The Brickworks is a charity that works alongside the church in the very needy nation of South Sudan, helping people to rebuild their lives after years of civil war. Many South Sudanese are now in refugee camps in Uganda due to insecurity and The Brickworks supports Dioceses with their work with refugees.

The challenges faced by the people of South Sudan are huge. They have had many years of little investment and still have some of the worst health statistics in the world. There’s very high maternal mortality, few homes have access to clean water or a latrine and many children die before their fifth birthday. UNICEF announced in 2016 that more teenage girls die in childbirth than finish secondary school.

The Brickworks supports the local church in discipleship, running a very busy health clinic, improving schools and training teachers and medics.

It also funds three under-tree schools in the camps, catering for over 3,500 primary school children living as refugees in Uganda.

The Brickworks is based in Bristol and has no paid staff.  It is run by John and Poppy Spens (who are members of St Michael’s Church) and a Board of Trustees. John and Poppy try to visit South Sudan and Uganda once a year to check on progress and to understand the current needs and priorities. In doing this they meet all their own expenses so that everything given to The Brickworks can be put to work on these varied church projects.

Latest information sheet

Website

www.thebrickworks.org.uk

Mission updates

July 2022

Read the update here – click here

View the video here

July 2021

Read the update here – click here

View the video here

July 2020

Read the update here- click here

View the video here

August 2019

Read the update leaflet here

view the powerpoint here

October 2018

In October, John and Poppy travelled to Uganda on behalf of The Brickworks to visit the under tree schools again.  This time they took with them a large box of children’s reading books which had been donated by St Michael’s CE Primary School, Stoke Gifford.  They made a short film of the presentation of the books to the Good Samaritan Primary School in a refugee camp and there was great thankfulness and rejoicing for this gift and for the link to St Michael’s Primary School.

Watch the video

May 2018

Read the Information Sheet

View the PowerPoint

watch the video

Website

www.thebrickworks.org.uk

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Our Mission Partners

Mission Action Group

St Michael's reaches out to people and communities in the UK and around the world.

b.friend

Training volunteers from local churches to befriend asylum seekers and refugees.

Brazil Florianopolis

The Rocks family are based in the city of Florianopolis in Brazil.

Epaphras Trust

The Epaphras Trust works with organisations in Nepal, Ukraine, Kenya and India

Brazil UNiViDA

UNIVIDA supports the communities that live in the slums of Brazil.

inHope

A Christian charity that helps the most vulnerable and marginalised in society.

Moldova

Ruslan is the pastor of a Baptist church in the village of Gotesti.

Network Bristol

Network is a Bristol-based charity, which offers affordable person-centred counselling.

South Wales

Sarah & John Sutton, Tonypandy Sarah Sutton is working as a pioneer missionary with Hope Church at Tonypandy, in the Rhondda Valley with her husband John....

Uganda

SIITA Nest provides care and support for orphaned and vulnerable children.

Upcott

Upcott is a Christian charity committed to providing an environment where young people can experience the fulness of Jesus in their lives.

Mission at St Michael’s

Jesus said to his disciples:

“Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation”. – Matthew 28:19-20

One of the key themes at St Michael’s is Sharing Jesus Together. Through the Mission Action Group, St Michael’s Church has formed partnerships with individuals and organisations reaching out to help and share Jesus with people and communities in the UK and around the world.

News updates and prayer requests are included in Church News and posted on the Mission News Facebook Group

Each month we have a ‘Mission Partner of the Month’, with short presentations being given during Sunday services, and information sheets shared.

If you would like to find out more about any of our mission partners please click the links below.

Each mission partner has a link person at St Michael’s: MAG Link Person Index

Please contact the Mission Action Group for further information and ways to get involved.

