Love Mexborough is simple. We believe Jesus loves our town and that the people matter.
My name is Adam Lynch and with my wife, Rebecca, and three children we launched and have the pleasure of running this missional project. We launched in April 2018 with the simple goal of breaking down the sacred secular divide, by hosting a range of community events in order for folks to encounter the people and presence of God.
Mexborough has a population of about 16k people and falls within the 5% most deprived communities in England. On any given Sunday less than 2% of the local population attend church. Given the current post Christendom culture in the UK, many people do not know the Bible or who Jesus is, other than the baby in the Christmas nativity in school plays every Christmas. Mexborough is a hard community to reach with the gospel but an incredibly friendly and welcoming town. Mexborough hit economical hardship in the 80s with the closure of the local coal mines and would itself say it has never truly recovered. This has led to a lot of distrust of central and local government and resulted in a strong sense of identity, with them being proud of their local town and not feeling the need for outside help. Unemployment and debt are high with many young people aspiring to leave for university and almost none of these return to Mexborough, after leaving. Underneath this challenging exterior however, is an unpolished diamond waiting to be discovered. Mexborough town is first historically recorded in the doomsday book in 1086 and in old English means, ‘ a fortified place’ . Our prayer and vision for this area is that it would once again be known as that, for the Kingdom of God.
Over the last 5 years we have hosted a wide range of events to connect with our local community, in spaces they feel comfortable, and that we too, as a young family would find ourselves. This has included hosting community fun days, cinema mornings, pancake house breakfasts, Christmas & Easter events, and much more. God has been so good to us over this time, and we find that we are able to gather large numbers of none Christians. This is due firstly to the type of events we host, as well as a lack of community provision, due to funding cuts. All the events we host are free for people to attend and to take part in, given the local financial hardship that many families face. We ensure those who attend are aware we do this because of Jesus. We currently run a weekly kids Sunday ‘mini church’ as well as a community meal alongside ad hoc events. We have nurtured strong links with local schools, the local council and elected councillors.
We feel privileged to be able to gather so many people who do not know Jesus, knowing they are coming to something that is presented by those who do. Our drive is to take them on that next step of the journey. Much discipleship in the UK moves at the pace of relationships and having the time and longevity to do so is really key in our context.
Love Mexborough has a blank canvas approach to ministry in which it is a safe place to test your calling, try new things, make mistakes, and simply have a go! At the core of who we are is equipping and releasing people to fulfil the call of God on their life where he has called them. We would welcome any students and do all we can to utilise the gifting you carry as well as become a part of what God is already doing here. Support is always available and we are always contactable but due to working alongside church planting, we would really value someone who has a ‘can do attitude’ and is able to be creative, in ways of reaching a community, and confident enough to lead themselves at times.
If you are reading this thinking this sounds like a hard place to reach, filled with beautiful people who simply just do not know how precious they are in the eyes of God, then I have managed to communicate it correctly! Thank you for prayerfully considering being part of what God is already doing through Love Mexborough, and being part of the foundation of ‘Hope is Here’.