Churches often ask for donations to fund their projects, but they don’t always give back to those in their midst who are facing financial hardship. With this in mind, young minister Michael Kosmas says he wants his new church to be able to give financial assistance to those in need as well as help them draw closer to God.

The 23-year-old was ordained into ministry at the age of 19 and went on to found the NXG Project, which runs workshops and seminars to encourage young people.

The NXG Project recently won a contract to run projects to rehabilitate young ex-offenders from Luton, Kent and London into the community and help prevent them from re-offending.

Following on from this success, Michael will plant his first church, Kingdom Assembly, in Deptford in south London next month. His vision is to exemplify the early church in the book of Acts, where believers served God, shared their belongings with each other, and gave support to one another.

“Kingdom Assembly is going to be a church that’s real and relevant. We’ll be looking at the people we will be serving and the needs they have and we will adapt to meet their needs,” says Michael.

He doesn't just want the church to remain a place where Christians simply gather together to worship on Sunday, but rather to grow into a central hub within the local community that is “open to everyone”.

He already has plans to launch a film club at the church so that locals can come and watch the latest inspirational films for free, while social projects will focus on supporting lone parents and the elderly.

Close to Michael’s heart is helping those who are struggling to make ends meet.

“I am keen that Kingdom Assembly becomes a church that gives back to the community,” he says.

“Churches are always asking for donations because they need finance support for what they do, but they don’t necessarily give financial support to the people in their congregations who are experiencing financial distress.

“I’d like Kingdom assembly to be able to do that.”

The launch of the church is being preceded by a two-day Kingdom Conference, which Michael hopes will show a different side to Christianity from the current stereotype many people have.

“I want the Kingdom Conference to demonstrate that Christianity is not boring. There’ll be live gospel music performed by rappers, choirs and soloists, young people sharing stories of how living for God has impacted their lives for the better and there’ll be dynamic relevant preaching," he says.

“People think that serving God is boring. I beg to differ. I believe that Kingdom Assembly, will demonstrate that serving God is good, can be exciting and helps to build strong communities.”