Mission Overview 2022

Read the info sheet here

Mission Overview 2021 video – view here

Mission Overview 2021 click here

Mission Partner Covid update video August 2020 click here

Our Mission Partners

The Brickworks – South Sudan

Rebuilding lives with the people of South Sudan.

b.friend

Training volunteers from local churches to befriend asylum seekers and refugees.

Brazil Florianopolis

The Rocks family are based in the city of Florianopolis in Brazil.

Epaphras Trust

The Epaphras Trust works with organisations in Nepal, Ukraine, Kenya and India

Brazil UNiViDA

UNIVIDA supports the communities that live in the slums of Brazil.

inHope

A Christian charity that helps the most vulnerable and marginalised in society.

Moldova

Ruslan is the pastor of a Baptist church in the village of Gotesti.

Network Bristol

Network is a Bristol-based charity, which offers affordable person-centred counselling.

South Wales

Sarah & John Sutton, Tonypandy Sarah Sutton is working as a pioneer missionary with Hope Church at Tonypandy, in the Rhondda Valley with her husband John....

Uganda

SIITA Nest provides care and support for orphaned and vulnerable children.

Upcott

Upcott is a Christian charity committed to providing an environment where young people can experience the fulness of Jesus in their lives.

Epaphras Trust was established in 2008. The charity objectives are principally to offer voluntary teaching and leadership training to serve in communities, in addition to caring for widows and orphans. We work with organisations in Nepal, Ukraine, Kenya and India.

Our Timothy project partners with EBS situated in Bihar state, India. Sharing a border with Nepal, the state of Bihar is one of the poorest in India.

EBS is an arm of Soul Winning Mission which was birthed from the vision of Emmanuel Samuel, many decades before. His vision was to build a children’s home for orphans, a school and a training facility to train young people from areas of North India. He modelled his vision of faith on the same model as George Muller.

Ken Hart was invited to visit EBS in 2010 and since that time Epaphras Trust has fully resourced EBS. Much has been achieved over the years, including improvements to the menu, the gradual establishment of a library of study materials, musical instruments and the broadening of the curriculum plus other subjects such as English language, computer studies and sewing. A new building to provide decent accommodation, a lecture room and a library for study has been constructed.

For the academic year 2022 – 2023 there are 55 students. 

Antioch Care Movement: 

Antioch Care Movement is an initiative born out of the need for local leaders to have access to further training, support and fellowship. A place to be cared for and refreshed. For two days per month Soul Winning Mission hosts pastors and leaders, offering structured theological teaching and times of music, caregiving and fellowship, in addition to a safe place to discuss issues and feel supported. ACM wants to enable leaders so they can serve their communities towards development.

Update April 2023

View the information sheet

Update March 2022

Update March 2021

View the information sheet

Update August 2020

View the information sheet

Speak to someone

Our Mission Partners

Mission Action Group

St Michael's reaches out to people and communities in the UK and around the world.

The Brickworks – South Sudan

Rebuilding lives with the people of South Sudan.

b.friend

Training volunteers from local churches to befriend asylum seekers and refugees.

Brazil Florianopolis

The Rocks family are based in the city of Florianopolis in Brazil.

Brazil UNiViDA

UNIVIDA supports the communities that live in the slums of Brazil.

inHope

A Christian charity that helps the most vulnerable and marginalised in society.

Moldova

Ruslan is the pastor of a Baptist church in the village of Gotesti.

Network Bristol

Network is a Bristol-based charity, which offers affordable person-centred counselling.

South Wales

Sarah & John Sutton, Tonypandy Sarah Sutton is working as a pioneer missionary with Hope Church at Tonypandy, in the Rhondda Valley with her husband John....

Uganda

SIITA Nest provides care and support for orphaned and vulnerable children.

Upcott

Upcott is a Christian charity committed to providing an environment where young people can experience the fulness of Jesus in their lives.

