November 10, 2025
LONDON — London, the sprawling modern city straddling the banks of the Thames, has a rich spiritual heritage. It was home to English reformers martyred in the 1550s near the infamous Newgate prison. John Bunyan, who wrote the classic The Pilgrim's Progress while imprisoned for his faith, was no stranger to the city.
George Fredrick Handel, composer of “The Messiah” is buried in Poet’s Corner of Westminster Abbey. On the opposite side of the Abbey lies William Wilberforce, the Christian statesman who led the fight to abolish slavery in the British Empire. Leaders of the Great Awakening, John and Charles Wesley and George Whitefield, called London home.
Charles Spurgeon, arguably the greatest Baptist preacher of the modern era, preached in the London Metropolitan Tabernacle for 38 years. Today, London’s historic churches are beautiful, inspirational, and at the same time, largely empty except for the throngs of curious tourists passing through their doors. Its heritage notwithstanding, today there is a great spiritual vacuum in London longing to be filled.
This summer, two Georgia college students spent six weeks in London as International Mission Board interns. Sent under the Georgia Baptist Collegiate Ministry's Send Me Now program, they were there to help address that spiritual vacuum. Sarah Stephens, a recent Georgia State graduate, and Karsyn Bush, a recent University of Georgia graduate, were two members of a larger team. They worked with IMB missionaries Scott and Dana Belmore, laying the groundwork for new ministries on six London university campuses.
Stephens provided an overview of the work, “We've been divided into teams and assigned to various university campuses across the city. I'm at the University of East London. We have team members from Tennessee, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, and Texas.”
When they are on the school campuses, Stephens said, the teams are "mapping and making connections with students." They are also fact-finding for the Belmores, who have not yet started working at those schools.
“The Belmores are part of a new team created to reach East London’s campuses," Stephens explained. "It's the Greater London University Engagement team, which they call GLUE for short. They have been serving in London for about three years.”
Bush said, “Two days a week, we go to two separate campuses where the Belmores are already working. Those are the days we primarily do evangelism. We pose a question of the day, which can be 'How much peace do you have on a scale of one to 10?’ or ‘What does love mean to you?’”
Because many of the colleges offer limited classes during the summer, there are fewer students on most campuses. Stephens and Bush explained that much of their time was spent prayer walking on the campus.
Bush gave a further explanation of mapping. “It's getting the lay of the land. These areas aren't engaged. They don't know who the main people group (ethnic) is that lives there? What are the beliefs in the surrounding area? Where do the students live? Where do they gather on campus, that kind of thing? These things are important to know for long-term ministry. We've been doing lots of information gathering, and then lots and lots of prayer walking.”
She said they are "trying to be a faithful presence in the area and having conversations whenever we can. Whether that be praying for people, or having a spiritual conversation, or gospel conversation, or just getting to know someone.”
Each day, she continued, has provided opportunities for conversations. "Whether it be one or two or seven, you know, every day looks different. But just learning how to use our time well and understanding that we're being a faithful presence in this area.”
In one case, Bush recalled, she had a sweet, ongoing conversation with a woman she met on campus. "She's just really interested and very curious about the gospel, and every time I talk to her, we talk for like three hours. We had our last conversation with her today, and I won't get to see her anymore." However, she added, the woman agreed to have her information shared with someone who would be able to continue the conversation.
“I was very grateful for that," Bush said. "Seeing how she's thought about God, how she's thought about the gospel, as our conversations have gone week after week, has been really cool because I can see truth changing her life. She hasn't accepted Christ, but you can tell she's longing for that.”
Bush shared that the woman told her, ' I can tell that a seed is planted.’ With watering and over time, it might grow into something more.”
The woman is originally from China, and Stephens and Bush agree that while many British natives are hesitant to engage in spiritual dialogue, immigrants from countries such as China, Nepal, India, and Central Asia were often more open to conversation. “English people or Europeans who are post-modern don't want to have a spiritual conversation. So, we've been able to talk to more people from different places around the world.”
Stephens, who is from Newnan, is a member of FBC Forrest Park and will be serving as a BCM campus missionary next year at Georgia State University. Bush considers Gatlin Creek Baptist Church in Thomasville her home church, and will begin serving as a BCM campus missionary in the fall at the University of Georgia.
The work they have been doing in London this summer on a Send Me Now mission has planted seeds of the gospel in London, and will help prepare them for campus ministry in Georgia this fall.
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