By Amy Wearring

Members from The Girls' Brigade England & Wales and The Boys' Brigade met with around 30 representatives from 20 African and Caribbean churches in and around London at a special networking event on 27 June 2013 at Central Hall in Westminster, London.

The special networking lunch, supported by Faith in Britain, was hosted by Muyiwa Olarewaju, radio station director for Premier Gospel. The event aimed to inspire London churches to partner with the mission movements and engage more with children and young people in their communities.

Mr Olarewaju said: "It was quite emotional for me to hear the stories of Girls' and Boys' Brigade members and I see a great opportunity here for Church to affect community positively – bridging the gap between church and where young people are; changing their lives one child/young person at a time with Jesus at the centre."

Now, Girls' Brigade and Boys' Brigade development workers for London will meet with the churches that expressed interest in starting up Boys' Brigade and Girls' Brigade groups.

"We've had a great response from a growing church community that we really want to engage with," said Vaughan Staples, development worker for the Boys' Brigade in London.

The networking group was told by Pastor Mary McCauley, national director for the Redeemed Christian Church of God Teenage Ministry in the UK and senior pastor of RCCG De-Vine Sanctuary Parish in Croydon that she'd been in Girls' Brigade in Nigeria and it had made her into who she was today. She added: "The networking lunch was an answer to prayer, as Girls' Brigade and Boys' Brigade are great outreach opportunities."