Dear Reader,
This year clarified our assignment in London.
As we end 2025, I keep coming back to this quiet truth:
God has been sharpening our focus here in London — through people, through conversations, through community, through campuses. You’ve walked with us through every update this year, so this isn’t a repeat. This is the meaning behind all of it.
This year didn’t just produce stories.
It revealed direction.
A Year of Movement, Rooted in Calling
Community — Presence Where We Live
Our home and neighbourhood became one of our most consistent ministry spaces. Meals, conversations, Father’s Day outreach, and occasional gatherings in Tooting — each moment reminded us that the gospel grows quietly in relational soil, not in rushed activity.
Campus — Faith Taking Root in Students
From Imperial to Roehampton to St George’s, and through our growing partnership with UCCF, we’ve been building bridges with students navigating faith, culture, and the weight of London life. The student landscape is complex — commuting, cost of living, limited time — but the opportunities for depth and discipleship remain wide open.
Collaboration — The Strength of the Wider Church
We stood alongside churches and ministries across London. Shared vision. Shared prayers. Shared ground. The unity we experienced this year affirmed something important: this is Kingdom work, and no one is meant to carry it alone.
Across all of this, God has been shaping our assignment clearly and steadily: to build meaningful spaces of belonging where faith grows naturally — in community, across campuses, and between cultures.
Looking Ahead: What We Are Preparing For in 2026
With clearer direction comes intentional preparation. These are the focus areas we are strengthening for next year:
1. Community engagement & local outreaches
Deepening rhythms where neighbours, families, and friends can experience the gospel in real ways.
2. Relationships through coffee, meals & everyday connection
London runs on relational ministry — cafés, dinner tables, long talks, slow trust. These spaces have been essential, and we’re committed to sustaining them.
3. Campus presence & potential partnerships
Continuing and expanding our potential work with students, CUs, and UCCF — especially as doors open wider for discipleship and community-building in the coming year.
4. Visa renewal & long-term stability
Preparing for next year’s visa process to ensure we remain present, rooted, and legally able to continue this assignment.
These aren’t just logistical needs — they are the foundation of sustainable mission.
A Year-End Invitation: A One-Time Significant Gift
As we prepare for 2026, we’re inviting both our long-term monthly partners and friends who’ve journeyed with us this year to consider a one-time significant year-end gift.
Why?
Because we are in the building phase — shaping something steady, relational, and cross-cultural in one of the most influential cities in the world. Your year-end gift helps us:
- Stay present
- Stay consistent
- Stay fruitful
- And stay prepared for the open doors ahead
Not out of pressure.
Not out of crisis.
But out of clarity — and shared calling.
Your generosity strengthens the ground beneath everything God is constructing here.
Thank You!
Thank you for believing in this assignment.
Thank you for investing in people, stories, and slow-growing Kingdom work.
And thank you for helping us step into a new year with courage, clarity, and hope.
With gratitude,
Ian & Van
DFamily
