Everything at Transforming Lives for Good (TGL) begins with the local church.
When TLG first began in 1999, it worked with one church responding to the needs of struggling children in their local community – now it equips more than 200 churches of all shapes and sizes across the UK.
TLG equips churches, like Bere Alston United Church, a local Devon-based United Reformed Church to run Make Lunch clubs, offering children and families hot, nutritious food alongside fun activities and supportive friendships.
Bere Alston United Church has seen amazing growth through families sharing about Make Lunch with friends.
The church’s coordinator Lesley said: “By Christmas, instead of 12 to 15 people, we were feeding 50 to 60! These numbers continued over the February half-term where we fed 44, including the team.”
With one-third of children in the UK growing up in poverty and too many families struggling with loneliness, isolation, and mental health challenges, TLG Make Lunch provides a tool that enables people to connect with communities and offer practical help and build relationships. TLG Make Lunch clubs offer families support when it’s needed most, operating during school holidays, and building relationships all year round with the local church family.
“At Bere Alston United Church, we believe that we must build relationships with people before they are ready to listen to us telling them about Jesus, they have to ‘know we care before they care what we know’,” continued Lesley.
“We now have the same families coming back time after time. They are even getting in touch before the invitations go out to ask if it is happening. While nothing we do at Make Lunch is overtly ‘Christian’, we are able to invite them to other church events that we hold across the year.”
A spokesperson for TLG Make Lunch said: “We would love to start the Make Lunch journey with other local URCs!
“At TLG Make Lunch, we know it can be challenging to connect and build trust with local families in a meaningful way. Our expert volunteer training, ongoing support, practical advice and funding opportunities can help your church make a difference in your community by doing something as simple and practical as making lunch.
“It all starts with a conversation.”
To learn more about the organisation, see TLG – Make Lunch. Or feel free to email [email protected].