One of our priorities at Redeemer Church is to be a church that engages with the world around us. We don’t want to be a church who just meet in Chester-le-Street, but a church who are a part of Chester-le-Street, and who are involved in the life of the town we are proud to call our home. We want to love and serve those in the community around us, and in doing so show them the grace and love of Jesus.
There are a number of different ways through which we seek to do this. If you see us out and about please come and say hello, we’d love to meet you and get to know you more. Often, you will spot us wearing our blue Redeemer Church t-shirts!
(Please note that much of our work in the community listed below is not currently happening due to Covid-19 restrictions. We hope to be able to be back out serving the community in these ways again soon!)
Fun Day
One of our most visible events in the community is our annual Fun Day! Since 2017, we have been hosting a family fun day in June on The Green, in The Avenues. With inflatables, crafts, face painting, a BBQ, a prayer tent and much much more (all for free!), these have been great occasions where the community can come together to enjoy some summer sun (we hope!) and friendship.
Keep an eye on our calendar and social media channels for the date of the next one!
Street Mission
Another place you might find us is on Front Street, in Chester-le-Street town centre. Here we often carry out Street Mission – usually on a Saturday morning or early afternoon. This involves us spending time chatting to people in town, seeking to share with them more about Jesus and our church, and answering any questions they may have about them. We also love praying with people if they would like it – whether that be for healing, comfort, help, or anything else!
Usually, we will also give out free tea and coffee as a way of blessing people and practically demonstrating that God loves them.
Sometimes you might also see us worshipping in the middle of town, and at Christmas we also enjoy doing some carol singing too. If you see us, we’d love to chat with you and get to know you more! Just come and say hello!
Redeemer Tots
On top of our children’s provision at our Sunday morning services, we also run a midweek Tots group, at the REfUSE Cafe on Front Street each Monday from 9:30am to 11:00am. Here members of the local community can get involved in some free activities with their children, whilst also enjoying some friendly chat and a cup of coffee.
This is open to all pre-school aged children in the area, plus their mums, dads and carers. We’d love for you to join us there! Just pop in!
St Mary’s Nursing Home
Once a month, we also spend time on a Friday afternoon visiting some of the residents of St Mary’s Nursing Home, in Chester-le-Street. Usually, this involves chatting with them and enjoying a board game or two. We often also bring a guitar and some other instruments along with us, to sing some of the resident’s favourite songs. This is a great way of getting to know the residents, forming friendships, and having some fun together at the end of the week.
If you are a part of our church and would like to get involved with doing this, please let us know.
Make Lunch Chester-le-Street
More recently, we have also joined together with other churches in Chester-le-Street to help run Make Lunch: a free lunch initiative during the school holidays for children and their parents, which also involves activities, games and education about healthy eating and cooking. This usually takes place at Chester-le-Street Methodist Church, and is advertised in local schools in the lead up to the holiday period. For more information about this, please get in touch.
Who We Support
As well as running our own events, however, we are proud to support numerous members of our church family who run, or are involved in running, community projects within Chester-le-Street and County Durham. These include:
REfUSE Café – Situated on Front Street in Chetser-le-Street, REfUSE Café is an inclusive, creative space open to all and serving food on a pay as you feel basis, believing that people have value going beyond the number of coins in their pocket. They intercept perfectly edible food that would otherwise got to waste and serve it to “feed bellies not bins”. The café is part of REfUSE’s wider project to tackle and challenge food waste, and to educate the public about food waste and food waste management through pop-up events, a school’s project and media campaigns. They are a not-for-profit social enterprise. https://refusedurham.org.uk/
Heartwood Skills – A non-profit charitable organisation, Heartwood Skills’ vision is to empower young people to be all that they can be and the best person they can be. They focus on building relationships with people on the fringes of society, giving them skills and helping them in the modern world. They especially work with youth and young adults who are disenfranchised from academia through training, mentoring and tutoring to help them recognise their own potential. https://heartwoodskills.org/
Pad B – Short for “Press a Different Button”, Pad B is a life-changing programme to assist people who are looking for any form of support. They offer a compassionate, personal approach to recovery from drug or alcohol dependency and mental health issues, believing that the best people to help are the ones who have been through these issues themselves. They offer a variety of activities, working together in groups and providing one-on-one sessions, with a vision of helping people through their addiction and mental health. https://www.pad-b.com/
Heart Remind – Heart Remind is a local organisation that builds self-belief, value and promotes personal development by doing Graffiti Art and DJ workshops. They help young people and adults to reach their maximum potential through art and music in local community centres. https://www.facebook.com/HeartRemindCIC/