which is partly cultural.

One significant issue has been being left out of family weddings because I am considered a disgrace being divorced. You might say this is archaic in the 21st century, but the communal shaming I have faced has been very damaging to me and my family unit to say the least. I want to shine a light on this dark side of culture.

The Transforming Shame network gives a safe space for anyone to address issues of shaming they have experienced and learn from each other. It is not a place for counselling or therapy but a space for knowing you are not on your own.

When diaspora cultures which are ‘shame and honour’ cultures gather in a mono-cultural setting, such traits tend to continue and become more pronounced. Once again, I go back to the heart of worship, that if we can be accepted with our cultural goodness among the wider Christian family, harm can be mitigated on both sides. I speak with personal experience of seeing the goodness of a multicultural church family in this country standing by me and my children as I raised them on my own. They covered my shame. You can read a blog on shame here.

Finally, how can we pray for you? 

Please pray that I will be able to see Asian Christian worship flourish in the West in my lifetime.

Thank you Ruwani for sharing with us in such a deep and personal way.

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In November 2025 I made a wonderful, and deeply encouraging, 10-day trip across Kenya, Tanzania, Zanzibar and Uganda. It became a living, breathing picture of what it means to follow Jesus to the edges.

by Andy Roberts,
CEO of Church Mission Society

In Tanzania and Zanzibar, I had a special opportunity to see firsthand how CMS work is developing among communities with significant Muslim populations. 

CMS projects in action in Arusha 

My first stop was in Arusha, Tanzania, where I spent the day with CMS mission partners Ben and Katy Ray. Having previously served with a CMS flagship pioneering disability project Neema Crafts in Iringa, they have recently begun a new project with SAFI (See Ability First International), and I was blown away by what they’ve managed to build.

They have created an incredibly professional and creative environment including:

• a cafe
• a carpentry workshop
• an atelier
• a shop selling high-quality handmade products

The unique feature of this ministry is that every single staff member is deaf.

In a world where people with disabilities are often marginalised, overlooked or forgotten, SAFI is doing the opposite – it is lifting people up, empowering them and releasing their God-given gifts.

Spending the day with the SAFI team was humbling. We heard powerful stories of transformation, shared lunch together and worshipped through signed worship songs. 

Ben and Katy are now exploring how SAFI’s holistic, dignifying approach can contribute to building bridges  between Christian and Muslim communities, especially as most of their staff come from Muslim backgrounds. 

They are dreaming of expanding to Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar, where CMS is beginning  cross-community, cross-faith work in a Muslim-majority area. Empowerment, relationship and compassion speak loudly in Muslim-majority contexts – and their model fits beautifully.

The dream for Dar es Salaam: Where the CMS cross-community, cross-faith work begins

We next flew to Dar es Salaam and were warmly welcomed by Rev Joseph Mayala who leads an enormous Africa Inland Church (AIC) congregation of more than 1,000 people right in the centre of the city.

In many places in Africa Christians are in the minority and under pressure for their faith. This persecution causes division, isolation, poverty and trauma. CMS partners are training church leaders to lead discipleship groups to support and encourage isolated believers. As well as offering economic empowerment training to give people the tools and confidence to lift themselves out of poverty through income generating projects. 

This training is for the whole community, not just Christians. CMS partners are training church leaders to help communities boldly live out their faith and to connect with Muslims around them. 

CMS has begun work in Dar es Salaam by working with Christian leaders, providing some training  to help them see Muslim people not as enemies or threats, but as people created in the image of God, worthy of friendship and love.

We met one pastor who shared how the training had totally reshaped his worldview. Previously he had considered Muslims “off limits”. But now his church has:

Over 40 small groups of Christians and Muslims meeting together building relationships, sharing meals, studying scripture, and learning from one another.

This is discipleship in its most surprising and beautiful form – the ministry of reconciliation made real in everyday life.

Women’s Groups: Grassroots community-transformation 

We then visited several women’s empowerment groups across Dar es Salaam – groups of Christian and Muslim women gathering together to receive economic training and support.

The impact was moving:

• Christian and Muslim women launching businesses together
• new friendships forming across deep divides
• families being lifted out of poverty
• women finding freedom from harmful spiritual practices
• many women coming to faith in Christ

One woman told us that she had previously turned to demonic practices to provide for her family. But after joining one of the empowerment groups she found faith in Jesus, received business training, started a flourishing enterprise and is now being discipled by her church to grow as a new believer.

