Mission

Making disciples of all nations

Local Mission

Love Southport

Perhaps the most famous of all verses in the Bible is found in John’s gospel, which tells us that ‘God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever would put their trust in Him will not perish but have everlasting life.’ (John 3:16). It’s a verse that lies right at the heart of how we at Lakeside want to live and what we are known for, by the way that we love one another and our beautiful town of Southport. We love our town and want to see it transformed by God’s love. For so long, the Church has been known for what it’s against, and so we want to reverse that so that it might become known more for what it is for, namely life and life in all its fullness - the life that Jesus offers to us. It’s this which motivates us to serve our community not only through our own initiatives like our Free Clothes Store and our Parent and Toddler group, but partnering with other local organisations and agencies to bring positive transformation across our town. We are really excited to be launching ‘Love Southport’ this September.

Find Out More

International Mission

Partnering with Elim Cambodia.

The history of Cambodia is one stained by the civil war in the 1970s which led to the genocide of over two million nationals, during the reign of the notorious Khmer Rouge. Many people died in what has become known as The Killing Fields. Sadly, one of the legacies of this situation is poverty, which has led to sex tourism in Cambodia, taking advantage of lower income families and an increase in exploitation of children in the sex trade.

Be Free

Seeing the plight of many young women caught up in this industry, Elim Cambodia responded by establishing 'Be Free' in the capital city Phnom Penh. The vision of Be Free Cambodia is to see lives restored, hearts mended and women with lives filled with God’s joy and peace!

Be Free is a 9 month programme where rescued girls come to heal, rehabilitate, engage in mentoring and discipling. The girls partake in Bible study and are taught English, skills in handicraft and other life skills to equip them for life beyond the Be Free programme. Up to eight girls can participate in the programme a year. Some who join, although young, often have children of their own who are cared for by the staff at Elim Cambodia’s Early Learning Centre.

During the 10 years since Be Free Cambodia was established, 44 girls have gone through the programme, 39 have made commitments to Christ, 27 have been baptised and none have returned to the commercial sex trade!

The Manager of the Be Free Centre is a young woman called Sokim, who herself, graduated from the Be Free programme. Sokim is a Khmer national and came from a background of abuse and exploitation.

Early Learning Centre / Church Planting