Keeth Bandara finds that his local Pizza Express has all the right ingredients for one of Elim’s less conventional church plants…
A slice of worship, a topping of the Bible and a sprinkling of prayer – that’s the recipe for a new Elim church being planted in the west of London – at Pizza Express.
City of Lights, based in Uxbridge, might be in its early stages – the first service was held in February – but Pastor Keeth Bandara believes he is fulfilling the commission of Jesus to take the gospel to the highways and byways.
It might sound crazy, but Keeth has been dreaming about starting such a church for more than a decade – and he hasn’t been eating too much pizza.
“I was 18 when I got the desire and passion to plant churches, so ten years of thought has gone into it,” he says. “After a lot of praying and fasting, 2014 seemed like the best time to make it happen.
“When I originally got the vision I knew we would be based somewhere around the M25. I remember when I was 19 I bought a map of the M25 and stuck it on my bedroom wall. When we were praying about two possible locations, we all felt that Uxbridge was the ideal place.
“Not only is it the gateway out of and into London, but it’s also the gateway to the world, with Heathrow Airport on our doorstep.
“It was difficult to find a location because a lot of buildings have restrictions on prayer and worship. We’d tried several locations with no success. I was told to try churches, but decided against planting in an already-existing church – I decided I would only go to a church building if it was closing down. So I went into the town centre to speak to businesses to see if any would open up early on a Sunday morning for us.
“Pizza Express said yes, and it’s a perfect, non-threatening venue. Who knows, maybe once a month we’ll order pizza for everyone.”
With an impressive CV which includes spearheading Candyshop, a youth event on sex and relationships, which has now gone national and is in three venues, 28-year-old Keeth hopes to build on his experiences in his new role as a pastor.
“I spent six years volunteering as a youth pastor at Watford Elim and working as a programme leader at a pupil referral unit. These roles have taught me a lot. I’ve still got a long way to go, but either I keep dreaming or take the risk and do it.”
Seen as a significant retail and commercial centre, Uxbridge is the perfect place for Keeth to target new members as he aims to focus on families to build the church.
“There are a lot of churches working with the student population already,” he says.
“I’ve had some meetings and introduced myself and offered my experience, but we feel that family is where our ministry initially lies.
“We want to be open to what God wants to do here. After our initial research we realise Uxbridge is difficult ground, but a prayerful team filled with faith is a team that I am sure God can work with.
“Our mission statement is simple, to ‘live the resurrected life that is found in Jesus’. We see it worked out in our motto ‘Live, Love, Lead’.
Keeth’s story is featured inside June’s issue of Direction Magazine
“My biggest push is cultivating a culture that creates ‘marketplace’ leaders. Many people look to the church as the main focal point of ministry, but what would it be like when a whole congregation takes on that role in the marketplace?
“I truly believe that there would be an influx of people getting saved, not just in church but on someone’s lunch break at work and in the school playground. The resurrection life for me is a supernatural one and I am passionate about seeing people not only knowing Jesus, but beginning to live, love and lead like him.”
The new church has received the backing of Elim.
Dave Campbell, Superintendent for the Metropolitan Region, told Direction, “I think what Keeth is doing is great. My kids are always saying to me, ‘You need to get out more,’ and I think that is what Jesus is saying to the Church. And that’s exactly what Keeth is doing.
“People have been fishing in their own ponds for too long and it’s so exciting for me to see that we’re looking outside of the Church. It’s great to see a young man like Keeth leave the security of the Church and go where the fish are.”