Introducing a local Connection - UNOH in Bidwell

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About Ash Barker -

Ash Barker is the founding director of Urban Neighbours Of Hope which begain in Springvale (Melb, Aust) in 1993 and now has chapters of workers loving God and neighbours in some of the neediest urban neighbourhoods in Melbourne, Sydney and Bangkok. Ash with Anji have two children and have lived and served Christ in the largest slum in Bangkok, Klong Toey, since April 1st, 2002. A sought after speaker and the author of seven books including 'Slum Life Rising' and 'Make Poverty Personal', Ash has a passion to live a life that is good and can matter for Christ among the urban poor.

From Ash's pen - 

Thank-you for your interest in what God is doing through us. As Urban Neighbours Of Hope (UNOH) we often feel overwhelmed by the immense needs we see each day in our neighbourhoods. With 167,000 new people living in urban poverty each day now, including 94,000 new urban slum residents, we know this breaks God’s heart and he is looking for more people to be his hands and feet in response. Would you join us in our quest to love God and neighbour in more faithful and relevant ways in this new urban world?

As Urban Neighbours Of Hope we covenant together to focus our lives on:

• Loving God and neighbour
• Releasing neighbourhoods from urban poverty
• Equipping for Christian discipleship and mission among the urban poor

UNOH began out of the privilege Anji and I had of relocating our home to the multicultural neighbourhood of Springvale (Melbourne, AUS) in 1992. We had no real idea then of how God would use us. We simply wanted to love God and our new neighbours in practical, life-giving ways. Many of those we sought to serve as neighbours at that time found real hope through Christ; however, it also transformed our lives too. We found real life and UNOH was born as God brought others along who had this calling too. Though UNOH workers and supporters come from diverse Christian traditions, UNOH was officially formed as part of the Churches of Christ in July 1993 and in 2001 commissioned as a ‘missional order among the poor’.

Homes in Klong Toey Slum, Bangkok

In 2012 there are now nine UNOH neighbourhood-based teams living and serving Christ amongst the urban poor in Melbourne, Sydney, Auckland, Mae Sot and Bangkok.  We pray that God will raise-up more UNOH workers and teams in cities and neighbourhoods across the Asia-Pacific to seek transformation through Christ too. As well as community workers and volunteers, UNOH also have a training arm and a publishing arm that aim to inspire, inform and equip Christians for more creative responses to Christ among the urban poor.

Joining UNOH as a community worker starts by getting to know UNOH teams, participating in our Misseo Deidiscernment retreats and Mission Exposure courses before Sub-merge, a live-in, year-long, accredited mission formation course with an existing UNOH team. You can also support UNOH workers, local projects and keep up to date through signing-up for UNOH’s free Finding Life newsletter or UNOH workers personal newsletter.

To ‘love God and thy ‘neighbour’ is not just a command expressed for our times – it’s an invitation to find real life. We would love you to become involved in what God is doing among the urban poor in any way you can and to join UNOH as a worker, volunteer or supporter. You will not regret any love you can give back to God and to those in need.

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