Beyond Sunday S2: Mission Sunday 2026 {with Zach Langford}
Zach Langford, Mission Partner from the UK, joins us for C3 Mission Sunday. Hear how God is moving and working through their faithful service at Egan Road Church in Birkenhead, UK.
https://cccog.com/missions
https://chogglobal.org/team/zalangford/
https://www.facebook.com/Langfords3w/
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Hey guys, welcome to another episode of the Beyond Sunday podcast. This one's a special edition as it uh was mission Sunday at C3 and so we got Zach Langford on with us. How you doing, Zach? >> Great. Awesome. Um also to my right um your left is uh Pastor Shay. Um, and before we dive into the conversation from this last Sunday and mission Sunday, take a look at this video. >> Greetings, friends of Calia Community Church of God. >> We are the Kim. I'm Sophie. This is Christy. And this is Daniel.
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>> And we are Church of God missionaries serving with global strategy on the three worlds team here in Europe and the Middle East. You're probably wondering where we are and we are in >> Budapest, Hungary, >> Centroa Christian School. They've been serving not only Lewis County, but God's kingdom since 1979. Thank you. >> Hello, Central Community Church of God. >> This is Eddie. >> This is Bona. >> This is N. This is Zion. We serve with >> IU Movement in Tana, Australia.
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>> Greetings to the Centilia Community Church. >> We're the regional coordinators for the Church of God in the Asia-Pacific region and today we're in Bangladesh. >> Hello, my name is Melissa Couch and I'm the director at Possibilities Women's Center in Centriia. >> Hello, Centriia Community Church. We're Zach and Audrey Lenford, missionaries with global strategy from Birkenhead, England. >> Hey, CCOG. This is Pastor Cole Meckley from Gather Church in Centriia. Just
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want to say thank you so much for your support over the years. It's very appreciated and makes a lot of difference in people's lives. God bless you. >> Hello Criilia Community Church. >> We are Bobby and Jenny Misel with Global Strategy in Kotir. >> Hello Cria from Welcome Home Outreach Ministry in Sunny Vicente Guerrero, Baja California, Mexico. Well, and windy today. Thank you so much for your love, support, and dedication. Love you guys. >> Hello, Centroia Community Church of God.
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My name is Jacobe Gronth, area director of Lewis County Young Life. Just wanted to say thank you for your continued partnership and support of the ministries in our area as we uh try to fulfill our mission of introducing adolesccents to Jesus Christ and helping them grow in their faith. Thank you so much. >> Hey, Centrellia Community Church. This is Brian and Melissa Richie from the Pacific Northwest. We are missionaries through the Church of God, Anderson, Indiana to Costa Rica. >> And we just want to say thank you so
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much for your guys' investment in what God's doing in Costa Rica. >> Hello, my name is Leonard Hoffman. I'm here. I work at the Lewis County Gospel Mission. I just want to tell you all thank you very much for all the donations and all those that serve and God be with you and may it keep you and and bless you this day. >> Hi, Croia Community Church. My name is Brianna and along with my family, we serve with you for the mission in Toranga, New Zealand. >> Hey, CCCG. This is Henry Gallinger with
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Impact Campus Ministries right here at Centraa College in the heart of our beautiful city and I am so thankful for the support that you provide for us. It allows for us to to be with kids to show them what it looks like to pursue, model, and teach Jesus in an environment where they're at. And so we want to just take the time to say thank you for your support, your generosity, and the encouragement that you give for us. So, thank you very much. All right, guys. Welcome back. So, um, Zach, tell us a little bit about, uh,
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your mission. Tell us about Egan Road Church and kind of, uh, what life looks like for you guys on the daily. >> Uh, yeah. So, uh, Egan Road Church is is what we like to call like an estate church. So it sits in kind of like a housing project where you know predominantly that the houses are kind of maintained by the local council. Um and so most people have some kind of subsidy for housing and and things like that. Um we kind of sit in the heart of it. Uh the church has been there for gosh I want to say 90 years.
