Sharing the Gospel in Peckham
Tony and Brenda Ozue left Nigeria with a shared conviction: that Europe needed the Gospel, and that they had a part to play. Ignite caught up with them in Peckham to hear what happened next.
Tony Ozue did not grow up knowing Jesus. Raised in a Catholic home in Nigeria, it was not until his teenage years – a dark and turbulent season marked by significant mental turmoil – that faith became real for him. A pastor invited him to a church youth programme and shared the story of Jesus Christ. It was a pivotal moment. “He has been helping me ever since,” Tony says simply. “Now I only know peace.”
That encounter with Jesus did not just change Tony’s life. It gave him a mission.
From Nigeria to Peckham
Tony and his wife Brenda left Nigeria together with a clear sense of purpose: they were deeply saddened by the decline of Christianity in Europe and wanted to do something about it. Their time in London began in Tower Hamlets, where they served as missionaries with London City Mission. In 2020, the couple moved to Peckham, where they continue to serve as missionaries and Tony works as an Elder at Heaton Road Church.
Peckham is one of the most ethnically diverse neighbourhoods in the UK – a traditional London working-class community living alongside Caribbean, Nigerian, Ghanaian, Eastern European and Chinese communities, among many others. Tony describes it warmly as a place defined above all by its friendliness. For an evangelist, that matters enormously.
Heaton Road Church sits in an area of significant deprivation. Every week is busy with church events, worship, pastoral care and outreach. On Thursdays, Tony and Brenda visit an elderly people’s home to read the Bible. On Saturdays, they help at the church food bank – sharing the Gospel with those who come through the door, with a number of people coming to faith through those conversations.
“Evangelism, for me, is a lifestyle,” Tony shares. He describes it as his first calling – something he carries into every part of his day, not just the formal moments of ministry.
Equipped for the work
It was this deep commitment to evangelism that made the Connect Evangelist Training Programme (CETP) such a natural fit. Tony and Brenda undertook the course together, learning from diverse teachers and meeting fellow evangelists from across the country. Both found the focus on leadership particularly helpful, alongside the practical guidance on impactful evangelism in the twenty-first century.
For Tony, the standout lesson was simple but liberating: start with what you have. “Think about yourself, the members of your team, your congregation,” he says. “Each person has unique gifts and perspectives to bring. Recognise your strengths, your interests, your networks – and work from there.”
This is precisely the vision at the heart of both CETP and Project 125 – Counties’ growing network of Connect Evangelism Champions, raised and recognised within their own congregations, equipped to share the Gospel from within the communities they already know. Tony and Brenda are exactly the kind of people that vision has in mind: faithful, gifted members of a local church, trained and released to do what they were already called to do.
What would Tony say to anyone considering CETP? “If you feel drawn to it, go for it – you have a lot to gain. Remember that it’s not about you, it’s about God.”
Brenda’s voice
Brenda has been beside Tony in every chapter of this story. She speaks warmly of what the programme has meant, Brenda shares: “Doing the course alongside Tony has strengthened our unity in faith and mission. It has helped us align our perspectives, grow spiritually together, and support each other more intentionally in our service.” “Evangelism, for me, is a lifestyle”
For Brenda, the greatest surprise was how practical the training proved to be. She shares: “I’ve been most surprised by how practical and impactful the programme has been, especially in equipping me with simple, effective ways to share my faith confidently in everyday situations. CETP has given me the confidence to share my faith more openly and intentionally, even in ordinary conversation.”
Looking ahead
The couple have big plans. Tony dreams of bringing hundreds of people to know Jesus – sharing the Gospel far and wide. The verse that has always anchored this mission is Matthew 28:19–20, the Great Commission – Jesus’ instruction to go and make disciples of all nations, with the promise: “I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
For Tony and Brenda Ozue, that promise is not a distant hope. It is the ground they stand on, every day, in Peckham.
To find out more about the Connect Evangelism Training Programme, visit: countiesuk.org/training