Katia played a vital role in starting the Vineyard Florianópolis church plant in 2015. It began with a Bible study in her home and grew and grew. These days, church members regularly go out into the streets to talk to people about spiritual things and offer to pray for people who are out and about. Through this they have seen many people decide to follow Jesus, be baptised and become part of the church community. The church also runs various small groups, youth and children’s work and local outreach for people living in poverty.

Katia and the rest of the church leadership team are enthusiastic about deep discipleship and raising up new leaders. Katia decided to follow Jesus while she was at university. A qualified lawyer, she is driven to use her gifts and skills to encourage and advocate for others, particularly women. She loves spending time with women, sharing about life and helping them grow in faith. Katia has two children, Joanna and Davi.

Katia has done a prison chaplain course and she will be starting to visit women who are in prison in Florianópolis. She also volunteers with a homeless project in the neighbourhood where the church is based. Katia feels God is calling her to look outside the church walls and reach out to those who are on the edges of society, to help them to meet God and have a relationship with Him. 

Click on this link to Katia’s CMS profile.

Mission Updates

March 2023

You can read the information sheet here

April 2022

You can read the information sheet here

February 2021

You can read the information sheet here

Website

www.cms-uk.org

Speak to someone

Our Mission Partners

Mission Action Group

St Michael's reaches out to people and communities in the UK and around the world.

The Brickworks – South Sudan

Rebuilding lives with the people of South Sudan.

b.friend

Training volunteers from local churches to befriend asylum seekers and refugees.

Epaphras Trust

The Epaphras Trust works with organisations in Nepal, Ukraine, Kenya and India

Brazil UNiViDA

UNIVIDA supports the communities that live in the slums of Brazil.

inHope

A Christian charity that helps the most vulnerable and marginalised in society.

Moldova

Ruslan is the pastor of a Baptist church in the village of Gotesti.

Network Bristol

Network is a Bristol-based charity, which offers affordable person-centred counselling.

South Wales

Sarah & John Sutton, Tonypandy Sarah Sutton is working as a pioneer missionary with Hope Church at Tonypandy, in the Rhondda Valley with her husband John....

Uganda

SIITA Nest provides care and support for orphaned and vulnerable children.

Upcott

Upcott is a Christian charity committed to providing an environment where young people can experience the fulness of Jesus in their lives.

All the children go to state schools, but only for 4 hours per day. UNiViDA provides each child with an additional 4 hours of education per day. Practical support for the children and their families is also provided.

THANK YOU from Univida

Mission Updates

Update February 2023

Read the info sheet here

Mission Action Group

St Michael's reaches out to people and communities in the UK and around the world.

The Brickworks – South Sudan

Rebuilding lives with the people of South Sudan.

b.friend

Training volunteers from local churches to befriend asylum seekers and refugees.

Brazil Florianopolis

The Rocks family are based in the city of Florianopolis in Brazil.

Epaphras Trust

The Epaphras Trust works with organisations in Nepal, Ukraine, Kenya and India

inHope

A Christian charity that helps the most vulnerable and marginalised in society.

Moldova

Ruslan is the pastor of a Baptist church in the village of Gotesti.

Network Bristol

Network is a Bristol-based charity, which offers affordable person-centred counselling.

South Wales

Sarah & John Sutton, Tonypandy Sarah Sutton is working as a pioneer missionary with Hope Church at Tonypandy, in the Rhondda Valley with her husband John....

Uganda

SIITA Nest provides care and support for orphaned and vulnerable children.

Upcott

Upcott is a Christian charity committed to providing an environment where young people can experience the fulness of Jesus in their lives.

inHope has a vision of communities where everybody can reach their God-given potential, free from injustice and insecurity.

We exist to help people overcome insecurities such as homelessness, hunger, addiction and poor mental health. These insecurities are often caused by injustices such as insufficient housing, limited access to food, poor employment, discrimination and abuse. 

Every person is unique. By offering help to enable people to overcome insecurity and challenging the root-cause injustices, people are then free to reach their God-given potential.  

inHope brings together volunteers, supporters and churches from across Bristol, to offer hope, justice and security to our city.