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>> Wow. >> Um and uh yeah I've just been serving they've been serving that that community faithfully. uh you know in the last uh probably you know 10 years ago uh they they took a shift um to be more intentional about connecting with their neighbors uh being more intentionable intentional about you know actually knowing who who cuz if you see a picture of where the church is we've got houses within 5t on either side of us so our neighbors are just right there uh next to us um and so so who are they how do
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they fit into what we're doing because what happened is this this church became kind of uh inward focused. Um you know unfortunately it's a story for a lot of a lot of small churches in these types of situations. The kind of the work gets difficult and so you know they kind of go inward. Uh but they took a faithful step to to have myself and my wife really come in in a leadership position. Um you know uh jokes on them. Um, no, but it's it's it's been a really interesting uh last last decade. I mean,
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we've been there actually since 2010, but the last decade has been in this different position of of leadership. Um, and we've basically just been spending the last, like I said, decade just really investing in what it means to be a community space, >> what it means to be a church within a community that is isolated, that doesn't see the gospel as a good thing. uh doesn't see the church as as as a good thing or or relevant to their life. Um and yeah, that's what we've been doing.
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And one of the ways we're we're doing that is just eating with people. >> Uh something that my wife and I have always loved doing uh is having people in our home around the table. That's where you can really get into the life of somebody. You know, preaching has its place, but for us, the pattern has has shown that that's not always the best mode of trans of of relaying the gospel, >> but it's with eating with people uh and sharing stories of life, uh where they're at, where we're at, and how we
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can go on this journey together. Um, so the last two years we have basically just been focusing on on that. So, we've replaced our what you you know say a typical Sunday, we replace it with a community meal um and invite all of our neighbors in, all of those who may be loosely connected to the church or have had a kid uh go through one of our our kids groups. Um we just invite them in and we just share a meal together. Um and it's incredible the dialogue that comes out of that. um you know um but
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yeah so from the weekly a weekly schedule for us is is just spending time like what's the next what's the next kind of um drama that we can get ourselves into? What's the next way we can uh like help somebody along the way? Um, and yeah, it's it's it's been I I was talking to somebody at C3 yesterday about this that Burken Head is an interesting place in that you uh well, for us anyway, as Americans, as you know, immigrant workers there, it was, you know, you're like it takes a while to like kind of
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break through this social barrier like um every we're like a stranger to everybody and people were very hesitant to talk to us and all of at but it took like one or two people to get to know us and know that we're, you know, pretty harmless. Um, and we just want to get to know the neighborhood. We want to get to know people and then it was like wildfire. It just like word of mouth spread over everywhere. >> Yeah. >> And like once people know that you're not there to like sell them something or
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try to like, you know, manipulate them or something like the the warmth really comes out. Mhm. >> Um, and so it's like been 10 years in the making of getting to the place where we can walk down the street and like >> speak to everybody and and neighbors know us and we know neighbors and it's just a really really beautiful thing. >> Yeah. even as you were sharing uh about the meal and showing the picture of what a Sunday would typically look like around the table, sharing a meal. Um it
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echoed for me and for C3 that a couple weeks prior we gather around the table and we have a quarterly on midweek a uh gathering of our church family and around the table share a meal. Um and that uh the invitation, this last one that we gathered for our C3 winter gathering was um uh reclaiming the table that one of the studies came out of like in 19 uh or 60 years ago 1960 or it was 60 years ago uh 60 years ago the the dinner time averaged at around 90 minutes and currently wherever they're pulling this
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study from currently it's 12 minutes around the for a meal >> if people are even >> if their probably gone down because it's likely that people aren't sitting around a table eating a meal, it's on the go or it's in front of a screen. And so the um the the contrast there of like what have we lost if if we aren't sitting around a table? What are we missing? And that was the invitation and the and the call out for uh our C3 family was reclaiming the table um and gathering around and um
