PARTNERSHIPS
At Redland Church believe that the good news about Jesus is for everyone, everywhere. Telling others of God’s love and grace is central to our mission as a church, whether that be in our city of Bristol, in Redland itself or further afield.
To see this happen, we partner both with individuals we have sent and organisations, supporting them through friendship, prayer and financial giving.
Scroll down for more details of our partners. If you would like to know more, or to receive up to date news and prayer requests, please email info@redland.church
ENCOUNTER CHRISTIANITY
Encounter Christianity (EC) is a Bristol based charity, staffed by 4 Christian teachers and supported by volunteers from local Churches. They work across 70 Primary and Secondary schools in Bristol and its surrounding areas.
EC support schools in the delivery of the R.E locally agreed syllabus by presenting the Christian elements of the curriculum from a Christian perspective. All our staff are committed Christians and qualified teachers who are happy to share personal reflections on what it means to live out the Christian faith in today’s world. They also take volunteers from local churches into schools and in doing so aim to give children an experience of Christianity as an active and lived out faith. Find out more about them here.
SAFE FAMILiES FOR CHILDREN
Safe Families for Children are a national charity who work in Bristol. They support vulnerable families and children to enable them to thrive. They link children, young people and families with local volunteers who can offer them help and support. Find out more about them here.
DICKSON & PENDO CHILONGANI
Dickson is Bishop of the diocese of central Tangyanika. This is the largest diocese in the Anglican communion. There are many challenges for the people there but they are seeing hundreds of people come to faith each year. Dickson came to Bristol in 1999 with Pendo and their son Imani to do a PhD at Trinity College on “Reading the Book of Job with an African Eye”. They were part of the Redland family until their return to Tanzania in 2004, where their second son, John, was born shortly afterwards.
Easton Church PArtnership
We have a longstanding partnership with Easton Christian Family Centre. This is an incredible church right at the heart of Easton. Easton is a very diverse area with many social needs and significant deprivation. Easton have a very large Farsi community in their congregaton many of whom are refugees and asylum seekers. We together run a ‘Transforming Lives for Good’ mentor scheme in the local primary school. We support their employment of a refugee support worker who supports the practical and spirtual needs of this significant group in their Church. We also have a number of individuals who support both the church and the school either on a one off or longer term basis in things like architecture and governance.
BRUCE & JAN ROSSINGTON
Bruce and Jan worshipped and were very involved with youth ministry at Redland between 1997 and 2000, before moving to South Bristol. At that time, Bruce was a lawyer and Jan a social worker.
Between 2006 and 2021 they served in three African countries – Rwanda, Cameroon and Kenya – as members of Africa Inland Mission and Wycliffe Bible Translators. Working in partnership with African churches, they were involved in theological education, Bible translation and educating the children of cross-cultural workers, always with an emphasis on giving Scripture and Gospel access to under-reached communities.
Back now in Bristol, Bruce and Jan are building on their Africa experience, continuing in some of their roles and developing new avenues of ministry. Jan’s passion is to develop relationships with women who have migrated to the UK from parts of Africa where there is little or no access to the Gospel. She does this through English language teaching, conversation classes, parenting groups, home visits and social events. In a part-time role at Bath College, she uses her CELTA qualification to teach English to a broad range of new arrivals from places like Ukraine and Afghanistan.
Bruce continues his ministry as a Bible translation consultant, supporting the production of Scripture for an East African community where there are very few Christians. He also advises churches in England, France and Spain on how to welcome multilingual brothers and sisters in Christ from around the world and how to make Scripture available to diaspora Africans who have not previously had access to it in the different languages that they use each day. Bruce is currently the Chair of AIM International’s board of trustees.
INHOPE
InHope help people in Bristol overcome the insecurities of homelessness, hunger addiction and poor mental health. We partner with them in running the Winter Night Shelter. This project operates a dedicated 9-bed Guest House in Bristol from November to March each year. They offer round-the-clock accommodation to individuals who would otherwise be sleeping rough. Guests receive support from staff, the referring agencies, Bristol City Council (BCC), and other partner organisations to help them transition into more stable housing and access additional services as needed.
Each winter they witness guests moving forward in their lives and begin to hope again. Many arrive withdrawn and quiet, carrying the weight of their experiences. But over time, remarkable changes occur- smiles become more frequent, and a sense of peace starts to take root. This project provides a safe, calm and friendly place for those rough sleeping to experience a sense of family, time to reflect and support to move forward in their lives.