Our strategic picture below, illustrates our mission – the things we contribute to creating this vision.

Website

www.inhope.uk

Mission Updates

Update December 2022

Read the information sheet

Update December 2021

Read the information sheet

Watch the video

Update November 2020

Watch the video

Read the information sheet

Update November 2019

Read the Information Sheet

Update September 2018

Read the Information Sheet or view the PowerPoint Display

Update January 2018

Read about the Bristol Churches Winter Night Shelter: Information Sheet

Update December 2016

Read the Information Sheet or view the PowerPoint Display

Update 2015

Read the Information Sheet or view the related PowerPoint Display

Speak to someone

Our Mission Partners

Mission Action Group

St Michael's reaches out to people and communities in the UK and around the world.

The Brickworks – South Sudan

Rebuilding lives with the people of South Sudan.

b.friend

Training volunteers from local churches to befriend asylum seekers and refugees.

Brazil Florianopolis

The Rocks family are based in the city of Florianopolis in Brazil.

Epaphras Trust

The Epaphras Trust works with organisations in Nepal, Ukraine, Kenya and India

Brazil UNiViDA

UNIVIDA supports the communities that live in the slums of Brazil.

Moldova

Ruslan is the pastor of a Baptist church in the village of Gotesti.

Network Bristol

Network is a Bristol-based charity, which offers affordable person-centred counselling.

South Wales

Sarah & John Sutton, Tonypandy Sarah Sutton is working as a pioneer missionary with Hope Church at Tonypandy, in the Rhondda Valley with her husband John....

Uganda

SIITA Nest provides care and support for orphaned and vulnerable children.

Upcott

Upcott is a Christian charity committed to providing an environment where young people can experience the fulness of Jesus in their lives.

Ruslan and Larisa Telpiz live in Gotesti, a village in Moldova, which is a small country in Eastern Europe, between Romania and Ukraine. Moldova is the poorest country in Europe, with very little paid work available and many people are leaving the country in search of work.

Ruslan is the Pastor of the Baptist Church in Gotesti. His ministry includes leading Sunday services, preaching, youth work, baptisms, pastoral care and discipleship of church members. He is also involved in outreach and evangelism in Gotesti, Chircani and other villages.

Larisa runs the Day Care Centre for socially vulnerable children. This is an after-school ministry held in Gotesti Church, which provides food, games, Bible stories and help with school work, in a caring and supportive environment. Larisa also supervises the Sunday School and is involved in the church’s ministry with women and families.

Members of St Michael’s Church have regularly visited Gotesti and Chircani since 2010, helping to run children’s summer day camps, going on pastoral visits to people in their homes and encouraging the church members and leaders.

Mission Updates

Update September 2022

Read the Information sheet here

Watch the video message below

Update October 2021

Read the Information sheet

Watch the latest video here

Update September 2020

Read the information sheet 

Watch the video message here

Update September 2019

Watch the video message here

Read the Information Sheet

View the Powerpoint display

Update August 2018

Read the Information Sheet

View the Powerpoint Display

Update 2017

Read the Information Sheet

Watch the video message here

Update 2016

Read the Information Sheet

View the PowerPoint Display

Update 2015

Read the Information Sheet

View the PowerPoint Display

Website

www.ten-uk.org

Speak to someone

Our Mission Partners

Mission Action Group

St Michael's reaches out to people and communities in the UK and around the world.

The Brickworks – South Sudan

Rebuilding lives with the people of South Sudan.

b.friend

Training volunteers from local churches to befriend asylum seekers and refugees.

Brazil Florianopolis

The Rocks family are based in the city of Florianopolis in Brazil.

Epaphras Trust

The Epaphras Trust works with organisations in Nepal, Ukraine, Kenya and India

Brazil UNiViDA

UNIVIDA supports the communities that live in the slums of Brazil.

inHope

A Christian charity that helps the most vulnerable and marginalised in society.