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letting the gospel uh be visible around the table and uh and as we are um uh good people of the good news, good news people, right? Redeemed and reconciled by Christ. That that's we actually get to bring that to the table, whoever happens to be at our table. and and uh so even as you're sharing it's like okay God you you are you are speaking even louder now this isn't just from me but again when when Zach you come in um and bring as an outside voice but the but calling out uh similar ways of like just
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what what can exist around the table it encourages me and like okay I think what I've been hearing from God is in line with what he's been calling us into and so we'll keep going. So, thank you for bringing that word and um I'm hopeful that my C3 family also um for those who were there on that C3 gathering, winter gathering that also heard those echoes of okay, we can reclaim the table. we can be about um yeah not just about the food but about um the the formation that takes place the friends that get to um
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get to be made around the table um neighbors that get to be known all the good all those things that even we see in Jesus's ministry around the table what existed >> yeah that's good >> yeah um so one of the things that uh you guys offered a zoom a couple months ago. Was it December, Janu? Well, December that >> Yeah, I believe it was December. Yeah. >> Yeah. Just sharing an update. And one of the things that that you brought up in that update that was um stark for me was
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just the the the the neighborhood or the estate of Birken Head versus just across the river and how um there there is a um a spiritual hold or uh an oppressive kind of nature within the state that doesn't maybe exist outside but within that. One of the things that I was drawn to is like here we are mi miss missionary pastors in the neighborhood in the estate um bringing the kingdom here as uh to to this to this estate as it already is in heaven. And that was um it impacted me as you were sharing of just like where
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others you were talking about others would would leave to go somewhere else, a church outside of the estate or like uh the opportunities existing outside. Um but here you are in in Birkin Head um proclaiming the good news um and and knowing your neighbors as they know you like you did mention about how as you already did uh right now that just how long it's taken to not be a stranger or foreigner or um like oh people know us and we're not there to just uh sell them something uh sell them a bill of goods.
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>> Yeah. Yeah. It's uh well give you an example of this uh of of what happens when you kind of break in like especially in Brook and first of all I just want to say I'm not disparaging any anybody here like this is this is a place that's so like it's my heart and and everybody that we know is just they're just the most amazing people. >> Um but we have like I said the the neighbor the the road of Egan Road that the church sits on. So at the bottom and there's probably
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40 50 houses or something. Um, all like semi- detached. Um, so they're all like really really close together and you know it's probably like 15 ft from the front of our building to the house across the road. So it's very narrow. Um, and we have people who like if anything ever happens to like the building or something like we know we could go to a neighbor and they will find out immediately who it was and what's happened. like we've had our our our car like damaged um tires slashed and and wind mirrors broken off
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and things uh from some teenagers and then like the next day we knew who it was and had like you know people say well we know who it is and if you want us to do anything it's like no no it's all right >> you know >> neighborhood watch >> yeah it's just like a beautiful thing like um people like even they're not Christians necessarily but they know that we're there to to help uplift the community >> and so they're behind it. >> Yeah. >> Um and it's it's it's a beautiful thing.
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But >> well, and the the like the percentage of those who um are are are Christians following Jesus, I mean that's it's low. What's the percentage? >> Uh I >> in the country >> I think in the country it's like less than 8%. >> Yeah. Yeah. Um, I mean it's still it's still, you know, like 40% I identify as Christian, but when you get deeper into the minutiae of it, it's like 8% are actually practicing. >> We're practicing. Yeah. >> You know, it's it's it's funny.
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Something that we that we've always joked about, Audrey and I, is like you go to church for three reasons. Uh, a wedding, uh, a christening, or a funeral. >> And that's that's those are the three things. So regardless if you believe in any higher power or or God, like you're going to have your kid christened, >> you know, you're going to go through these rituals because it's still, you know, ingrained into like the psyche of of of people there. This is what we do.
