Our Story
St Austell Light & Life is a church of all ages and from all walks of life who are committed to God, to one another and to making a difference in this world.
We are passionate about Jesus and seek to be a family that all people can belong to. We are united together around our love for Jesus and the purpose that He calls us to.
To see God's love transform lives as we follow Him
It's been an incredible journey so far, but as we look to the future, we're convinced the best is yet to come!
2008
John & Becky Townley moved to St Austell, where they felt a call to plant a local church that would impact the town with the love of God.
2009-2015
The church launched Sunday morning services. As the church grew, we rented a number of venues in St Austell. In 2015, after several years of praying, planning and incredible sacrificial giving, we moved into the Light & Life Centre.
2010
We took a massive step of faith and launched St Austell Foodbank through which we are able to demonstrate God’s love in a practical way to those who need it most. Through the Foodbank we have gone on to feed over 18,000 people in need.
2014
We believed from the start that God had called us to plant more churches and so we celebrated as Liskeard Light & Life was launched. Our Liskeard church made an impact in the community and saw many people come to Jesus before closing it's doors in 2022.
2017
Following a number of years of prayer and planning it was our joy to launch Bodmin Light & Life.
Taking a courageous step of faith in obedience to God’s call, John & Becky Townley moved on to launch Freedom Church, Bristol.
2019
St Austell Light & Life celebrated 10 years since the launch of our first Sunday morning service. During that time we've seen God at work in amazing ways and many lives transformed.
We remain committed to God's call and purpose and are excited to see God at work in the years to come.
Our Values
Loving God
God centred: Revering the Father, Son and Spirit in lives of worship and prayer. (Psalm 29:2)
Spirit led and biblically anchored: Walking by the Spirit in accordance with His word. (1 John 3:24)
Faith filled: Living lives of expectant faith in obedience to God's direction. (2 Cor 5:7)
Loving His Church
Committed to community: Believing in the church as an authentic, inclusive and healing family. (Heb 10:24-25)
Transformational: Encouraging the development and growth of all believers to become more like Jesus. (2 Cor 3:18)
Self-sacrificial: Generously giving ourselves away in every aspect of our lives for the sake of others. (Phil 2:3-4)
Gifted to serve: Empowering every believer in their God given gifts for the benefit of the whole body. (1 Peter 4:10)
Loving His World
Gospel focused: Living lives of everyday mission, seeking to share and be the gospel. (Matt 28:19)
Culturally aware: Seeking to communicate eternal truth in ways all people understand. (1 Cor 9:19-23)
Committed to those in need: Serving the whole community, particularly those on the margins of society, recognising everyone's worth as an image bearer of God and their need to be restored to Him. (Isaiah 58:6-11)
Our Family
We are part of the global Free Methodist Movement which currently ministers in over 80 countries worldwide.
