Pioneer Minister Erika Biscoe
Cherish was inspired by conversations around the manicure table. Following a career in retail management, I trained as a nail technician but it wasn’t until I helped lead at a Kidz Church that my vision for my ministry became clear. The girls would eagerly queue up at the end of the session and ask for their nails to be painted and it wasn’t long before parents were joining the queue too.
Before long I was offering free manicures on Friday mornings at our Church in Bicester, nestled amongst a Doctor’s surgery, a nursery and a housing estate. I discovered that women felt safe and able to relax whilst I did their manicures. Spending time one-to-one breaks down barriers and makes it easier for people to open up and talk about life and faith and even ask for prayer.
It was when I was attending a CMS Pioneer Mission Leadership Training Course that I received my vision for Cherish and the course began to crystallise in my mind and spirit. Whilst doing manicures I had connected with many young people with low self-esteem who talked about subjects close to their hearts such as self harming and suicidal thoughts. I wanted to go deeper than just doing their nails and I developed a six week course for teenagers that combined the practical skills of learning how to do a manicure with the spiritual teaching from the book of Esther. Cherish: Made For Such a Time as This, was born.