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This is the religious acts. >> Yeah. >> Yeah. >> Uh that we practice or that we follow. But yeah, three times three times in your life or not in your lifetime, but here it's three times a year. It's Christmas. It's Easter. Uh >> maybe a wedding. >> Or a funeral. >> Funeral. >> Yeah. >> Yeah. >> Yeah. Um Zach, I'm curious. So we our context, the church I pastor is a smaller congregation and uh even in the last 6 months or so, this idea of like
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being around the table um because our size allows that to be a possibility. And so in some of the things Devon's talking about, we we also have uh midweek gatherings um periodically where we're seated around the table. And then there's we've we've already had a rhythm that uh one or two Sundays a year we're gathering around the table. Um but we've just recently talked about doing that more regularly. And so in fact in in a couple weeks we'll do that again. And um
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for a lot of the same things I think I hear you calling out just recognizing um it looks different when we sit around a table than it does when we're in rows. Um, but I'm curious since this is something that's like a weekly thing for you guys, what's that look like? Um, specifically people are coming in and you're you're just everyone's sitting around the table. Do you do anything corporately together in that space? >> Um, yeah. So, it's it's it's definitely
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changed um over the last over the last year. Um, one thing that we like yourself, like we're a small group and so it it really allows us to do whatever we want. Um, and >> we don't necessarily have to to fall into some some kind of plan necessarily, but ideally is each week, how are the people who come, how are they like taking ownership of what we're doing? Um because for a long time it was just Audrey and I like scrambling to make food and get the table set up and all this kind of stuff and and now I come in
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and I don't really have to do a whole lot of anything because people are already there. >> All right, Zach, what do you need me to do? Um and so this like ownership has really grown in in the entire group and we have eb and flow but but but typically there's about 30 35 of us um that that do this and so Yeah. So, they're getting involved in that way. >> Um, they're helping prep food. I've got a group of them who are getting tables out and setting up chairs. >> Someone's, you know, so everybody's got
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this like piece >> that we didn't really have a year ago. And so, as as we as we just kind of like grow in this, people are taking ownership. >> Yeah. they're uh they're thrilled to to to be there and participate in some way, which is great because um I I have a reputation with our group that uh I'm very particular and when things don't go my way, I I uh >> Yeah. Anyway, and and >> anyway, things happen, it's fine. It's fine. >> It's like um like you're not cutting
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that vegetable the way that I think it should be. So I just kind of stay out of that now because people have taken over it. Uh which is which is really great. But so so we have that aspect right ownership and and people just getting involved in setting up and everything. But one thing that we've been going through the last 6 months is um something called bells. Um which uh is an acronym for bless eat uh learn or listen learn and then send. Um, and ideally we we kind of walk through each of these steps like what does it mean to
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be a blessing to someone u in your immediate sphere of influence in your family, in your school, in your job, wherever it is. How are you a blessing? Um, and how are you showing up basically? And then eating uh again, how are you showing up practically with somebody? How are you are you meeting with somebody weekly? And and we've just been kind of like driving this dialogue. I know they're exhausted of it, >> but I'm not. So, we're going to keep going. Um, but this idea >> being the pastor.
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>> Yeah. Um, but like Yeah. How how are you guys? It's, you know, it's it's and and what's what's come out of it are just stories of people who like I don't even have to say I was like, "All right, it's like you know what time it is." And it's like, "All right, well, this there was this person on the bus and I helped them get off the bus cuz they were elderly." And and so what we're doing is I'm not necessarily going up there and saying,
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"Okay, well, this is what, you know, the scripture says for us to do, but we're we're like actively participating in what scripture says to do, what what Jesus is saying to do." And that's why that's why we've just really been stressing on this idea of of how are we a blessing in our community? How are we eating? Like how are we connecting with people on a regular basis? you know, it's great that we're all coming in together and having this meal and this time and this fellowship,
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but then how are we going out and doing that in our daily lives and our ordinary lives? >> Um, so that's what it looks like. You know, I I I would say maybe 10 minutes I'll share something kind of practical about what blessing or eating or or listening is. Um, and then we just we just talk about it like what does that mean? What's a blessing mean? Like >> yeah, >> what do you mean by this? Um, and so when I actually get back from this trip, we're going to go into that next step,
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which is uh it's listen. Now, we're getting into like the nitty-gritty of like, okay, how are we posturing ourselves to listen to what the Holy Spirit is speaking to us? >> Like through these through this practical action of living out a blessing, being a blessing to somebody, eating with somebody. Now, is the Holy Spirit speaking to me through these practices? So, we're going to get into that um when I get back from this trip. Yeah. >> Oh, there's so many echoes, Zach.
