Building for God - Vision
Nehemiah Chapter 2:11-20
Matthew 5:14 ‘You are the light of the world. A
town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do
people light a lamp and put it under a bowl.
Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to
everyone in the house. In the same way, let your
light shine before others, that they may see your
good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.’
2Corinthians 2:15 ‘For we are to God the pleasing
aroma of Christ among those who are being
saved and those who are perishing.’
11 I
went to Jerusalem, and after staying there three
days 12 I set out during the night with a few others. I
had not told anyone what my God had put in my
heart to do for Jerusalem. There were no mounts with
me except the one I was riding on.
13 By
night I went out through the Valley Gate toward
the Jackal Well and the Dung Gate, examining the
walls of Jerusalem, which had been broken down,
and its gates, which had been destroyed by fire.
14 Then
I moved on toward the Fountain Gate and
the King’s Pool, but there was not enough room for
my mount to get through;
15 so
I went up the valley by night, examining the wall.
Finally, I turned back and re-entered through the
Valley Gate. 16 The officials did not know where I had
gone or what I was doing, because as yet I had said
nothing to the Jews or the priests or nobles or officials
or any others who would be doing the work.
17 Then
I said to them, “You see the trouble we are in:
Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates have been
burned with fire. Come, let us rebuild the wall of
Jerusalem, and we will no longer be in disgrace.” 18 I
also told them about the gracious hand of my God
on me and what the king had said to me.
19 But
when Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the
Ammonite official and Geshem the Arab heard
about it, they mocked and ridiculed us. “What is this
you are doing?” they asked. “Are you rebelling
against the king?”
20 I
answered them by saying, “The God of heaven
will give us success. We his servants will start
rebuilding, but as for you, you have no share in
Jerusalem or any claim or historic right to it.”
Nehemiah 1:3 ‘They said to me, ‘Those who
survived the exile and are back in the
province are in great trouble and disgrace.
The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and
its gates have been burned with fire.’
Nehemiah 2:13 ‘By night I went out through
the Valley Gate towards the Jackal Well
and Dung Gate, examining the walls of
Jerusalem, which had been broken down
and its gates, which had been destroyed by
fire.’
Demography

Ipswich is growing at 1.4% year on year

Ipswich has a high number of children under 5
compared to the national average, nearly 40%
of them live in areas categorised as being in the
poorest 20% of the country

42% of Ipswich’s households fall into the poorest
20% of the country

Nearly 10% of Ipswich’s population find their
daily activities limited by ill health and disease.
Diversity
Ipswich is a highly diverse multicultural town with
over 17% being of the community being nonwhite British.
 There are over 70 languages spoken in Ipswich,
the commonest include English; Polish;
Portuguese; Lithuanian; Bengali Kurdish; Russian;
Tagalog/Filipino; Turkish; Latvian
 Nearly 6% of households in Ipswich don’t speak
English as their main language; the national
average is 4.4%.

Skills & Education
 Less
than 63.3% of students reach Key
stage 4 (GCSE) level 1 (5 C – A* grades)
which is 12% lower than the national
average.
Economy

Around 18% of the population don’t work and of
those 26% are actively job seeking

Pay is lower than the national average, for a
man by £30/week and a woman £90/week

11 out of 16 wards in Ipswich fall in the top 10%
deprived wards nationally

Over 15% of the population of Ipswich claim
benefits compared to less than 13% nationally
Health
 Life
expectancy is reduced by about 8
years in our most deprived wards
 Over
5600 child in Ipswich live in poverty
 18-19%
of adults in Ipswich are depressed
the most deprived wards having upward
of 29%, Suffolk average is less than 13%
Crime
 Around
Ipswich
 60%
30% of all Suffolk Crime occurs in
of all robberies in Suffolk occur in
Ipswich

Nehemiah 2:17 – 18 ‘Then I said to them, ‘You
see the trouble we are in –Identifies with the
people of Jerusalem: Jerusalem lies in ruins, and
its gates have been burned with fire – he outlines
the problem. Come, let us rebuild the wall of
Jerusalem – offers an invitation, and we will no
longer be in disgrace – offers a solution. I also
told them about the gracious hand of my God
on me and what the king had said to me. They
replied, ‘Let us start rebuilding’ – the response.
So they began this good work.
To be a community of people who passionately
love Jesus, enjoy friendship with one another and
desire to reach out in love and kindness to those
around us. Based on the truth of the Bible and the
transforming power of God, we aim to gather
people into the Kingdom of God; to grow and
train disciples and leaders; to make a difference
to our local community and to plant churches.
‘To be a community of people who
show the love of God to the
people of Ipswich’