This is holistic mission at its best – new disciples, transformed communities and emerging movements.

Across every group we visited, the refrain was the same:
“CMS has brought transformation to our communities.”

It is precious to see such direct, tangible appreciation for CMS’s work. It made me grateful for the vision, the prayers and the generosity that make it possible.

Get involved

Support the people at the edges like the SAFI team in Tanzania and disciple-makers in Zanzibar…

• More about how you can pray
• More about how you can give
• And there are other ways to get involved

Why this trip matters for CMS 

This trip to Tanzania reminded me of several things:

• CMS has credibility and favour in East Africa
• the cross-faith, cross-community work is already shaping lives, deepening discipleship and healing divisions
• holistic mission works – empowerment, friendship, shared life and practical love open doors in Muslim-majority contexts
• we have potential new mission partners interested in joining this work

God is doing something new and beautiful in Tanzania and also in  Zanzibar – and CMS is right at the heart of it.

People and relationships are at the centre of mission work 

While in Tanzania, it was strategically important to visit the Archbishop of Tanzania, Archbishop Maimbo. Archbishop Maimbo is also the Bishop of Zanzibar, one of the key areas we’re hoping to develop further. CMS has deep historic ties with the Anglican Church in Zanzibar, and we’re eager for the church to join in the new cross-community, cross-faith work we are embarking upon. 

There was just one small complication: finding him! 

An Archbishop on Pilgrimage

Every now and again, the Archbishop goes on a pilgrimage through remote parts of Tanzania, walking hundreds of kilometres over about ten days, moving from village to village.

He prefers walking to travelling by car because: “You meet more people on the road – and you really meet them.”

It’s a powerful philosophy of ministry.

He travels with a substantial group of people making up a walking procession: 

• clergy
• youth
• members of the Mothers’ Union
• musicians
• dancers
• a security team 

The whole procession moves like a joyful parade – singing, drumming, blowing trumpets, waving flags. They arrive in a village and immediately hold an open-air service with baptisms, marriages and plenty of dancing.

The eight-hour hunt for the Archbishop 

We had a rough idea where Archbishop Maimbo might be, so very early in the morning we boarded a tiny minibus and began the eight-hour journey into the hills to find him.

As many will know, Tanzanian roads are  narrow, winding, and overflowing with lorries.

Hours later, after only a few navigational misadventures, we finally heard drumming in the distance. And then – there they were: the Archbishop and his colourful procession singing their way into a village.

Welcomed, paraded and put to work

We were warmly welcomed, paraded to the front and immediately swept into the middle of an open-air service.

There were baptisms, marriages, dance groups, music… everything joyous and loud and alive.

Then I was asked to preach. (It’s always wise to keep a sermon up your sleeve!) I spoke on the very first question in the Bible:

“Where are you?” (Genesis 3:9)

I shared how God continues to search for each of us. Even when we walk our own way, hide, or turn our backs, God still calls out: “Where are you?” Still seeking. Still loving. Still inviting.

New connections and opening doors for CMS

After the service, we were able to speak with the Archbishop about CMS’s work in the region.

He responded warmly and opened the doors for CMS in both the Diocese of Zanzibar, and of Dar es Salaam.

We then joined his procession for the next stretch of the journey to another village – singing, clapping and dancing all the way.

Along the way, we visited several homes where people with disabilities lived. We prayed with families and offered simple gifts of food and money – small acts of compassion, but deeply appreciated.

After all that, we hopped back into the minibus for the eight-hour return journey – with a roadside stop for roasted goat.

Relationship building in Zanzibar 

The next morning we were back at the airport, boarding a small plane en route to Zanzibar. The local Anglican diocese welcomed us warmly.

Zanzibar is about 98 per cent Muslim, which made visiting the early work of the cross-community, cross-faith project especially meaningful. While the ministry is not as developed here as in Dar es Salaam, the potential is clear – and I can already see how some of Ben and Katy Ray’s holistic work could fit beautifully in this context.

A joyful, unexpected, kingdom-filled adventure

I travelled across four countries, and the people left the deepest impression:

• deaf artisans signing worship songs
• pastors building bridges across religious divides
• Muslim and Christian women launching businesses together
• new disciples taking their first steps of faith
• local leaders saying, “CMS – you have changed our community.”

It was a privilege to witness it firsthand.

These are exciting times – and I’m grateful to God for allowing CMS to play even a small part in his unfolding story.

