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Mission Summary – Moldova Visit 2025

In late October, we – Peter, Chela, Pippa, and myself - had the privilege of traveling to Moldova with Victor, and welcoming the team from Liberec, Czechia, on their very first visit. This was a time of deep encouragement and fruitful ministry, made possible by the incredible provision of the new minibus—a true blessing that allowed us to carry both people and aid safely and effectively.

Key Highlights

· New Minibus: Already proving to be a huge gift, enabling us to transport aid and teams with ease.

· Aid Distribution: Clothes, blankets, toiletries, and reading glasses were delivered, meeting practical and urgent needs.

· Prison Ministry: A powerful time preaching to 80 women, with a growing group of Christians there who are hungry for the Word.

· Care Home Outreach: Shared clothing and essentials with elderly residents, bringing dignity and comfort.

· Family Visits: Reached poor, disabled, elderly, and isolated families with compassion and practical support.

· Children’s Ministry: Joyful kids’ club gatherings full of life and hope.

· Church Celebration: A vibrant time of worship and fellowship, rejoicing together in God’s goodness.

Reflections & Prayer

We are hugely blessed and thankful for all that God has done through this visit. The generosity of gifts and donations has been a tangible expression of His love. The minibus has already transformed the way we serve, opening doors for greater impact.

Please continue to pray:

· For the women in prison and the growing Christian fellowship there.

· For the elderly, disabled, and isolated families we visited.

· For the children reached through the kids’ club.

· For ongoing strength, wisdom, and provision for the ministry teams in Moldova and Czechia.

We give thanks for the amazing gifts from God and the privilege of serving together in unity.

Matt Jackson

First Advent Sunday and Community Roast Dinner

Sunday 30th November

Come and join us for a fun-filled and action packed Advent Sunday Celebration at Exwick Parish Hall! Bring your family and friends for the Service at 10:30 (doors and hot drinks from 10.00) with singing, activities, and a message of Christmas Hope. Stay afterwards for a sumptuous Roast dinner and Desserts.

Book your FREE tickets HERE

Carols Round the Bonfire

Saturday 13th December

It’s nearly that time of year again! We’re gathering firewood, tuning our voices, ironing our nativity costumes, and getting excited about Christmas!

Come join our annual community event on Saturday, 13th December, 5-6:30pm in the Jubilee Gardens, next to Exwick Parish Hall. There will be crafts for younger ones, carols, a bonfire, and rereshments.

It’s FREE!

Another mission trip to Moldova –

We have booked our flights for November, for our third trip this year to support Ukrainian refugees in Moldova. The situation there continues to be desperate, and the incredible donations last time meant we were able to support up to 700 people directly with food packets. (See the longer report HERE.)

Everyone was so grateful for the generosity shown, and any donations are used directly for the purchase of food to be distributed in Lapusna and the surrounding area through the food kitchen, or delivered directly to those housed in remote villages by Pastor Costea of the Lapusna Baptist Church.

If you wish to donate please click the Just Giving logo, or put your donation into our collection box at church, and mark your donation 'Moldova'.

Thank You!

Matt & the Team

SPREE 2025

Over 2,000 young people converged on Westpoint the weekend of 27-29 June, including ten from ECC, along with leaders Marie, Harri, Peter, Tim and Trevor. It was a great time of camping, activities, learning, worship, and meeting up with kids from many other church groups.

The theme this year was ‘Forgiven and Free’. The older group had sessions based on Youth Alpha, and the younger group could choose to go to sessions on outreach or discipleship. Much hilarity was had at activities like the every-popular fairground rides, nerf guns, crafts, tie-dyeing, arcades, inflatables, and the slip-and-slide run (the only soap some of them saw all weekend). A favourite was the badminton court. And if Tim fished the Frisbee out of the pond once, he did it a dozen times!

Most of the group have already asked to go again next year. One parent said, ‘Thank you guys for all you have done. It was well worth it and I can’t praise your efforts enough. My child has had a brilliant time and it has helped her to be more independent and she says she would want to go again.’

Thank you to all who supported the young people, through prayer, finances, lifts, setting up, etc. Spree is happening again 26th-28th June 2026. Marie will start taking bookings in the autumn!

