“A step of faith” — The Beeston Gospel Story

A bold idea — creating a Gospel for a whole town — is helping a church spark conversations, involve their community, and share Jesus in a fresh, creative way.

We spoke to Rev. Ryan Ireland from Beeston Oasis Pentecostal Church about how a sense of God’s prompting led them to take a step of faith and produce a bespoke edition of Mark’s Gospel for Beeston. By inviting local people to contribute photography and placing thousands of copies into people’s hands, what began as a nudge has grown into something real — conversations opening up, confidence building, and people engaging with Jesus in their everyday lives.

You mentioned sensing a nudge from God to create a Beeston Gospel — how did that come about?

I was at an Evangelical Alliance and Hope Together event in Nottingham in early 2025. Rachel shared about these beautifully designed editions of Mark’s Gospel — really high-quality, with images that connect with the text — and made the point that if we want to reach people today, it needs to look great.

She also mentioned, almost in passing, that if we wanted a Nottingham version, we could do it — we’d just need to place an order for 10,000 copies.

In that moment, I really sensed the Holy Spirit prompting me. It felt like God was inviting us to do something bold and faith-filled in Beeston.

Beeston isn’t a huge place and your church isn’t large — what gave you the faith to go for something so big?

Honestly, without that sense that God was in it, we wouldn’t have done it.

But I was so encouraged by how our church got behind the idea. Being just a minute from the high street also helped — we already have strong community connections and lots of footfall, so we knew there would be opportunities to get the Gospels into people’s hands.

It comes down to perspective. In the Bible, some saw giants, while others saw promise. Faith is choosing to focus on what God can do, rather than what might go wrong.

One of the unique aspects of this project was involving the local community — what did that look like?

We tapped into a local Beeston Facebook group with over 40,000 people and invited photo submissions through a Beeston Bible Project page on our website.

We received loads of great images, credited contributors, and later sent them copies of the finished Gospel as a thank you. It was a simple but meaningful way to involve the community from the start.

Once the Gospels arrived, what did it look like to start getting them out?

We timed it for the festive season, when there’s already lots happening locally. Beeston has its own Christmas lights switch-on, which brings thousands into the town centre.

On that first day alone, we gave out nearly 750 Gospels, alongside hot chocolates and other resources.

Since then, we’ve installed leaflet holders outside the church for anyone passing by, and a team now goes out regularly on Saturday mornings to offer Gospels and prayer on the high street.

Have there been any moments that have particularly encouraged you?

Yes — one in particular really stands out.

A woman in our church gave a Gospel to a friend, and that simple moment opened up a conversation. We’ve since connected with her — she’s come along to Alpha and has been really engaging with it, asking honest questions about faith.

The last time I saw her, she said to me, “How do I know when I’m a Christian?” — and in that moment, you could just see that God is at work in her life.

We’ve got baptisms coming up soon, and I’m praying she’ll take that step — fully giving her life to God and choosing to be baptised.

It sounds like this has impacted your church as well — what have you seen?

One of the most encouraging things has been seeing people step out in ways that even surprised themselves.

Some who might have felt hesitant are now confidently sharing their faith. One retired GP has given away box after box of Gospels — to builders, gardeners, anyone who comes to his house!

It’s also been great to see other churches in Beeston take copies and get involved. It’s really felt like something the wider church has gathered around.

For those who feel inspired by this, what would you say to someone wondering if they could do something similar?

I think we need to put ourselves in positions where we can be stretched by God.

Jesus said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” Stepping into something that feels beyond us keeps us reliant on him.

It’s easy to stay in what’s comfortable — but God often works beyond that.

For us, giving out 10,000 Gospels was a step of faith we needed to take.

So my encouragement would be: take the step — and trust God with what happens next.

What could this look like in your town?

To explore creating a bespoke Gospel for your area, email admin@hopetogether.org.uk — we’d love to work with you.