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In September, Rev Mark Nam returned to the place where his family’s journey in this country began to receive the National Diversity Award for Positive Role Model Award for Race, Religion & Faith.

Mark is chaplain to the Asian Christianity MA students at CMS and is a British born Chinese priest in the Diocese of Oxford.

Although Mark preaches in church each Sunday, as he spoke to the crowd gathered in Liverpool Cathedral for the award ceremony, he admitted to being somewhat nervous – and unsure as to whether to accept the award at all: “But then I discovered that this awards ceremony is happening right here in Liverpool Cathedral… if you didn’t know, it backs onto the oldest Chinatown in all of Europe. But not only that, it was this part of the country, Liverpool, that my grandparents stepped off a boat over a hundred years ago and made Britain their home,” said Mark.

Mark has made it his mission to raise the visibility of Chinese heritage people and particularly clergy in the Church of England. Growing up in Wales Mark experienced racism and struggled to find a place in church despite his deep faith. When he came to ordination, he wanted to meet other clergy with a Chinese heritage but looking in the Church of England’s directory of vicars, Crockford’s, he couldn’t find a single one. That spurred him on to start The Tea House, a support network for priests in the Church of England with Chinese heritage. The creation of The Tea House captured the media’s attention and he’s since appeared on the BBC, Premier and UCB.

He is annually invited to lay a wreath to recognise the Chinese Labour Corps of World War I. Having campaigned for the installation of a permanent memorial to the Chinese Labour Corps within the crypt of St Paul’s Cathedral, which has now been approved, Mark is fundraising to make the memorial a reality. Mark is also campaigning for the Church of England to recognise Florence Li Tim-Oi 李添嬡, the first woman priest to be ordained in the Anglican Communion with a feast day.

Being a link is certainly how Mark views himself. At his ordination he wore an incredibly symbolic – and beautiful – stole which linked East and West. Mark’s campaigning has also linked the past to the future. He enthused: “I want to be a link to the next generation. One of the most special things about my nomination was reading things that school kids wrote as they voted for me. Kids who share the same heritage saying how much they valued seeing someone with Chinese heritage as a leader in their school. It was great to read those.”

Winning the award hasn’t gone to Mark’s head and he knows his calling is as a parish priest. “Much of what I say and share is first formed in the pulpit at church on a Sunday.” Mark continues: “If winning this award inspires others then wonderful, thank you God. But I would be doing this where ever I am.”

The story of Mark winning this award is a story of God’s restoration. Something Mark has seen through his life, as he explains: “I have been on a journey of realising that God cares about our culture. There shouldn’t be a narrow definition of being a Christian. God did a miracle in me during my studies.” That journey and miracle involved Mark being ordained using his Chinese name, a name that had been lost through migration but was restored in a holy place. And most recently through him returning to the place his grandparents arrived in the UK, more than 100 years ago, to accept an award which shows their family has done more than simply assimilate into British culture – as they wanted – but has begun to shape it for the better.

If you would like to see Florence Li Tim-Oi 李添嬡 recognised for her ministry please sign Mark’s petition here. You can also give to the fund for the Memorial for Forgotten Army at St Paul’s Cathedral here. Find out more about The Tea House here.

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On 21 October, Acts 11 had the pleasure of hosting the Research Conversations Day with the CMS Pioneer teaching team.

by Nuam Hatzaw

5 November 2025

Conversations Day is part of the MA programme for students studying for degrees with CMS, and it is designed to expose students to new and exciting research in the field. In this post, I want to share some reflections from the event.

The theme was ‘God, Mammon and Empire’ and the day centred on two important books published in the summer of 2025: Decolonizing Mission by Acts 11 director Harvey Kwiyani and God or Mammon: The Critical Choice Facing World Christianity by lecturer and missionary David Smith.

Those who attended the Conversations Day were treated to a fascinating, rich, and challenging discussion on the entanglements of empire, money, and mission as David and Harvey led us through a deep discussion of those themes central to their latest works.

As I listened to the conversations throughout the day, I was reminded that, as 1 Corinthians 1:27 tells us, “God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong”.

Over and over again in the Bible, we encounter stories of God using the “least of these” to accomplish his will – whether that’s a small jar of oil, or uneducated fishermen and tax collectors, or a young boy’s lunch of five loaves and two fish. Indeed, God Incarnate emptied himself to be born from the ‘stump of Jesse’ (Isaiah 11:1), from the backwater town of Nazareth, which produces nothing good (John 1:46).

