With the first pioneer lay minister recently licensed in the diocese, it seemed a good time to shine a light on the many people leading the way in pioneering across our parishes. Here is Janine’s story:

Janine Ogborne from Padstow began her Christian life in 1986 but it was a course in 2021 which set Janine off on her pioneering journey.

Janine signed on for the Lay Pioneer Mission course and now describes it as ‘probably the most rewarding experience I have ever had through my Christian life’.

Janine, who is pictured right with her ‘right hand woman’ Andrea celebrating their 5-star rating from the Food Standards Agency, said: “That first weekend was a challenging one as I prayed for direction. All I knew was that I wanted to be a voice within my community and to be a link to the church to help the church discern its particular call and priorities around pioneering and mission.”

Called to ‘step outside the box’

As the course developed, Janine became aware that she was being called to ‘step outside of the box’ and meet her community where they were, rather than expecting them to come into the church.

Following the course and trying to find her path, Janine was still praying about her calling and had even tried to push through doors rather than waiting on God to lead. She said: “In my heart, I knew I was forcing myself to go in the wrong direction, which is why I believe the Lord closed those doors.”

Janine started to recognise her love of cooking, serving and organising dinner parties and her love of watching the many food programmes on television might be important. “In my previous life in a Baptist Church, there were endless invitations to meals and events, but where I am now, there is very little, so my husband and I opened up our home and invited people to come and share Sunday lunch with us a couple of times a month. My husband, who’s a chef, and I even discussed using our garden to offer afternoon tea on a Saturday afternoon to the locals.”

This enthusiasm was turned into action when someone sent Janine a link to a café that had been set up in a church in Bristol. Janine said: “The penny dropped! This was my calling. I distinctly heard the Lord telling me this was what my Mission was for this community.

“I nervously asked for an agenda item at our next PCC meeting and was in total awe when it was welcomed with such enthusiasm. And that is how Croust Community Kitchen was born.”

Croust Community Kitchen

Croust is a not-for-profit initiative, the purpose of which is to encourage the local community of Padstow to join in a relaxed and affordable environment. No-one is excluded from eating at the venue, and all are welcome but Janine and the team target locals through word of mouth. Janine says: “We open every Friday. The church has donated the hall to me to use and donations to setting it up have flooded in.

“There is a large population in deprivation where I live, and the local cafés and restaurants target the holiday trade. Croust caters for those who, for many reasons can’t afford to venture into the local town.”

Well supported

The Rick Stein Company supports the café team in a number of areas with donations of staff and foods, and a charity in Truro provides end of day food from local supermarkets.

Janine says: “We are able to promote church activities and events at the Community Kitchen, and we have found that Messy Church and our monthly All Age Service is growing.

“The local community love it. I have an amazing team who can’t do enough to support this initiative, some who have never walked through the doors of the church, and I’m at peace as God is at the helm, and it goes from strength to strength. Before we open the doors on a Friday, we pray that the customers will feel the love of the Lord as they spend the morning with us, and those who don’t or say they don’t have a faith still stand with us as we pray.”

The initiative has also started to spur more pioneer work with a breakfast club linking to the local primary school under discussion

Janine finishes by saying: “To me, Croust is a model of church in another context, but it is still linking church and community. Amen to that.”

If you have a pioneering story to tell, get in touch by emailing comms@truro.anglican.org