England
Chris, Zhenya, and Liam Bear
Church planting in England
Chris and Zhenya Bear are currently serving as church planters in London. The Bears are parents of Liam (b. 03/27/07) and little Aidan (b. 04/21/09).
This city of over 8 million people is so diverse you can actually go an entire day without meeting one person from the country of England. With only 3% of the people in England believers, surrounded by a culture that is anti-Christian, there is a massive need for various churches to be planted throughout this influential city.
Zhenya grew up near Seattle and has a Masters in Counselling from Covenant Theological Seminary, while Chris grew up in the Washington D.C. area and received his M.Div. from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in Massachusetts. Chris was ordained in the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) in 2006 and they have both been with Mission to the World (MTW) since 2005; Chris currently serves as the Assistant Team Leader for England.
In 1990, the MTW was invited by the Evangelical Presbyterian Church in England and Wales (EPCEW) to plant churches in England and Wales. This relationship has seen the planting of some ten churches in cities including Cardiff, Chelmsford, Cheltenham, and Birmingham, with Chris and Zhenya working in London. Recently, Chris has been working more and more closely with the International Presbyterian Church (IPC), a denomination that has planted churches throughout Western Europe. Together, the EPCEW and the IPC are the only two Presbyterian denominations that are from England.
Along with Pastor Kruger de Kock, the Bears have planted an English speaking church in conjunction with Canada Water Church, an Afrikaans-speaking church in Canada Water. Canada Water is a rapidly developing part of the Docklands area of Southeast London [learn more].
To learn more about gospel work in London, read the most recent Bear family newsletter [Winter 2010], or check out past newsletters:
You can also watch Chris himself in this video introducing what the gospel is doing in London.
To give financially to the Bear family or to learn more about MTW, visit here. You can email Chris and Zhenya directly at candzbear (at) yahoo.com.