Thinking about these things in relation to migration, I recall the story of my grandmother, who we affectionally called Pipi (meaning grandmother in my language Zopau or Tedim Chin). Pipi passed away a few years ago in Oxford, and at the time of her death, she was the first person from my ethnic group, the Zomi, to pass of old age on British soil.

Pipi migrated to Britain at the age of 78. She migrated to help look after me and my younger siblings, so that my parents could focus on their studies.

It is hard to overstate just how difficult this migration would have been for my grandmother.

Prior to moving to the UK, Pipi had spent her entire life in rural Chin State. That was where she was born, where she grew up, where she met her husband, and where she raised her children as a widow when my grandfather passed away tragically.

Now, here she was, in cold, wet, Britain away from her other children, her loved ones, her community, and all that she had ever known. Here she was in an alien land where the only people with whom she could communicate with were her daughter and son-in-law, and her grandchildren, who, as they got older, grew to prefer English over their native tongue.

It’s fair to say that it was, at times, an incredibly hard existence. But what kept Pipi strong throughout those moments of difficulty was her unwavering faith and belief in God.

Pipi came to faith later on in life, and when she migrated, she carried her faith with her.

It was this faith that gave her the courage to migrate halfway across the world, leaving behind all that she had known. It was this faith that strengthened her in moments of difficulty. It was this faith that brought her companionship in her isolation as one of very few Zomi in the country, and it was this faith that witnessed to us, her family.

Although Pipi was not a missionary in the popular or common understanding of the word, she nevertheless successfully transmitted her faith to her children, including her daughter, who then passed it on to me.

It is because of my grandmother that my parents were able to pursue their theological studies, and are ministers serving in various migrant and diasporic contexts worldwide.

It is because of my grandmother that I am here, in Britain, a Christian, hundreds of miles away from the place where I was born, from where my family first heard the gospel.

It is because of my grandmother that I am able to live out my faith through serving at church, and teaching theology, and researching contemporary Christianity, and hopefully, along the way, share my faith.

It astounds me to think about the long-reaching impact of one woman’s courageous move. We often say that every migrant is a missionary – this is certainly true in the case of my grandmother.

We are often tempted to go for the big, bold, and brash in our efforts for God. This is commendable and understandable, but as the discussions on the Conversations Day revealed, aiming for power and influence can be distracting and even harmful.

The message of God is simple (Luke 4:18). The means of God are, likewise, simple. It can be as ordinary as saying ‘yes’ to a request to come and help look after your grandchildren.

The issues raised in the books we discussed, and in our work empowering migrants and equipping churches therefore, remind us of the importance of the little things, or even, the ‘little people’ – those who are ‘ordinary’, such as uneducated, illiterate grandmothers from rural villages.

Let us learn to nurture and value the ‘ordinary’ and the ‘small’, recognising them as tools of God’s kingdom. If our ministries and efforts seem small and inconsequential – let us be encouraged, since they are for a God who celebrates the small things (Zechariah 4:10).

• Watch recordings of the keynotes

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For nearly two decades, Helen has worked at the front lines of anti-trafficking in Asia. She’s focused her skills, as a trauma therapist and mental health specialist, in Chiang Mai, Thailand, which she describes as a ‘bottleneck’ for Asia’s people trafficking. 

Many of the people Helen supports come from remote villages in northern Thailand where poverty, limited education, substance abuse, poor access to healthcare and mental health issues create a perfect storm of vulnerability. 

Sex tourism draws huge numbers of people to Chiang Mai and many vulnerable people end up exploited into this industry. But it’s not just sexual exploitation. Chiang Mai is close to Thailand’s border with Myanmar, where a huge civil war rages – displacing many people. Families are fleeing across the border into Thailand. A lot of young girls and boys, who have been separated from their families – or whose parents cannot work – are being recruited into exploitation. 

Young girls are being sexually exploited and young boys are forced into hazardous labour, including construction work. The urgent need for protective interventions, safe shelter and trauma-informed support services continues to escalate.

This is where Helen and her survivor-led team at Rise Foundation Asia step in; working at the intersection of protection, recovery and long-term restoration.

Our first question is, “are you safe?” 

Helen and her team provide direct support and advocacy for people who have experienced exploitation, working with government agencies, law enforcement and multidisciplinary teams.

