07 May 2026

A look at what’s been going on at Church on the Street in April.

“Give Me This Water” Women’s Conference

As part of the Church on the Street Women’s Conference, over 50 Women from across Lancashire came together in unity to pray, worship, share testimonies, and receive the Word of God. It was a deeply meaningful day marked by openness and encouragement.

One particularly special moment was hearing from a group of women from the Edith Rigby Hostel, whom Pastor Emma has been visiting. They celebrated completing their Faith and Recovery Programme, courageously sharing how their lives are being transformed and renewed. Their stories were a testament to hope and perseverance in all things.

We were also welcomed special guests, Deidre Brower from the Nazarene Theological College and Kathryn Dunwell, a Church on the Street Pastor who has recently returned from ministry in the Dominican Republic. Their contribution was a true blessing. We extend our thanks as well to every volunteer whose dedication and hard work made the day possible, your service did not go unnoticed.

Throughout the conference, we were moved by the testimonies of women within our community who have endured domestic violence and abuse. While their experiences were sobering, their stories of healing, restoration, and God’s rescuing power were incredibly powerful and inspiring. These moments reminded us all of the strength found in faith and the importance of walking alongside one another in love and support.

It was truly a day to remember, and we are so grateful for all that God is continuing to do in and through the women of our community.

New Probation Work With Prison Leavers

Pastor Mick and Pastor Emma are developing new relationships with Approved Premises Hostels across the North West delivered faith based recovery programmes to male and female prison leavers.

This work has been ongoing for a while, but this month the doors of a new men’s hostel have opened to deliver the Genesis Group.

We Need To Stop Failing Victims Of Child Abuse

Church on Wheels has started unpacking some of the big issues our communities are facing, this month Mick met with Fiona Goddard, a survivor of grooming gang abuse and advocate for victims of child sexual exploitation.

This episode covers some sensitive content but highlights the important work of survivors who are advocates making changes to the system.

Watch the episode here on YouTube

Congratulations To New Exodus Graduates

Congratulations to another group who have completed the Exodus Programme.

A huge achievement of new beginnings with our new facilitator also completing his training to begin leading future groups through the programme.

They are now beginning their personalised development pathway into volunteering, education and employment both in Church on the Street and in the wider community.

Working With Female Justice Partnership

Pastor Emma and Partnership Lead Nicola, have attended two Female Justice Partnership Board Workshops at UCLAN along with other VCF organisations and a range of statutory services, including probation, police and health.

The workshops are aimed at looking at a handful of women across Lancashire who are in the Criminal Justice System consistently. These women have been recognised as having Adverse Childhood Experience’s and multiple complex needs and it has been made clear that it’s going to require a whole systems approach including the VCF sector.

So far we have been linked in with one of the ‘handful’ and have started engaging well with her with regular appointments here at Church on the Street. Our aim will be to work with statutory services to provide a holistic approach and work with the female and services to break down barriers of engagement.

Moving forward there will be a focus creating pathways out of HMP Styal to drop into Women of Worth. We are developing a team of lived experience women to lead on this new programme and support female prison leavers.

Welcoming Adam To The COTs Team

As an organisation we are delighted to welcome Adam to the team.

Adam has long served as a volunteer in Barnoldswick and now has moved into two new roles, one in Burnley leading our kitchen team and one in Preston as a Pastoral Assistant.

Adam’s love has already been changing the atmosphere and bringing new life to the work we are doing and we couldn’t be happier to have him with us.