How Langham Volunteers Are Equipping the Majority-World Church: Whatever Your Gifts or Time
Langham Live August 2026: Interview between Mark Armstrong (LPUKI Deputy Development Manager) and Laura Lewry (LPUKI Supporter Development Officer for Volunteers) with input from two Langham Volunteers.
If you would like to become a volunteer for Langham, please learn more and contact Laura here.
Event Transcript
Mark: Well, this month it’s really great to have Laura Lewry. Laura is a supporter development officer, and her responsibility is for volunteers. So, Laura, it’s really good to have you, and thank you so much for coming and being on tonight and for being part of this.
To start off, Laura, tell us where you’re calling from tonight.
Laura: Hi. Thank you. Thank you so much for having me on. I’m in Cardiff. My family and I have been here for three, almost three years now. We moved from Brazil. We were in Brazil for 13 years, and that’s where my three girls were born. I have a 12-year-old, a 10-year-old, and a 7-year-old.
They move ages, don’t they? So, yeah, three girls, and we’ve been in Cardiff now for almost three years.
Mark: Wonderful. And your husband’s name is?
Laura: That’s Tony.
Mark: Tony, yeah. So, first of all, Laura, how did you come to faith? How did you meet Christ—or, more importantly, Christ met you?
Laura: Yeah, so I was really blessed. I was born into a Christian family, and my church was an incredible church. It had a really great, strong youth group, and I went through the youth group and went on missions as part of the youth.
So, I was really introduced to Jesus from a very young age and walked that journey in a really great church. I was very blessed to have that.
Mark: Obviously, you’re part of the staff of Langham Partnership UK and Ireland. Where did you first hear about Langham, and what is your role and involvement really in Langham?
Laura: It’s very interesting. As I mentioned, we were in Brazil for 13 years. We also had some time in Colombia, in Bogotá, as well, and it was actually there that we first heard about Langham.
It’s incredible because the reach of Langham is just so extensive. My husband was studying, and he was doing his master’s in the study of missions—missiology. There were lots of Chris Wright books, but we also needed books in the context in which we were living, all about vulnerable children in South America and how that was working there.
That’s how we got to know Langham Literature. Then my husband found out that one of his tutors was also a Langham scholar. That was Rosalie, and she was wonderful. She also introduced both of us to Langham.
It was really great to know Langham while we were outside of the UK. When we came back to the UK, I think we’d been here about six months when an opportunity came up to work as their volunteer coordinator.
One of my roles in Brazil was to coordinate all the volunteers who came over to partner with us. So, it was a really great opportunity, and I now work with the volunteers. I take them through training, try to equip them, and put them into the roles that they need to do.
Mark: I need to ask the question because I know people will be thinking it. What were you involved in when you were in Brazil, and what was your primary ministry there?
Laura: We started off working with street children. We had a ministry that put street boys into a home, and we worked in that home. It was incredibly difficult. These boys were really challenging. I couldn’t do it now, but I had a lot more energy then.
Then we moved into residential care for children. From that, we moved into a Church Mission Society project. We were asked to transition the children’s home from being residential into foster care.
We started up the first foster-care service in the northeast of Brazil, and that is now a flagship service for the rest of Brazil. We’re still a little bit hands-on with it, and it’s still something that my husband is quite involved in. It was an incredible season.
Mark: Tell us about Langham volunteers, what your role is, and what a Langham volunteer is.
Laura: I’ll just show you some slides, if that’s okay.
We have two types of volunteers. We have a church champion, and the church champion is someone who works mainly within their own church, sharing things such as Transform, prayer points, and other materials within their own church.
Laura: The church champions are focused on their own church. All we ask is that they read our vision and values. There’s not a huge pressure to do anything; they are simply a link point for us.
We have a good relationship with a lot of churches, but we really want to make sure Transform is in the churches and that we have prayer points available for people who are interested in praying.
Then we have Langham ambassadors. As well as sharing within their own churches, they may go out into the wider community. This could include places like Keswick, where they stand on a stand, make connections with other charities, or run events for us.
The ambassadors are people who go further than their own church. There is a little bit more involved in being an ambassador, because if you’re representing Langham, we ask you to read our policies and values and possibly complete a DBS check if you’re representing us in other spaces.
In terms of numbers, this year we have three Langham church champions. We have more than three churches connected with Langham, so I would really love to see this number grow.
It could simply be that people want to bring prayer points or say, “I’ll distribute Transform on the literature table,” or “I’ll highlight something that’s going on.” At the moment, we have three church champions and 12 Langham ambassadors.
