The Salvation Army church in East Ham is set to close next month.

The church, in Wakefield Street, currently hosts a range of clubs for children and older people during the week in addition to its regular Sunday service.

But a spokeswoman said that “a lack of sufficient volunteers” has led to some of its activities having to stop.

She added that “after consultation and with prayerful consideration” the decision was made to shut the church completely, having “served the community faithfully and joyfully for many years”.

The spokeswoman said: “In recent years, the Salvation Army in East Ham has worked tirelessly to share the good news of Jesus, be a beacon of hope and a place for people to connect with God and with each other.

“Our church leader Major Dawn Evans with her small congregation has been involved with supporting people of all ages in activities including weekly lunch clubs and parent and toddler groups.

“Sadly, we no longer have sufficient volunteers to share the day to day responsibility of sustaining this programme, and as a result activities have had to close.

“Therefore we have decided to rest our ministry in East Ham in order to reconsider where we go in the future.”

Major Evans will be holding the last regular service at 10.15am on Sunday, July 1.

There will also be a special farewell service at 2.30pm on Sunday, July 15 where members of the Salvation Army’s north London division will be coming to join the East Ham church’s congregation.

The Salvation Army will continue to offer community programmes at its nearby churches in Stratford, Ilford, Barking and Woodford, while some members of the congregation will be attending other churches in the East Ham area.

“Over the next few weeks Major Evans will continue to support the transition of the worshipping Sunday church family as they find a new place of worship of their choice,” the spokeswoman said.

“We are currently considering the future of our building to determine how it can best serve the community going forward.”