Men's Gathering

... in a field near Swindon

On 20-22 June Philip, Tim, Serban and Trevor went up from Exeter to a field near Swindon to join 2000 other men worshipping Jesus, blessing each other and being a bit silly at the Christian Vision for Men Gathering. Graham Kendrick and his band were there leading worship. The main meetings were as good as ever.

We heard stories of men who had been saved from lives of crime and other who had just been searching. We even had a preach in Portuguese. Many people made a first time commitment. A couple of young men who have been along to Exwick who are now linked to the YMCA were there and it was to to say hi.

The fancy dress theme was “Aliens” on Saturday night and many wild outfits appeared.

We had a great time and feel very blessed to have been there. We even saved the neighbouring tent when it tried to blow away.

Some of us will be back again next year. Ask us about it and maybe you can come along too!

Trevor Sharp

Welcoming new members to ECC

We were excited to welcome four people into membership at ECC this Sunday, 1st June. Vera and Elvis, and Hilary and Jim have felt God's call to make a deeper commitment to this part of God's church in Exwick, and we're so pleased to have them and their families!

Sermon series: Nehemiah

God is looking for passionate people and passionate churches. People and churches with a fire in their belly. For the next few weeks in our Sunday morning service, we are going to be looking at Nehemiah, a character we find in the Old Testament. Why? Because Nehemiah was a passionate man with a fire in his belly!

Around 500 BC, Nehemiah was living in Babylon, a Jewish exile from Jerusalem. He hears that the walls of his home city are in ruins, and he becomes passionate about rebuilding them for God’s glory. But his passion was checked by Godly wisdom, not unbridled fanaticism.

As we continue through the series, we will see that Nehemiah was also a great encourager. We will see how he handled opposition and discouragement, and how he persevered in his walk and work for God.

Easter Sunday Baptism and Community Lunch

We had a great time of celebration on Easter Sunday, worshipping and praising God for His love in sending His son to defeat evil and death. And we witnessed a re-enactment of Jesus’ burial and resurrection as Robert was baptised. Robert also told the story of his journey of faith. Many of our Messy Church families and other visitors joined us for the celebration, and then everybody stayed for lunch. We packed the Hall with over 100 people, who all enjoyed a roast lunch, featuring slow-cooked lamb, nut-lentil roast, roast potatoes and a variety of Di’s homemade fruit crumbles (with custard!). What a celebration!

Haven of Hope Orphanage - Fund-raising event

A Pub Quiz evening took place on 16th January at the Waie Inn in Zeal Monachorum to raise funds for the Romanian Haven of Hope, a Christian orphanage in Lipova which members of our church support.

Over £1,500 was raised, and the kids at the orphanage sent a special thank-you video to the participants. There were 12 teams, ably led by Quiz Master Tom Darby-Clark, and although none of the three ECC teams won, we graciously acknowledge the superior intellect (beginners' luck) of the winning team. Thanks to Matt Jackson for organising the event, and to Dave Sumner from Guitar Aid, who gave a brief history of the orphanage. You can read more about it in his book Take the Next Step.

Community came together -

Carols round the bonfire

"It was the best yet!" (quote from participant)

Over 120 people from the Exwick community and beyond gathered round the bonfire in the Jubilee Gardens, Station Road, on Saturday, 14th December, to sing carols and celebrate Christmas together. The relaxed atmosphere gave everyone a chance to chat, catch up, renew acquaintances, and make new friends. There were crafts for everyone to get involved, including the striking willow stars that glowed in the night sky. We listened to the Christmas Story, told in an interactive way, reminding us that Christmas means Immanuel - God is with us. People of all ages attended, and children played together in the safe space. Refreshments included hot mulled apple juice, hot dogs, and mince pies. The children were given hand-knitted snowmen and books, which they can treasure for years to come.

We're now on Instagram!

You can now keep up with the latest from Exwick Community Church on our Instagram account. Follow this link: https://www.instagram.com/ exwickcommunitychurch/

Visit to Moldova - November 2024

It was a blessing to travel with Chela, Peter and Victor to support our mission work in Moldova. We worked with Pastor Costea at his church in the community of Lapusna. We purchased food aid parcels for the 20 families supported by our food bank project: poor families with young children, disabled people, people with chronic illnesses, elderly and isolated people. Chela was able to help several ladies with braces and walking aids. You could see it helped them straight away and they were so grateful. We also handed out toys that had been donated to poor families with smaller children. One inspirational visit was to a regional nursing home where we delivered a lot of walking aids and braces for their residents. On our final day we were involved in a harvest celebration put on by the Lapusna Baptist Church, where they fed everyone who came with a hot meal after the service. It was a great and blessed week supporting Costea. Thank you for all those who prayed and gifted in support of so many needy people in Moldova.