Up to the last financial year, we had 208 volunteer hours. That has started again, and we’ve already got 40 hours logged this year, so we’re doing really well with the number of hours our volunteers are giving us.
The activities include standing at events such as Keswick. This is the wonderful Janet and Jim. I think they may be on tomorrow morning’s call, but they were standing at the Keswick stands for me and did an amazing job.
They chatted with people about what Langham is and how people could get involved. They also talked about the book club we’re having. Ambassadors have been all over the country, including Keswick, Cumbria, Oban, Bangor Worldwide, and Bible by the Beach.
We’ve also had people sharing in prayer groups, at breakfast events, and at local mission events.
One of the things Langham volunteers receive is a selection of books as perks. There are lunches, training, and lots of lovely things. You’re part of a community.
Most importantly, you are helping to equip the majority-world church. There are some lovely things that happen as a team, but you are really part of a team equipping the majority-world church with the hours you give us and helping us as a team.
I’m just going to chat to Ken. Ken, are you on here? Can you give us a wave?
Mark: There he is. We can see him.
Laura: I’m just going to see if I can find you, Ken, so I can look at you. You’re at the bottom of my screen, but that’s no use. I’ll just talk blind!
This is Ken. Hopefully, you can all find Ken on your screens. Ken is one of our Langham ambassadors. How are you doing, Kenny?
Ken: Okay, yeah, very well, thanks.
Laura: Good. Can you tell us a bit about how you helped Langham this summer?
Ken: This summer, we were going as an extended family up to Keswick. I’d heard that there was a need to help man the stand there. I’ve been a Christian since I was 17, and I thought, “Well, maybe this is an opportunity now to give back in a little way.”
Basically, I was able to step in and help man the stand at Keswick in week two.
Laura: Amazing. Thank you. What did you most enjoy about this? Maybe you didn’t enjoy anything!
Ken: It was good fun. I’m somebody who likes people and quite likes meeting people, so there were lots of people to meet on the stand.
There were people who were showing an interest, so I was able to speak to them. I was doing this with Joe and Rachel at various points. There were times when there were just a couple of staff members, and times when I was there on my own because people were busy doing other things.
There was an opportunity to speak to somebody brand new who had not heard of Langham and didn’t know what Langham does. I was able to tell them a little bit about its history, what Langham does, and introduce them to it.
There were other people who came along who recognised Langham and said, “Wow, this is great.” They knew people who work for Langham, so I was able to talk to them as well.
I found it very enjoyable.
Laura: Good. I’m really glad you did. Thank you. If there was someone else thinking about doing something like this—someone thinking about joining the volunteer team—what would you say to them?
Ken: I’d say it’s a great opportunity. We’ve had a long exposure to encouraging others to be educated in Christian things. We’ve sponsored students in various places, including Bible colleges.
On the stand, we met missionaries, including people going back to Nepal, so there were opportunities for encouragement. With what Langham does—educating people around the world to have a good, biblically based Christian ministry—being able to stand in the gap, even in a small way and for a short time, helps to further what Christ wants to do.
It’s very rewarding.
Laura: That’s amazing. Thank you so much, Ken.
Now I’m going to introduce you to Helen. Helen, are you with us?
Helen: Hi.
Laura: Hi, Helen. Can you unmute yourself for me?
Helen: I’m fine, thank you.
Laura: Good. I hear you’re a regular on this, so you’re used to all these faces.
Helen: I’ve tried to be!
Laura: Did you want to tell us about what you did at your church to share Langham?
Helen: I spoke at a little ladies’ breakfast at my local Christian community centre. Not all of them were Christians.
I didn’t use the videos because they would have had to get up and move, as they were all sitting around having breakfast. Instead, I gave them three questions to discuss:
– What do you hope for from a sermon?
– If you went to church and read the Bible in another language, what would that be like?
– Have you benefited from a Christian book?
They discussed those questions.
I’m not very academic, so I picked out two people and a book: Pastor Tucana, Bay Garam, and Tackling Trauma, to illustrate the three aspects of Langham Partnership’s work.
I circulated photos around the tables and spoke about them. They were interested and engaged. They were really pleased that Langham was helping people in their own countries—something we were doing to help people in their own home countries.
They were also very pleased with the pens and key rings.
Laura: It’s always good to have the pens!
Helen: Yes!
Laura: That’s amazing. Thank you. What would you say to anyone else who was thinking about sharing Langham in their church?
Helen: Like Ken said, it’s a really good thing. I find it very modern. I love the way you’re up to date with all the technology, Zoom, and all these things. That’s a really good thing.
Everyone’s been really friendly, and I’ve been very well supported by you. I met you for lunch, which was great, and I feel very valued.
I also love this prayer meeting. It’s really good to hear about everything.
