Grace London's loudest life group?

If one word could summarise Zach, Rebs & Julie's life group, it would be LOUD. These three extroverts lead a young group in north London which, like them, exudes energy and enthusiasm. On any given Wednesday, expect plenty of laughter, Gen Z humour, and raving about the food. Hear more from them below.

Rebs, Zach & Julie

Tell us about yourself.

Zach: I was born in London but moved around England as a kid with my family. I've been at Grace London since September 2019, where I also work as an Operations & Finance Coordinator.

Rebs: I was born in Korea but grew up in Sydney, Australia, with my parents, two siblings (I ofc am the favourite last-child :)), and my cousin. I have been at Grace since I moved to London in 2022, and I love pretty much anything and everything - food, people, walking, you name it.

Julie: I'm also a third-culture kid, born in China, raised in Canada, and have lived in London for the last 8 years. I joined Grace in 2019, and it’s been my core London family ever since. I work as a freelancer in fashion, and my side-quests are food making, food offering and food exploring! I also occasionally host pop-up cafés.


Please tell us a bit about your group.

We currently meet at Julie's flat, and our group has people from all over the globe, with a majority from SE Asia. We meet every Wednesday for a delicious meal cooked by one of our members before studying the Bible together and praying about the passage and for each other's prayer requests.


What's one highlight from the last year?

We had a weekend away together last summer, and it was so encouraging to see the group get on so well. Friendships were deepened, and people who had just joined the group felt like part of the furniture by the end of the trip.
 

Life group weekend away

What’s your hope for the life group in the year ahead?

Zach: My hope is that we grow in maturity in Jesus. We'd love to see our group get to the stage where everyone is contributing in their unique way, becoming a community like in Acts 2.

Rebs: Similar to Zach, I hope that we all help one another grow in Christ, digging deep into the word, genuinely praying for one another, and reminding each other of the things that are unseen.

Julie: That we become prayer warriors who break barriers. And that the world we pray for knows us not primarily for our knowledge or wisdom but for our love.

How can we pray for you and the group?

Our group has been together for some time now, and we want to continue thanking God for our challenges & growth.

Inward: Please pray for greater love for Jesus and each other. That we love like him and devote ourselves to each other like family in this big and busy city. We want to keep growing within.

Outward: For us to be sent on mission to the nations and into the city. Please pray that our hearts may be present and attuned to the great commission and our personal callings.


Find out more about our life groups here.

Dreaming of Milan

Two Sundays ago, we announced that Jeremy & Jen Moses are hoping to move to Milan later in 2025 to learn language, and, God-willing, plant a church. Jeremy is one of our pastors and has been on staff since 2017. We've caught up with them to find out more. 

Tell us more about your journey towards planting?

Our planting journey began before we even met each other. When we came to faith, each of us had a strong sense of God’s call to take the hope we’d found in Christ to people who had never heard it before. The dream of doing this together was part of our decision to get married! We joined Grace excited to be a part of a church that faithfully and engagingly preached the Gospel to people of many backgrounds in London, but we felt strongly that one day we would go out to take the Gospel to new places. The time never seemed right for us to plant until now. 

Nine years after joining Grace, having grown in pastoral experience, received theological training, developed a greater heart for the Church  - along with an increasing awareness of our flaws - we felt a stirring that the time was right to plant. Wise counsel and prophetic words have seemed to confirm this so we are ready to step out in faith.

What led you to decide to seek to plant in Milan?

Italy was the home of Jeremy’s maternal grandfather and he has always felt a natural affinity for it as a country. As we sought the Lord about where he wanted to send us, we heard a prophetic word from a church leader at an Advance conference that spoke of someone being sent 'from a successful context to what could be considered a barren land that would become a gateway to the nations'. The words immediately resonated deeply with us both, as we have always thought of Italy as a 'barren land' spiritually.