Matt Jackson

Sermon Series: Total Church

In our Sunday morning preaching series – “Total Church” - we are going to explore what church should really be.

Church is not simply what we do on Sundays, the programmes we run, the projects we are involved with or the missions we support. Church is more than that – much more!

The Bible describes the church as the “Body of Christ”, and the “Bride of Christ”. In other words, church is our very identity: an identity that shapes everything we do now and that will remain with us for all eternity. Church is so much more than our experiences have conditioned us to believe. Church is at the very core of our being and should be at the very centre of all we do.

As with many of our series, we’ll be using a book as our guide. “Total Church” is written by Tim Chester and Steve Timmis and I recommend you get hold of a copy and read along as we explore God’s amazing plan for His church.

The Alpha Course

a conversation about faith, life, and God

Alpha is a series of sessions exploring the basics of the Christian faith and it runs all around the globe.

Watch this space for the next course!

To book contact Peter on pcfowler@btinternet.com

For more information, go to https://alpha.org.uk/try-alpha

Spree 2024

On the weekend of 21-23 June we took a group of young people to Spree SW 2024, an annual event organised by SWYM. This year 97 groups (about 2,250 young people and leaders) from around the South West were there. Our group consisted of 11 young people and 5 leaders.

The weekend is an amazing combination of Bible teaching and worship, and fun activities aimed at young people aged between 8 and 17. This year the theme was ‘Jesus - the Way, the Truth and the Life’. Over the weekend several young people in our group made a first-time commitment or recommitment to follow Jesus.

Personally, I was inspired by the Explore sessions (aimed at 8-11-year-olds who are new to faith) seeing young people joining in with the worship and waiting to hear from God in times of prayer.

Our group thoroughly enjoyed the activities on offer and made good use of the fairground, the silent disco and the slip and slide activities in particular. The weekend also provided a chance for those in the group to get to know each other better, and to strengthen friendships.

Thank you to everyone who prayed for the event. The weather was ideal, everyone enjoyed themselves, and each of our young people has had the opportunity to move forward on their journey with God. Thanks to the generosity of the church, we were able to present each young person with a devotional book to support them as they continue that journey. Please continue to pray for the young people as they return to their normal lives.

Thank you too to the leaders and volunteers who gave up their weekend (and sleep) to make the event happen. We cannot do it without you! Marie Langdon

The Gathering

On Friday 21st June 4 men from Exwick joined 1500 others in a field outside Swindon for the Christian Vision for Men event The Gathering 2024. This is a Christian festival like no other. The evening meetings started with either a game of darts or tug of war on the main stage. There is free tea and coffee 24/7 on tap and there are only 3 seminars... however this is a Gathering to celebrate Jesus and what he has done for us and how men can ask him to be their saviour and captain. There are lots of testimonies, some dramatic, some very ordinary, some amazing preaching and also a lot of silliness.

Graham Kendrick and his band led worship and a bagpiper played everyone up on to the stage. Also, you could join in with Tins and Hymns and Just Looking.

On Saturday night we had a Madness tribute band and a fancy dress competition on the theme of Christmas. Ask me for photos!

The Saturday was filled with fun things to do like axe throwing, a climbing wall, remote control tanks and Scalextric.

CVM is linked with Edge Ministries so there is a big focus on helping the less fortunate. The message was focussed on God's kingdom being open to all who will come.

We came back tired but praising God. A great time was had by all.

Trevor Sharp

SLEEPING BAGS and BLANKETS needed!

Street Pastors are asking for donations of sleeping bags and blankets. Could you please give them to Chris Carter or email admin@exwickcommunitychurch.org.uk.

TWO’S COMPANY needs YOU!

The number of referrals for the befriending service has increased. Could you phone or visit someone once a week? If so, please speak to Chris Carter or email admin@exwickcommunitychurch.org.uk.

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