Most of the foundation’s team are women who have gone through their programme. Helen explains, “We have professionals, and survivors who are learning to be professionals in their field [nurses, social workers and counsellors], working alongside each other.”

At their drop-in centre, Baan Romyen – located in Chiang Mai’s entertainment district – social workers and caseworkers assess each new arrival. “Question number one is whether they are safe. Do they have somewhere to stay?” says Helen. “Secondly, we ask: ‘Have you eaten?’”

When parents arrive, the team checks whether their children are in school. Many of the young people they see – some as young as 12 – have been recruited into the sex industry. “We make sure that we take them out and put them in school,” Helen says. “Currently we support around 40 children in school and 15 young women in college.”

Other organisations often refer people to the Rise Foundation Asia because of their robust trauma and health care programme. 

Mind, body and soul – healing the whole person

Helen and her team have created a healing-centred environment – where trauma-recovery and skill-building go hand in hand. “It’s not a one-stop, come for a year and you’re healed. Healing is linear,” Helen explains. 

Every single person that walks into the drop-in centre is sent to the hospital for a medical check up. Some of them have never received that. Ever. The centre provides mental health assessments and ongoing psychosocial support through its team of onsite counsellors

An outreach team is active daily, with dedicated evening outreach each week. Together with a nursing team, they bring essential sexual health care directly into the spaces where women and children are most vulnerable – whether in remote villages or urban centres. In addition to this ongoing outreach, they run full sexual health clinics several times a year to ensure access to critical care.

Where is God in Chiang Mai? 

Helen’s faith quietly informs her values and approach, shaping a commitment to dignity, justice and compassion in her work. “There is extensive research that shows spirituality is an important part of the human psyche. How spirituality works out is different for different people,” she says.

“We do not pressure anyone into a certain belief system. We work with women and children who have come out of places where they didn’t have choices. Exploitation was part of their life.”  

“A lot of the women we work with want to know more about Christianity because they see the long-lasting effect of our faith impacting a lot of lives. We do not waver from our belief system.”

Is exploitation a never-ending problem? 

There is a constant stream of displaced, vulnerable people arriving in Chiang Mai. For every 10 people helped there are 20 more who will end up exploited and abused. How does Helen keep going? 

Helen starts with the immediate needs. “There are women and children who are in front of us. Our job is to provide for their needs. We never say no to anyone. We either redirect them to other organisations or if there’s a gap we step in.”

Then there’s the bigger picture of how trafficking and gender based violence is growing so much. 

“A couple of years ago, I got very frustrated. There’s a metaphor used in the anti-trafficking and humanitarian field where we are just pulling people out at the bottom of the river and there’s not enough work done to stop nature. So prevention became a huge part of what we do.” 

Rise Foundation Asia gets children into school. “A lot of the young girls don’t get to go into secondary education simply because they can’t afford it. And if a family can’t afford it, then the boys are the ones who get to go.” 

Substance abuse is a huge problem too. 

“A lot of gender based violence and sexual exploitation comes from childhood abuse,” shares Helen. “Women who experience abuse in childhood may later enter exploitative situations believing it to be normal, as early trauma can condition the brain to accept harm as familiar or expected.” 

How do you change that? “We go back to the family system,” says Helen. “We go to the villages and see where the substance abuse problem starts.

“We’re in the process of purchasing land and raising funds to build a post-rehab centre that will serve the long-term needs of the community.” The plan: stop substance abuse, provide health care and then employment. “We want to provide an alternative form of employment before they get into sex work.”

Alongside this practical help, Rise Foundation Asia works in advocacy and policy changing.

Helen explains, “We work closely with local and foreign governments. We’re doing cross-border and cross-sector work. Anti-trafficking organisations shouldn’t just work among themselves. It’s a humanitarian issue because it involves poverty, education, business, economic freedom and has a spiritual factor as well. 

Churches have a part to play in combating trafficking 

So how can churches help?

“Churches have the capacity and the people to lend their hands.” Says Helen: “Whether you have doctors in your seats, lawyers or educators, there are many ways that the church can contribute to this humanitarian issue and keep people safe, raising awareness and providing preventive measures.”

Helen reminds us, “the social media of churches alone is amazing. Even if once a week or month you put some of this information out, you’re reaching hundreds and thousands just from your community alone. You don’t have to leave the church and be in the mission field. 

“We all need to find the gaps and fill them.” 

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The post Creating pathways to choice and dignity  appeared first on Church Mission Society (CMS).