Hundreds of people attended a ‘Party in the Park’ at South Park, Ilford that brought diverse people together during a day of fun, food and fellowship.
The event which was held from 12pm – 3pm on Sunday 23rd July 2017,was organised by Ilford High Road Baptist Church based on the Corner of Green Lane and the High Road in Ilford. Their main aim was to connect with local people and share the relevance of the Christian Gospel in modern times.
During the 3 hour event local people were treated to sports such as football, and Swingball with anyone welcome to participate. There were also games such as a giant connect 4, dominoes, Ludo, Chess to name but a few that kept visitors entertained. Other activities included face-painting, henna, nail art and a bouncy castle ensuring people could be as active or relaxed as they wanted.
Face-painting and Nail art were popular
The event was a chance for Ilford High Road Baptist church to share concepts about Christianity and dispel myths for which purpose a Christian bookstall was available. Moreover a drama and talk was given on the biblical account of Zacchaeus who climbed a tree to listen to Jesus. After Jesus spoke with Zacchaeus personally, the corrupt taxman instantly transformed his life and became a follower of Jesus Christ returning money he had stolen from victims. The type of transformation many Christians still experience 2000 years later.
People were treated to a gospel choir performance and much more and really took to the event with great zeal.
Pastor Andrew Willis, leader of the church, said:
“This event was a gift of fun and fellowship that we wanted to give to our local community. In recent weeks Londoners have had to deal with a series of debilitating terrorist attacks and this was a chance to heal divisions.
“We felt this event was a chance to build bridges and share our Christian beliefs with people of wider faiths so they understand the love and hope we have through our faith in Jesus Christ and that all may find in him.
“The most exciting thing about the event was the large number of people of other faiths and no faith who felt welcome and free to join us and participate with our activities. Christ calls all Christians to ‘love our neighbour’ and the diverse attendance at our event proves we are doing things right and the community appreciates it.”
People liked Mehndi too…
Wilson Chowdhry, Chairman of the British Pakistani Christian Association provided a PA system for the event and organised the football programme, he said:
“As a member of High Road Baptist Church, I took great pleasure in participating. I joined the church because of their strong commitment to the community and passion to share the Gospel. Their Welcome Centre has been providing an exemplary community service to the often ignored homeless people of our Borough (click here) .
“By organizing this Party in the Park event Ilford High Road Baptist Church have shown churches are not restricted to the confines of their buildings and can make a real difference in their local communities.”
Wilson and Hannah Chowdhry Dj’d and compered at the event.
Ilford High Road Baptist Church are planning to hold more events like this and will be expanding the activities. You can learn more about the church and its work in the community on their website (click here). In future they also hope to put information about events on their website.
Dominoes was played by the usual suspects.
Pastor Andrew (khaki trousers) interacted with visitors