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There's so many echoes even as I'm prepping for uh next Sunday and we're um we're in the biatitudes. We're in Matthew 5 and um you know, the the upside down nature of God's kingdom that he's calling out in there uh and and you know, sort of what sits there for us. And um that in that blessing there's this this righteousness. >> Yeah. That looks like using the blessing to bless blessed to be a blessing. That idea. >> Yeah. >> But even the like we were talking about
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this last night. Um the idea of like cuz what what it also sounds like you guys have done and are are continuing to do over a decade. Um is to desire for the place you've been called or planted to prosper. And that sounds like Jeremiah 29 of like, will you just like work, you know, plant gardens, live and and build houses, and uh for the prosperity of the place I've planted you, whether it's great or whether it's really hard. >> Um >> whether it's your home, whether it's
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your homeland or you're in exile. >> Yeah. And the call out isn't like bless or isn't it isn't make it prosper like you prosper there. It's like you want to see the place around you, the people around you who are not your people in that instance, in that story, like you want to see them prosper and do well. Um there's something in that. >> Yeah. Yeah. That even calls me back to Proverbs uh the um when the righteous do well, the city rejoices, right? All those around. So then to be a people of
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righteousness and uh that's where we're headed next Sunday. So, even as you're talking about like, hey, we're yeah, where what does it look like for us to bless those around us or are we noticing where those moments are? Um, and even this next one you talk about coming back of listening and listening for the Holy Spirit and is he is he moving and prompting and um and that's one of the pieces we were we were talking about last night of the um our vocational power in ways that God has has uh
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blessed us, spoken into us, given us skills, talents, abilities, um knowledge and understanding, platform, position, whatever it happens to be. Do we recognize that actually he's put us there? um so that we can be this the sadakim the the people of righteousness to to bless those in the city um would prosper and and again yeah when the back to the proverbs when the righteous prosper the city rejoices that others are are benefit from that and and and are impacted so >> that sounds like kingdom
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>> yeah I guess that's I guess Zach that's what I would call out from that back in December as you were sharing and that's what I was hearing ing is this is this is what's taking place and uh and so yeah it it it blessed me to to hear and to be a part of that and um and so I would also say to those who are going to listen and and watch this later um that there are ways to partner there's ways to partner with you and Audrey there's ways to partner with Egan Road Church u
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with Global Strategies through the church of God and so we'll put those links in in this uh podcast episode um so that people have a you know just a clickable way to get to where it is to hear the story some of the story and to get in touch with you guys. >> Amazing. Thank you. Yeah, >> it's great. >> Yeah. >> So, usually Zach, I don't know if you prepped him for this. I did not. >> Oh, okay. I'll do it. Um usually, it's fine. I'm used to picking up your slack.
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Um, usually when we wrap up an episode, we share uh what we call chyros, which essentially is just like what are we hearing from God and how how are we responding? Um, and so this can be something God's given you like still from preparing for Sunday or um since Sunday, which was I guess just yesterday, but what's God speaking um to you or over your heart um that that he might be inviting you to respond in some way? So, um I'll go first because something you just said, Zach. Um you talked about being uh the the context of
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being small means that you don't have to do anything that's like this is what we all do kind of idea. I don't know how you worded that, but the idea that like you actually have a lot of freedom to do something. Um and that struck a chord even as you just said that because I think that a lot of times in a smaller context there's this like ah we're so small like how do we you know whatever. Um, and there's something maybe upside down about the way you just said that that's like actually what what can we
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do? What can what can this look like? Um, what might God want to do with this that we actually couldn't do in a different space, but because of of how this exists? And so, I think, like I said, um, the the table thing is something we've already been kind of playing around with. Um, but there's something in that perspective shift I think for me that God's catching my attention with even that language of like uh what exists for our context now um that makes us unique that he might
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want to use in that way. So >> yeah. Yeah, I'd say for me the the chyros has been an echo that um yeah from C3 winter gathering uh but also prior in a different ways uh to this last Sunday with you bringing the word uh just be being around a table and gathering with our neighbors um and and and church family but then even to the point to the place of uh we had a a gathering of our exhorters those who come and and bring an exhortation to our church family that in the room as we're um uh practicing and and praying for one
