Christians in the Wokingham area are working together to demonstrate the simple fact that God loves people in a variety of different ways.

 

in 2006 this culminated in twelve churches co-operating to stage various activites, with a main week in August which had ten social action projects, community events, a youth event, a speaker event, art exhibitions as well as other events. The week was a great success, with around 300 volunteers contributing over 2500 hours of community service, and around 2500 people attending the various events. For more information on the activities of 2006, click here.

The Big Idea encourages the churches working together on a broad range projects, including the following areas:

The scope of possibilities is deliberately broad to allow different churches to work out what kinds of activity they can and want to be involved in. Different churches may participate to different degrees as they are able. We are working with Wokingham Borough Council to agree different places where we can best serve and be of help. This is a key principle of The Big Idea - that we want to serve the people of Wokingham rather than simply do the things we think we want to do.

In 2008, aligning with the nation HOPE08 initiative, the local schools workers organised further projects in three of Wokingham Town's secondary schools, involving painting, decorating and gardening.

Whats up now? Since the activity of 2006, The Big Idea has continued in several ongoing projects (see action projects link). This includes activity at Eustace Crescent in the Norreys area, and at Wokingham Hospital. In addition, the lessons learnt and the impetus gained from the 2006 projects continues to inspire the local churches to find ways to work together more effectively. Cooperation between the churches thus continues with projects and outreach opportunities in mind.