A new church opened its doors on Sunday in Harold Hill and to celebrate they are offering free maths tuition to children in the area.

Pastor Gbola Bright, at the Redeemed Christian Church of God based at the Myplace Centre in Dagnam Park Drive, said: “I think Harold Hill is a very beautiful place.

“But one of the challenges is the increasing number of youths and we have to get them involved.

“My approach is to crack them young so that they have a solid foundation.”

The former maths teacher, who runs the Bright Academy where he tutored hundreds of children, came up with the idea of offering free maths tuition for children in Harold Hill as a way of giving something back to the community.

Pastor Bright, 54 and his wife Sade, 49 are also planning to work with Havering Council, Age Concern Havering and have a number of events planned to help the Harold Hill Foodbank.

He said: “We believe that our church is unique because we have researched the area and we want to identify with the needs of the local community.

“Harold Hill is the perfect place for me and I really want to get involved in the community spirit.”

Sunday’s service, also saw Pastor Bright being ordained in front of a crowd of 400 worshippers.

The service included a feast of music, dance and food.

Pastor Bright said: “It was really good for our first Sunday and it was a double celebration, but many of the people were from other branches of our church.

“We will get a true indication of our parishioners by the second week.”

Pastor Bright, who has been going to the Redeemed Christian Church of God for more than ten years says that he always wanted to become a pastor, but only made the decision to be ordained in January this year.

He said: “I had the call to be a pastor for a very long time, but I was really struggling to take it up. “It’s quite challenging, but I believe in a balanced life and I have to combine being a pastor with my love of education.”

For more information contact 07961-429089