“It’s helped with our discernment” - Westvale Community Church

Interview with Miranda Odysseos-Beaumont, minister of Westvale Community Church


Westvale Community Church is a new church seeking to serve the Westvale Park housing development near Horley. The development began in 2005 and will eventually become home to 1,500 households. Miranda Odysseos-Beaumont is the NAM (Newly Accredited Minister) following her time as a MIT (Minister-in-Training) at the Home Mission-supported church, and has been building relationships in the development for several years.

The founding charity, Westvale Christian Community Trust, overseeing the church, is a Registered charity which has subsequently won the bid to operate the Neighbourhood Hall community centre on the development. The building is a civic building, meaning it will be owned by the local council, but run in partnership with local stakeholders and charities for the benefit of the community.

Miranda’s background is in community work, and the proposal for the building – informed by her many years of missional listening – focused on education, health, and well- being.

“We’re facilitating building community, and we happen to be Christians doing that,” Miranda explains.

Although much of the initial journey happened before joining Partners in Mission, the church is now using the PIM tools and support from the Regional Ministers to guide its vision planning and mission strategy. This partnership is helping the church look at how the Trust will operate the centre effectively.

“Partners in Mission is helping us think about the needs of the community, and giving us different ways of thinking and some tools,” Miranda says. “It’s helped with our discernment and got us thinking about our mission statement.

“I’ve now done some teaching on where our spiritual gifts and our talents can support us. I’m working hard at taking the church on the journey of continuing to listen and discern what God wants for us and for the community.” Miranda adds the partnership with SEBA through Partners in Mission is “so crucial”.

“Being a pioneer minister in a small church can be isolating. In this way I also really value the SEBA Pioneers Network, and the Small Church Connexion. It’s about being part of something bigger – and it all helps us with direction, support and oversight.”
 

Miranda Odysseos-Beaumont is minister of Westvale Community Church 

Miranda and SEBA created a short Home Mission film in November 2024. Watch it here: bit.ly/westvalehm