Essence Spring 2026
Blessing the City

Brief comments of how people blessed others in Exeter:

“I've had many previous conversations / bought a specific street sleeper things over the past few weeks but have felt convicted of not having had a proper conversation with him and getting his name. I hadn't seen him in a while but after praying God provided the perfect opportunity and I was able to buy him what he needed, get his name, tell him mine and tell him that Jesus loves him! Praise God!”

“Not directly from the money but a testament to the generosity within the essence community. One of my friends brought me a coffee while i was studying in the library and was facing hours of reading. Didn’t ask for anything in return and i hadn’t asked for it but it made my day. “

“We baked around 60 cakes and dropped them off at Ellen Tinkham Collage to bless the staff and show that they were valued and that we at Exeter Network Church saw the incredible work they did! “

“Two of us went into town and felt Exeter high street on our hearts. We decided to go into Costa and buy 4 £5 vouchers for coffee and we wrote little encouraging messages on them, related to rest, joy and hope and Bible verses with that. We then bought out of our own money some M&S cookies and paired a voucher with a pack of cookies. We then went to Exeter Public Library and gave these to 4 strangers there. They were all super grateful and specifically one couple that we gifted them to were confused why we were doing this and so we told them we were from the local church and they said they went to church too, St Matts, I think this really blessed them (they were a young family with a young boy). All in all was just so good to bless people above and beyond with something they would not usually treat themself with :)) “

“Saw a guy in full leather kit with his head in his hands, asked what’s wrong and someone had stolen his motor bike which had all his money and stuff in. I said I could pay for his bus back home but also gave him a Jesus card and said to read it on his way back. He started asking questions and telling me he used to be in a heavy metal rock band but quit because he didn’t like how they were worshipping Satan and dark stuff like that. He said he was always interested in what ‘that cross guy’ did. I tried to tell him the gospel basics and told him about church. So rogue but now got me praying for those rock band members!!”

“Some of us made cupcakes for teachers who work at a special needs school!!! It was so lovely to bless them and see how appreciative they were :))”

“We went out with the aim of feeding some people on the street and having some conversations. One man in particular we talked to, called Karl, was very grateful for the food we had bought him, and opened up to us about his story. Karl has lived on the streets for over 20 years now since his mum passed away in 2004. He mentioned how he feels like death has surrounded him all his life, with all the people closest to him dying. He was also very open to talking about faith, telling us that he is an atheist but believed that there was something more out there and is very open minded to things. Karl took particular note to the fact that we were Christians who had taken the time to talk to him, when so many people on the street just walk by. He asked us about church, and said that he’d definitely pass by on one Sunday to show us his gratitude. We told him we’d pray for him and his situation, especially his ill health at the moment. He seemed very grateful and open to us praying for him. “

“I was able to go out and bless 2 street attached people. I bought each of them a coffee and had a chat with them, I gave them a leaflet that had the sinners prayer and some verses on. I just talked with them about there life; hopefully being able to make them feel seen and bring a smile to there day.”

“I spent the afternoon in the coffee shop working on my final essays for this term, I personally was rather stressed and used the money to open a tab in the coffee shop to bless students with a free coffee for their study sessions”

“I saw this man sleeping rough named John. I have seen him a lot and have talked to him before, but he is always very frustrated because all day every day he gets ignored. He is a decorator by trade, but cannot get work because he doesn't have an address, and is 7 years sober from drugs and 5 years from alcohol. He had lived on the streets before from his addictions, then found a partner but she kicked him out with nothing, hence he is back on the street. He used the money generously donated towards a room for the night, and luckily I was able to pray for him. He then said he has a mate further down the street who would like a chat called Ginge. Ginge had quite a slow day, and he was worked in scaffolding, but due to an accident a while back, he was injured for a long time so wasn't able to work. This and other reasons left him with very little, but once again, I got to pray for him. I am hoping that these men find the goodness of God and he can change their lives in ways they could never imagine.”

“I had a coffee and croissant with Charlie, a homeless woman, who is originally from London. Even though our little chitchat didn’t end up talking about Jesus, the coffee put a huge smile on her face. Eventually, she was asking me far more questions about myself than I could ask her. Throughout the whole conversation I felt like that the Holy Spirit wanted to show me once more how privileged and blessed I am. “

“Went to an elderly couple's house around the corner with some homemade cake and offered a hand around the house and in the garden as they looked like they needed some assistance”

“Gave a child who lived down the road from us a few small gifts”

“Gave Gregg’s vouchers to a homeless man who had been living outside my work. Security had thrown his stuff away and it had some very important things in it. Had a 30-minute chat with him about his life and helped him get some of his stuff back that had been thrown away. Prayed for him and made sure he knew of options in the city centre. Said he would get me employee of the month!”

