Loving Our City

Our Loving Our City initiatives seek to provide and support services to bless the community we live in.

At ChristCentral Church we are passionate about our city, we sense excitement as we see how the city is developing, and even coming into the city now we have signs to welcome us to “The Great Waterfront City” – we love Portsmouth!

Portsmouth is more than just a city, it is also a people and Jesus calls us to reach people, to express love to them in practical and spiritual ways.

Whilst there is much development in the city there is also much need: spiritually, emotionally, physically, and financially. We want to be a church that blesses our city with what we have been blessed with! Jesus reading from Isaiah 61 says:

The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me,
because the Lord has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim freedom for the captives
and release from darkness for the prisoners…[NIV]

ChristCentral seeks to see this Scripture come to a reality in this city to a greater measure. We want to serve the many needs in our city to bring relief and love to lives of those who are presently struggling, proclaiming what Jesus has done, what he is doing, and the hope that we have in him.

For more information on Loving Our City, please contact lovingourcity@christcentral.church.

Loving Our City signposts people to various other agencies where help can be found:

Entitled To are the leading provider of online benefit calculators in the UK today. They help people determine what they can claim from national and local government via their self-serve calculators.

Care for the Family is a national charity which aims to promote strong family life and to help those who face family difficulties. They are a registered charity and have been working to strengthen family life since 1988.

We recognise that there are many organisations at work in Portsmouth and we would be foolish to ignore their experience and expertise. Action Portsmouth compile a list of organisations and charities in the Portsmouth area, with contact details if you wish to volunteer and support.

Street Support Network connects people experiencing homelessness, organisations, voluntary groups, businesses and kind-hearted folk to work together to end homelessness. You can find support services for people experiencing homelessness, and do something to help - offering your time, money or resources to local organisations.

CARE (Christian Action Research and Education) is a Christian charity seeking to uphold human dignity and to support the most vulnerable people in society, engaging with politicians in the UK Parliaments & Assemblies and promoting Christian community-based initiatives.

Love Portsea

We meet on Sunday’s in the Portsea area of the city, it’s an area full of rich history, as well as modern high rises and the Gunwharf Quays shopping district. Despite the development, Portsea is one of the poorest areas of the city too. We believe Portsea should feel the benefit of having a large vibrant multi-cultural church meeting on their ‘patch’. In addition to prayer, supporting the John Pounds Centre and supporting other initiatives in the area, the students get together for a week of serving Portsea at the end of their exams, at the end of May.

This year over 25 students, volunteers and staff from the church cleared gardens, picked litter, and got to know the residents. We are praying that our opportunities to serve will continue to grow in coming years!