The pastor of a church who won a legal challenge against a local ban on street preaching has told Premier Christian News that their confidence remains firmly in God.
Pastor Tunde Balogun heads up the Kingsborough Centre, a Uxbridge church which founded London’s first food bank in 2009, and was previously attended by England footballer Bukayo Saka and his family.
In 2023, church members discovered that their local area had been placed under a Public Space Protection Order (PSPO)—designed to crack down on anti-social behaviour—which banned preaching in public. With the help of the Christian Legal Centre, they successfully overcame the ban on the basis of freedom of religion and freedom of speech.
Pastor Tunde Balogun told Premier: “It is indeed, for us, amazing good news. We are confident that it was God who gave us the grace to stand to defend his gospel.”
He said that the church had felt “called” to expand its mission to include street preaching four years ago.
“Four [of our congregation] at a time go out every Saturday into the town centre, or sometimes knock on doors and share the love of Christ with people. We pray with people if they so desire to be prayed with or for.”
Pastor Balogun said that the response from members of the public has been encouraging.
“We’ve seen an amazing response—people now look forward to welcoming us into their houses. [Sometimes] we just keep them company, and share the love of God with them.”
Since the victory, the council has agreed to pay the church’s legal costs, amounting to around £20,000.