“When I took the money I had a few people in mind who I might be able to spend it on. On Wednesday I went into town to see if I could bless someone with the money, just as I was thinking about one of the people I could spend the money on I saw them walking just ahead of me so I stopped him and told him what was going on and he told me he was also a Christian. He is a homeless man who I have talked to a few times before so I asked him what he needed and he gave me a shopping list which I went and got for him. When I got back to him to give him the items he shared his testimony of a hard life but his attitude and thankfulness for what he had was very encouraging. And so he was blessed and I was blessed!”

“I did Street Conversations and met a young woman living on Sidwell Street. We got her a few supplies and a sleeping bag and ever since I've been dropping by to say hi and encourage her. I'm so excited that we can be a long-term blessing for each other, and perhaps to take her for coffee at some point. Praise the Lord!”

“I bought cakes for my hockey team and handed them out after training with a card about who Jesus was.”

“I bought flowers to hand out to men on the streets. Had some great chats. We met Jordan, a middle aged guy who thought he was an atheist until our conversation. We had a long talk with him about the gospel and he seems very interested in the historical/ cultural role of religion, having read the Bible before. He said he would consider coming to church. Just praying God moves in his life and reveals himself.”

“Some friends and I baked cakes for the teachers at a special needs school! I also went out and did the street conversations and had a powerful moment of praying for a woman who said during the prayer she felt the joy of the Lord for the first time in over a year, and that she had just turned away from the Wednesday communion because she didn’t have it in her, and two minutes after that she ran into us.”

“I heard that the ripples of the transforming the city have gone wide with various ENC people telling professional friends and colleagues about what essence has been doing.”

“I made a box of gifts for my housemate that I’ve been trying to forgive for around a year for a few things that’s happened. I prayed over the box, and tried to give the whole situation over to God. I found it difficult to give a box of nice things to someone who’s hurt me, but I’m sure God will use it to bless them and me.”

“I took a fiver from the Church and decided (last minute) to go out on Thursday and find someone struggling. I had never done anything like this before and so I began to pray before I left for God to help me change someone’s life and the Holy Spirit communicated with me that it would be a homeless man sitting down by himself alone. I started to worry about missing essence but after internally realizing that I needed to rely on God’s timing rather than my own, I turned a corner and saw a homeless man sitting by himself alone. After offering to sit next to him, we began to talk. His name was Mark and he started to tell me about his day which contained sleeping by the M&S and feeling rather lonely. I then decided to tell him that I was from the Church and then offered him the £5. I then offered to pray a for him which he accepted. He then told me about his story. He was a single father who had raised his daughter by himself. When she was offered a place at Sheffield University, they both moved in the flat together. On a trip to Blackpool, his daughter had been involved in an incident in which she tragically lost her life. I then asked him what he personally wanted prayer for and his request surprised me. It was one of selflessness and gratitude. He told me his faith had been very inconsistent but that the money and our conversation had given him some hope. He then told me he needed £11 more for tomorrow. I then decided to give him a £20 note in order to look after him. If he weren’t tired, he would have cried. We then parted ways and after a warm hug, I knew that this had changed his life.”

“Me and my friend gave out some flowers to people on the street. It was a rainy day but despite that people seemed to cheer up at the sight of flowers! We even got to pray for a lady who was having a rough day.”

“Baked cookies and left them at my neighbour's doorstep with a bible verse attached and my phone number in case they needed someone to chat or pray for them!”

“I spent the £5 on buying dinner for a homeless woman”

“We made pick-me-up packages to give out to random people on the street. We went to near the cathedral, gave them out and everyone received them really well! I got talking to a guy for a while, whilst others in the group were busy praying for and chatting with the people who got these packages.”

“Walked past a homeless man under the tunnel from the quay. We got him a sandwich, coffee and muffin from McDonald’s. We also gave him an Uncover Mark’s Gospel from a charity shop. He said he used to go Rediscover which was awesome! I prayed for him and I hope to go see him once a week. Hopefully he can come back to Church.”

“I arranged flower bouquets with bible verses and decided to take them to some old people in Greenslades nursing home! It has patients for dementia and palliative care so was really special to make them smile”.

“I bought a Greggs voucher and as I was walking to Essence, Jason reached out and asked for a meal deal, I said I had one better and gave him the voucher and asked his name. He was very grateful.”

“Bought a meal deal for a homeless guy called Mark, and after when I came back with the food and had a little chat, his daughter joined him and asked for cake and fruit but she hated melon, so got her some french fancies and a little fruit box thing.”