Network Bristol

Network is a Bristol-based charity, which offers affordable person-centred counselling.

South Wales

Sarah & John Sutton, Tonypandy Sarah Sutton is working as a pioneer missionary with Hope Church at Tonypandy, in the Rhondda Valley with her husband John....

Uganda

SIITA Nest provides care and support for orphaned and vulnerable children.

Upcott

Upcott is a Christian charity committed to providing an environment where young people can experience the fulness of Jesus in their lives.

Network Counselling and Training is based at Elm Park in Filton. Network offers professional counselling that is affordable and long-term within a warm, welcoming environment with an inclusive Christian ethos.

Network also runs nationally accredited counselling training offering part-time courses from introductory to diploma level to equip individuals to come alongside others who are finding the demands of life overwhelming

Mission Updates

February 2022 Update

Read the information sheet

Past Mission Partner Updates

2021

2021
2020
2019
2018
2017
2016

2020
2019
2018
2017
2016

Website

www.network.org.uk/

Speak to someone

Our Mission Partners

Mission Action Group

St Michael's reaches out to people and communities in the UK and around the world.

The Brickworks – South Sudan

Rebuilding lives with the people of South Sudan.

b.friend

Training volunteers from local churches to befriend asylum seekers and refugees.

Brazil Florianopolis

The Rocks family are based in the city of Florianopolis in Brazil.

Epaphras Trust

The Epaphras Trust works with organisations in Nepal, Ukraine, Kenya and India

Brazil UNiViDA

UNIVIDA supports the communities that live in the slums of Brazil.

inHope

A Christian charity that helps the most vulnerable and marginalised in society.

Moldova

Ruslan is the pastor of a Baptist church in the village of Gotesti.

South Wales

Sarah & John Sutton, Tonypandy Sarah Sutton is working as a pioneer missionary with Hope Church at Tonypandy, in the Rhondda Valley with her husband John....

Uganda

SIITA Nest provides care and support for orphaned and vulnerable children.

Upcott

Upcott is a Christian charity committed to providing an environment where young people can experience the fulness of Jesus in their lives.

SIITA Nest Mother’s Love Home provides shelter, food, medical care, education and emotional and spiritual support to children in Uganda who have been orphaned by civil war or HIV/AIDS, abandonment and family breakdown.

St Michael’s funded the purchase of land in Bugembe and contributed to the construction of the first two buildings and the site boundary wall. We provide ongoing support, contributing to the running costs of the home and school fees.

Find out more

October 2022

Read the information sheet

September 2021 Update

Read the information sheet

Watch the video update

December 2020 Update

Read the Information sheet

Watch the video update

April 2019 update

Read the Information Sheet

March 2018 update

Read the Information Sheet

Speak to someone

Our Mission Partners

Mission Action Group

St Michael's reaches out to people and communities in the UK and around the world.

The Brickworks – South Sudan

Rebuilding lives with the people of South Sudan.

b.friend

Training volunteers from local churches to befriend asylum seekers and refugees.

Brazil Florianopolis

The Rocks family are based in the city of Florianopolis in Brazil.

Epaphras Trust

The Epaphras Trust works with organisations in Nepal, Ukraine, Kenya and India

Brazil UNiViDA

UNIVIDA supports the communities that live in the slums of Brazil.

inHope

A Christian charity that helps the most vulnerable and marginalised in society.

Moldova

Ruslan is the pastor of a Baptist church in the village of Gotesti.

Network Bristol

Network is a Bristol-based charity, which offers affordable person-centred counselling.

South Wales

Sarah & John Sutton, Tonypandy Sarah Sutton is working as a pioneer missionary with Hope Church at Tonypandy, in the Rhondda Valley with her husband John....

Upcott

Upcott is a Christian charity committed to providing an environment where young people can experience the fulness of Jesus in their lives.