Unchurched children and local Muslims are among those hearing the gospel message thanks to a unique bus-driven ministry.
Destination 211 is a bus ministry reaching out to deprived estates in the area. Neil Walpole, assistant curate with Dewsbury Team Parish who launched the bus in 2019 with a team from different churches, said: ‘It’s vision is to lead people of all ages to Christ and to that place of Revelation 21:1 – a new heaven and a new earth, where all tears and all suffering is wiped away.’
It began in Chickenley near Dewsbury, an estate with a reputation for drug issues and extreme antisocial behaviour. It now opens every Wednesday during school term and includes games, chat, Bible-based craft and activities and Bible study.
A second outreach was launched last year on Dewsbury Moor which sees ‘a good mix of white British and Muslims’, says Walpole.
A key feature is the ‘Godometer’ – a basic cardboard homemade ‘swingometer’. Walpole explains: ‘People place their arrow and marker where they are in terms of belief in God on an arc that ranges from “I don’t believe in God’ to ‘I definitely believe in God’.
‘This is great for conversations. Discussions about our Godometer showed that people are definitely moving towards Jesus.’
He adds: ‘In the future we hope to expand our outreach to two or three more estates and we have a dream of seeing over 200 young people come to faith over the next three years.’
