AN Alcester reverend will be putting his best foot forward to complete a 500 mile trek across northern Spain.

Rev Martin Mills, Pastor of Alcester Baptist Church, is set to complete the walk along the Camino de Santiago, known as the Way of St James in English, between May 7 and June 14.

He will be raising money for Alcester Day Centre, which supports people with Alzheimer’s and other types of dementia and their carers, and Baptist Missionary Agency Action Teams, a volunteer programme run by partner churches across the world, assisting young people to work short-term projects overseas.

The Camino is a network of ancient pilgrimage routes; Rev Mills will be walking the Camino Francés from St Jean Pied de Port to Santiago de Compostela.

More than 250,000 pilgrims, from all over the world walk some part of the Camino each year.

These pilgrims come from diverse backgrounds: differing Christian traditions; from other faiths; and, many making the pilgrimage do not have any religious convictions.

Rev Mills’ interest is to hear the stories of other pilgrims and learn why they are making their pilgrimage.

He said: "By learning what motivates people to undertake this arduous journey, I hope to understand the questions that people are asking that the church is failing to engage with, in order to discern and develop new patterns of church life which meet people where they are and engages in dialogue with what matters to them."

The Baptist Union of Great Britain (BUGB) encourages all accredited ministers to take a sabbatical of one to three months every seven years.

The sabbatical is a period of extended study leave intended to stimulate and refresh ministers, ensuring they continue to develop within their vocation.

This May marks the seventh anniversary of Rev Mills’ ordination, and he will be taking a three month sabbatical from May to July.

Rev Mills was sent on his way with the support of the local Alcester churches, with a short service of blessing from Rev Father Paul Gunther (Order of Saint Benedict), parish priest of Our Lady and St Joseph Roman Catholic Church, on Saturday, April 22 at Alcester Baptist Church.

Action Team volunteers raise their own funding of £4,460, and the share of reverend's sponsorship money will go towards his daughter Maggie Mills’ fundraising efforts for her participation in the programme in 2019/20.

To follow his progress visit facebook.com/martin.mills.3950. To make a donation go to justgiving.com/crowdfunding/martinmillscamino.