Laura: Thank you so much, Helen, and thank you to both of you for what you’ve done. We really do appreciate it.
They were both examples of people who have done quite significant things. We also have other church champions who simply put out Transform or bring the prayer points each month to their prayer group.
There is a range of things that people do.
Mark: Thanks, Laura. With the volunteers, the strapline I use is: “Using your gifting within your location.”
You can see how wide Langham Volunteers is. My wife is a volunteer, and she’s a proofreader. Other people are doing other things. It’s wherever God has gifted you. If you think you can use that gifting within Langham, Laura will certainly have a conversation with you.
What are your aspirations, as well as your challenges, for the volunteer team?
Laura: I would love to increase our team. As we increase our team, we can get the vision of Langham even wider.
That will increase the fundraising work that can be done and the prayer network supporting the mission of Langham. I really do want to increase our team and capacity.
I’d love us to have a church champion in all the churches we’re connected with, so that we can get things out there. If we have a free course, some material, or a prayer need, there would be people ready to connect with.
One of my aspirations is that we have a wide variety of volunteers doing different things. As you said, it’s about using your gifts wherever you are.
If you know about fundraising and have done grant applications before, we have a need for that. If you have media skills, or if you like to bake cakes and want to sell them for us, or run marathons, we’d love you to bring your skills to help Langham and extend its reach.
Mark: I agree with you. I think marathons are ridiculous too. However, some people like them, so that’s their thing. Let them do it—as long as they’re doing it for Langham!
Laura: That’s right.
Mark: How can people volunteer? If somebody is thinking, “I’d like to have a further conversation,” what’s the next step?
Laura: I want to mention one of my challenges. One of our biggest challenges is people not wanting an official title. People say, “I don’t want to be a volunteer. I don’t want to have a title. I’ll just do it without telling anyone.”
For us, that’s really hard because I don’t know that you’re doing it. I can’t tell you about opportunities, invite you to a special lunch, or honour what you’re doing.
So, if you’re thinking, “I do things like this,” please let me know. We’d love to honour that and help you with whatever you’re doing.
Some people are also hesitant because they’re unsure about the time commitment. I want to say that people can volunteer as much or as little time as they feel able to give.
There are people who give an hour every two months, and there are people who give more of their time, such as at Keswick. There is a whole range of things you can do to help us.
If someone wanted to volunteer, they are more than welcome to email me. Alternatively, you can reply to your Langham Live invitation and simply say, “I’m interested.” I can then get in touch with you for an easy conversation about where you’d like to help and what you think you could do.
Mark: Obviously, we’re going into breakout rooms in a few moments to pray, and I’m going to put up the prayer points. Would you like to talk us through them and mention anything additional you’d like us to pray for?
Laura: Thank you. My prayer points are:
– That people would join the Langham volunteer team. I really do want to increase our team and capacity.
– That the team we have would really enjoy their time volunteering—not just see it as another job to do, but as something they genuinely love doing.
– That volunteers would be blessed as they serve, and that this would in turn bless the majority-world church.
– That there would be creativity in the roles filled by volunteers, from marathon running to proofreading and prayer breakfasts. If these roles can be filled by volunteers, it frees up the team and helps Langham reach different places and spheres.
– That people would feel encouraged and confident to volunteer, knowing that their gifts and willingness are the most important things. It’s not about having a title or clocking hours.
– For wisdom as I gather these wonderful people, make sure they have what they need, and support them in the right ways.
– For creativity.
Mark: Laura, thanks so much, and thank you for the work you do with the volunteers. I know there’s a massive amount of work going on behind the scenes, preparing handbooks and all sorts of other things. We certainly appreciate the work you’re involved in and trust that God will bless your efforts in the future.
Langham, as a UK and Ireland team, is actually quite a small team, and we can’t be in every place all the time. Having that network of volunteers—and seeing it increase—helps to raise the profile of Langham.
It’s not about raising the profile of Langham for its own sake. It’s so people can hear what God is doing in the majority-world countries. There are amazing things happening and amazing stories taking place. We’re very keen for people to hear what God is doing through Langham Partnership.
We certainly appreciate what Laura does and the part she plays in helping to profile Langham throughout the UK and Ireland.
Prayer Points
- The team we have would enjoy their time volunteering.
- Volunteers would be blessed, and they would be a blessing to the work of Langham and the wider Global Church.
- Creativity for more roles in Langham to be filled with volunteers who bring all sorts of skills and different ideas to support the work.
- People to feel encouraged and confident to volunteer, knowing that their gifts and willingness to serve are what matter most.
- Wisdom for Laura as she leads the volunteers.