Manyof the activities we involve ourselves in are directed towards making the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ more widely known. As our mission policy states, we are committed to preaching the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ to people from all nations. To this end we are actively involved in evangelism amongst the many thousands of tourists who visit Chester each year. A new venture is hosting a visit to Chester by a group of international students. We are likewise concerned to reach out to people of all ages. The summer holiday Bible club for children and visits to nursing homes cover the extremes of the age spectrum. 

We believe that the Bible is the Word of God and that God brings people to salvation through it. A number of our members are working hard in the local branch of Gideons International, well known for distributing Bibles and New Testaments. Other church members are active in the Bible Study Fellowship which promotes knowledge and understanding of the Scriptures amongst Christian believers. A small group produces Bible helps on audio cassette for the visually impaired.

Christianity Explored Course
You don't need to know anything about the Bible. You won't be asked to read aloud, pray or sing. You can ask any questions you want. The last course took place on a series of Tuesday evenings at a home in Upton through May, June and July 2006. If you would like to come along to new course or to find out more contact Pastor Jim Waterworth 01244 373142 or email.

Vist the Christianity Explored website if you would like to know more about the course.

Holiday Bible Club
This is held for 5-11 year olds over a week in August. As well as having great fun the children learn about the Bible through stories, songs and discussion.

In the most recent HBC (August 2007) the average attendance was about 30 children each day. That number tells its own story. What it doesn't tell about is the enthusiasm and energy of the children. It had to be seen to be appreciated!

Activities include

• team games
• Bible stories and songs based on a theme for the week
• craft activities
• indoor games
• field games to suit boys and girls
• refreshments to keep the energy levels up in a busy 3 hours!
• Bible lesson time when children are taught in their own age group

In their teaching groups they learn in more detail about the story for the day and are encouraged to talk about it.

At the end of the week, the children's parents are invited in to see the craft items made, join in with the songs learnt during the week and hear a summary of the Bible stories. At the end of the week the parents see a video or slideshow of some of the events from each day.

This is a great way to meet new children and their parents and introduce them to the activities of the church which go on throughout the year, not just during August. A number of the children become regular members of the Tuesday Club and Friday Club to carry on enjoying the fun of the holiday Bible club on a weekly basis.

Visits to nursing homes
We make regular Sunday afternoon visits to two local nursing homes to sing hymns and share a simple gospel message with the residents. As we chat to them after our little service many talk about their memories of going to church or chapel when they were younger and more independent. A few are able to speak warmly of their personal relationship with the Lord, but most have no real assurance of salvation. We pray that God will bring back to them words of Scripture or hymns and use those words to speak to them the genuine comfort of the knowledge of Christ as Saviour.

Tell-a-Tourist
We work along with other Chester churches to host and support a Tell-a-Tourist team of about 20 people, mostly in their late teens and twenties. They come for a fortnight in July, the busiest month in the tourist season, to carry out evangelistic work in the city centre. Mostly the team members are looking to contact visitors to the city, but they are happy to share the good news about Jesus with anybody!

In the most recent TaT fortnight (2007) was the 27th. The team was again lead by Dave Bennet. The work is supported by members the Light Project (of which Chris Duffett is the Director). The team members were mostly from the UK but an international dimension was provided by a member from Argentina. The team was a very diverse group coming from a variety of church traditions, but there was a great sense of unity and mutual support.

The principal forms of evangelism are street preaching, often involving a sketchboard and drama, one-to-one conversation in the main thoroughfares, coffee bar evangelism in the St Peter's Centre, and personal contact with visitors to the display stand in the cathedral. Between them the team had thousands of conversations in which they sought to share the gospel message. They met people from more than 80 different nations!

The team aim to give a piece of Christian literature to every person they speak to. During the fortnight they gave out several thousand pieces of literature, in many different languages.

The 2008 Tell-a-Tourist fortnight will start on the first Friday in July. If you are interested to know more about this work then please contact us and we can put you in touch with the organisers.

Open air services
For one Sunday afternoon in each of the summer months we gathered at Chester Cross to hold open-air evangelistic services. The afternoon slot has proved to be better than our usual evening time - there were more strollers happy to stop and listen and less heckling from drinkers at the Victoria pub up on the row just above the Cross. We were encouraged by the level of interest and plan to continue this work.

Visit of international students
During a week-end in the autumn we hosted a visit from a group of international students, mostly Chinese, from universities and colleges in Birmingham. The visit was organised by Friends International who run coffee bars and other activities for international students. We plan to host more of these week-ends in the coming months.

Many of the students have shown a genuine interest in the Christian faith and are joining in with Bible studies. The week-end provided the students with an opportunity to learn more about Christianity, as well have some fun playing games and enjoying the delights of our lovely city. Staying with host families from the church gave them a new insight into life in the UK. Without such an opportunity their impression of family life UK-style would have to be gleaned exclusively from the TV and other mass media.

As a church we are very pleased to be involved in this new venture and hope to make more use of our location to promote gospel work amongst international students.

Gideons International
A number of our members are actively involved with the local branch of Gideons International. For example, Ken and Joan Speakman have responsibility for placing Gideon Bibles in local nursing homes. As well as distributing to the nursing homes the local branch makes the Scriptures available to hotel and B & B guests, to nurses, to business people, and to school children as they enter secondary school.

Bible Study Fellowship
BSF International is an interdenominational, not-for-profit, lay organisation which aims to establish people in a knowledge and understanding of the truth of the Bible. This is achieved using questions for personal study, participation in discussion groups, lectures and printed notes.

The vision of BSF International is to establish "classes teaching the Bible to produce in all participants a vibrant relationship with God and, in as many as are called, a passion to commit without reservation to lead in the cause of Christ in the world".

Several church members are involved in the local ladies class. One member has a wider role in supporting the classes throughout the UK.

Please visit the BSF International website if you would like to know more about the organisation and its work.

The "Bible tape"
Several members of the fellowship meet together weekly to produce a master audio cassette tape consisting of a passage of Scripture, a short illustration, and a text for each day the week. The tape is then copied and distributed free of charge to approximately 130 visually impaired people in the Chester and Flintshire area.