Relationships

We believe that to achieve our vision we must act in partnership with other Churches in Bognor and across the world. We are part of a close walk with other churches in this town and with other towns and cities across the world. Our leaders regularly meet with the leaders of some of the other churches in Bognor. Many of the events that we are involved in, in and around the town, are joint initiatives between some or all of these Churches. We have a strong ‘family’ focus as a local church reaching out to the community here in Bognor, but we have a real vision and commitment to world mission too which has grown out of many prophecies and words that have been spoken over the Church.

Teams regularly visit other places. However, we are keenly aware that people who are called to stay in Bognor have an equal part to play in our vision as those who are called to go.
Picture Bognor Regis seashore with the waves ebbing and flowing over the shingle. As the waves come in they saturate the shingle and as they go out they begin to take some pebbles with them. However, the shingle stays constant providing stability on the shore. All the comings and goings from Opengate are like the waves on the shore People go out to the nations and come back from the nations: a constant ebb and flow of life. When people return they share what they have experienced with everyone back at home so that all can “get wet”.

'The Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and evermore' Deut 28:6

Our relationship with East Africa began in the mid 1990s when Ian Wardle, our Youth worker at the time, took a group of the young people on a trip to Uganda to offer practical help with the building of orphanages.
In 1998 Ian felt that it was right to move to Uganda to work with the young people. The following years saw Ian undertake work with the young people in the Church and the establishment of Youthworx East Africa as a recognition that the work had extended into the surrounding countries. Ian has integrated with the lifestyle of the Ugandan culture and would regard himself as more at home in Uganda than England. He has many of the youth through his home during the week, along with co workers that are now resident there.
Now the wider YEA team, including Collin & Silver, help to educate Church leaders to understand, appreciate and disciple their young people. They take mission teams of East African youth to different parts of the region and actively seek partnership with local churches who wish to develop this model. 
These mission teams have a dynamic impact on the youth & the communities they visit. They effectively offer discipleship & training. Everyone can see what ordinary young people can achieve, given the opportunity.
In training workshops they encourage youth and children workers to develop a strategy to reach un-churched young people and offer skills training in how best to understand and communicate with them.
YEA team members are often invited to speak at various national youth conferences in East Africa.
At the end of 2009 YEA opened a coffee shop in Kampala, called Amigos, to provide an outreach into the community as well as much needed funding to the YEA project.

In 2000 we were seeking an associate pastor to join the Opengate leadership team. Graham, our senior pastor, felt that God was saying that we should go to Brazil. Shortly afterwards he travelled to Brazil with a member of the leadership team and another member of the Church.

When they arrived in a city called Porto Alegre they shared the vision with Marcelo Guimaraes, a pastor of Brasa Church, and showed him some pictures of Bognor beach. Marcelo shared that he had previously had a dream where God had showed him a picture of the place, in England, that he would be sent to. The dream he had was the same picture of Bognor Beach. Marcelo and his wife, Lee, together with children Davi and Izabella arrived in April 2001 to begin their time in England.

Shortly after his arrival the Opengate Language School was established. The Language school has now received over 100 students from Brazil, many of whom have sought to learn English as an aid to serving on the mission field. Through the Language School, connections with other Brazilian Churches have been established. In addition to Porto Alegre, we have developed relationships with churches in Poletas, Rio Grande, Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro.

Our relationship with Belgium started about 15 years ago when, as a Church, we sent Stuart, who was our associate pastor at the time, and Joyce Filby to Oostende to work with BMS to establish a Church there. The Pilgrim church started as a home group with 10 people who gathered in November 1996 in a house in Bredene.

From the beginning, the church had an international character. They had an English pastor, along with Filipino and Belgian members. The group was always growing, and in January 1999 they rented a local pub, The Boat, for their weekly meetings. But very soon The Boat became too small and at the end of 2000 the Church bought an old cinema to hold their meetings. Stuart and Joyce retired in 2007 and for a time the church was without a pastor. In In August 2007 the Jenkins family responded to a call from the De Pelgrim Church, Oostende. Steve became their Pastor and the relationship together with Opengate deepened. In December 2008, the Jenkins' knew their time in Oostende had come to an end and returned to England. Our relationship with the church continues as teams from Opengate regularly visit the church. We are now praying with them to discern God’s future and direction for the church.

More information about the church can be found on their website.

Brett and Odette Cooper, together with their two children Rebecca and Daniel returned to their native Zimbabwe in September 2009 after a period of 9 years in the UK. They have returned to Zimbabwe to start REACH ZIMBABWE based at Shalom. At reach Zimbabwe their aim is to equip and enable people to go and preach and evangelise according to their calling. They also make themselves available to small short term mission groups that would like a base to operate from in the local area. Please feel welcome to browse our site and contact us if need be to see if we can help you in any way to reach Zimbabwe.
Their up to date news can be found on http://www.reachzim.org

Jess Frith is living in Westville, Durban South Africa where she works with an organisation called Crossroads who support children with AIDS. Her work is varied and includes spending time with orphaned children in an orphanage, going into schools and actively participating in her local church. She is also studying a degree course.
Her latest news letter can be found here

Catherine Lex travelled to Kampala in August 2007 to start working, as a teacher, in an International School. She lives at the school but spends a lot of her free time with Ian Wardle and the other YEA workers and volunteers.
Her latest news letter can be found here

Ana Lambert started a YWAM DTS course, in Hawaii, in September and is now in Cambodia as part of her missionary outreach experience.
Her latest news letter can be found here