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another and over each other that the word of an echo of um just the gathering at the table was offered over me and I was like okay Lord I know I know that that then there was a um I I follow um or get Caesar Kinowskis who's does the everyday disciple podcast and his newsletter or or whatever they call it the email um was on like just gathering with your extended family on mission, your ooas uh and uh and and sharing a meal together and it was just like, "Okay, God, this is just like so much
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like the same thing." Okay. Uh so Lori and I um are already in prayer and discussion about what it looks like to relaunch for us that we we did have and uh we're we're in a we're in a we were in a rhythm, but since stepping into this role, it's been hit and hit or miss and and we haven't gotten back into it. So to make it more of a consistent rhythm and gathering with our extended family on mission, uh it's pretty clear it's like I uh that's the chyros here that that has been there and uh just
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gets repeated. So when I don't pay attention or don't do anything >> like I got something I got the same thing for you. It's the same thing I gave you last week or the day before, but here it is. So, um that's that's the uh walking it out uh is I think just the next step for Lori and I of um gathering around the table in a meal and having a consistent kind of way that um breeds the kind of relational intimacy of, you know, understanding and with one another, but also the mission God's
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called us on. So, thank you. >> Well, thank me. >> Yeah. He's like, "I'm not taking credit for having this." >> Listen, I had no idea what I was going to say yesterday, two days before. So, just >> Yeah. God was like, "Uh, Josh, I'm or Zach, I'm gonna need you to tell to tell Devon this. He's not getting >> Yeah. >> Yeah. >> Say break bread about 20 times in the sermon. I would be like, I got it now." >> Uh, you know what? It's what's
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interesting is as I was standing by the little table with with our newsletter and things after the service yesterday, a gentleman came up to me and he had he had he had like quietly stood next to me when um we were they were having that anointing kind of period during worship uh or that prayer time and and he just placed his hand on my on my shoulder and and and I was like caught off guard for a second But uh but he prayed for me and then later he came and talked to me at the table and uh he was asking me all different
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questions. But something that had really hit me and and something I've been kind of like over the last you know 24 hours have just been like reeling with it is you know when you think of like England or or Western Europe there's this like oh postchristum postChristian it's all post post this and he just said this simple thing. He's like, you know, it's almost as if it's like pre-Christian now. >> And and I was like, "Oh, interesting." Um because, you know, when you when you
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earn a community like ours where like there's churches there, right? we're there. But so often we interact with people who have either never stepped foot in the church or you know like for us for a long time people didn't even think we were just an abandoned building you know even though it's been active for 90 years you know we were just an abandoned building there like there was it's just not in the peripheral of of a lot of people and so this idea of of it's not it's not post we're almost like
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back to like before that where people are now like rediscovering or discovering for the first time, >> right? >> This beautiful story of Jesus. Um, and and it just calls into this like there's there's this like quiet movement happening in the UK. Um, you know, I think I think Caesar actually spoke on this too, but like uh like there's this quiet movement of like especially like in young men who are like having this like spiritual kind of prompting >> and they're seeking out what that is in
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like the church setting. >> Yeah. >> And and we're seeing that. And so that's, you know, that's uh I was blessed by this gentleman, Tom, I think his name is. He was a missionary in the Philippines. >> Yeah. >> Um Yeah. And he had a he he had a lot to say with very little words, you know. Um so that was Yeah. So I'm taking that back with me, this idea of >> Yeah. Okay. >> So good. >> That's good. Um yeah. Well, Zach, thank you for sharing with us on this episode.
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And um to everyone who's uh listening and watching, we hope and pray that your conversations, discussions are going beyond Sunday that um if it can be a launching place uh into something deeper into uh hearing and understanding better what God has been inviting us into, what he's calling us, how he's calling us, and how we're to live this out in community. Um we hope that hope and pray that for you and um Zach, we we pray over you and your uh journey here in the States until you return home. Um, but
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you have been a blessing. So, thank you. >> Oh, it's it's been an honor. It's Yeah. Thank you so much for the time and opportunity to even speak speak in this setting. I really appreciate it. >> Yeah. Yeah. >> Yeah. >> All right. Take care, guys. All right.