Italy, like much of mainland Europe, has an incredibly sparse number of Gospel-preaching churches and is in much need of hope in Christ. Our thoughts soon turned to Milan as a strategic place to plant a church, given its cultural and economic importance in Italy (and geographical placement at the heart of mainland Europe). As we prayed about this tiny seed of an idea, prophetic words from a variety of contexts, thoughtful insights from trusted Christian friends, and our growing sense of conviction have led us to set our eyes on Milan as the place where we think God is leading us to.

What practical things do you need to put in place?

Our most immediate practical priority is to make a successful visa application. We are preparing our application now and we hope to be approved in the coming months, to be able to move in July this year, God-willing! 

We are also asking God for a team of people to go with us. We’re looking for folk who are willing to uproot their lives and come with us, to plant the gospel, and see God grow a Christ-exalting, spirit-filled community in the centre of Milan. We hope to build a team over the next 18 months, both here (before we go) and in Milan. 

Language is also vital. The whole family has started learning Italian and we need to intensify our language-learning in the coming months. 

How can Grace support you? 

We would really appreciate your prayers. We are saying with Moses “If your presence will not go with me, do not bring us up from here” (Exodus 33:15). We are going with a strong sense of dependence on God, asking that the Lord would glorify his name, and that he would accomplish his purposes through us, in our weakness. 

Please do pray for us (and our family) as we go through this significant transition. Please pray for Grace London, as we're asking the Lord to grow the team here, as Jeremy steps off staff. Please do consider joining our WhatsApp prayer group (link below) where we'll be sharing regular updates. 

And of course, if you'd like to explore joining the team, you can get in touch, and If you know anyone with a heart for Europe, do share what we're doing with them. As ever, we're praying for labourers for the harvest! 

Jeremy & Jen will be hosting a monthly online prayer meeting for Milan. The first one will be on Monday 10th February at 8-9pm. All are welcome to join. 

Bored and addicted to our phones

Less than 20 years after the birth of the iPhone, screens have become the dominant presence in modern life. We work, plan, socialise, read, and entertain ourselves through them. Barely a minute goes by without a pick-up. 

And yet, we’re increasingly aware that too much screen time is harmful. Heightened anxiety from constant doomscrolling. Brain-rot from too much YouTube. Insecurity from perpetual comparison. We’re bored and addicted to our phones.  

We feel like something is wrong. But buying a dumbphone or reducing screen time isn’t enough. What if the problem is deeper? Do we need to understand the roots of our habits?

Behind our restless scrolling is a longing for deep connection. Underneath our influencer-obsession is a search for wisdom. We don’t have a way of dealing with pain, so we distract ourselves with hours of mindless entertainment. What if there’s a better way? 

How do we reimagine what it means to be human in the digital age? Join us as Jeremy explores the roots of our screen habits and considers how the ancient truths of the Christian faith give us a better vision of human flourishing.


Date: Tuesday 4th February
Time: 7.30pm
Price: Free
Location: London Nautical School, SE1 9NA


We would love to see you there and please consider who you could invite. Expect a thought-provoking talk, lots of nibbles, and plenty of time for Q&A. But even if you can't make it, please join us in prayer. Our Salt Live events allow those who would never usually step foot in a church to hear the gospel. Pray that lives will be changed!

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Notices and Events

Giving

If you call Grace London your home, please consider giving financially to support the work of the church. You can find all the details you'll need on our website here. Please email the finance team if you have any questions (accounts@grace.london).

Pre-service Prayer

Prayer is vital to the church. We pray before each service and ask God to be powerfully at work among the church congregation. Anyone is welcome to join! 9.15am & 4.15pm @ LNS Staff Room | 10.45am @ Holborn crèche area.

Winter clothes collection

If you have any spare winter clothes (coats, jumpers, gloves, etc), please consider donating them. We're taking a collection to give to the homeless people we know through Webber Street. Drop them off in the container at the back of our Waterloo services or contact Amy.