It seems hard to believe that it is nearly two and a half years since we first published “Your guide to running church premises.” Now in its second edition the booklet, which was expanded and updated last March, is now available to download from our website: https://churchgrowth.org.uk/running-church-premises/

Commenting on the booklet, Chief Executive Giles Arnold said: “What began as a list of half a dozen topics on one side of A4 paper has turned into a handy booklet of pointers on 38 subjects ranging from Asbestos to Ventilation. The topics cover not only building issues such as gas and electricity but equally important compliance matters like GDPR and Safeguarding. Church Growth Trust is here to support churches as they grapple with the day to day issues of managing church premises. We pray that God will continue to bless churches in their ministry through this booklet and that churches will feel encouraged to approach us if they need help and advice.”

Church Growth Trust were contacted by Wilmington Community Church, as Trustees of their property, in order to offer advice and assistance on the plans of the church to convert one of their buildings on the site into a Coffeehouse.

The building in question is currently a Mission Hall being used as a multi-functional ancillary meeting space for the church. The location of the Mission Hall building is towards the rear of the church site, and there is a Public Footpath that runs alongside the whole plot connecting the streets Broad Lane and Common Lane at either end of the footpath. Given this location the existing Mission Hall gets a lot of passing foot traffic right past its front entrance.

The church have established a group who have carried out a body of research and have come to the conclusion that the area could really benefit from having a local amenity such as a Coffeehouse as this provision doesn’t currently exist within the village and residents have to travel further afield to the nearby villages or to Dartford centre to go to a Coffeehouse. A detailed business plan has been prepared by the church which has established their requirements and parameters for setting up the facility, along with an outline budget.

The church felt that having this type of amenity on their premises could really serve to broaden their community outreach. Given that there are schools nearby it is often the case that parents park in the church car park to pick up their children who walk along the Public Footpath to meet them. This facility will give a natural meeting place for these parents and children as well as for residents of the village generally. The current name for the proposed facility posited by the church is ‘The Secret Coffeehouse’, given its location tucked away off the footpath, although the building is well known to local residents given its multi-purpose use to date for a wide variety of community activities.

Additional to being used as a public Coffeehouse for 5 hours a day and 5 days per week the church have noted that “ The Secret Coffeehouse will continue to be used by the church as an outreach centre. We plan to run weekly meals for the elderly, a drop-in and homework space for students from the secondary schools, a programme of activities for the community such as art and craft, cookery sessions for young people, a book club, wellbeing discussion groups, home to our Alpha course and the venue for fundraising events. It will be used as a crèche facility on Sundays and church meetings”.

In order to allow the building to be used as a Coffeehouse, a Planning Application for a Change of Use is required, as the existing function of the Mission Hall building is within a different Use Class to that of the proposed function. This planning application will also be used to ratify any ‘physical’ changes in appearance of the building and its surrounding external areas, required for its new function.

Church Growth Trust have currently compiled the required existing and proposed drawings and design statement that will be needed to submit the planning application, based upon information kindly received by the church. The application should be lodged with the Local Planning Authority shortly, and Church Growth Trust will the monitor the application as it progresses through the system seeking to address any queries that may arise from the Planner Case Officers relating to the project, and providing any additional information where needed.

areful planning in the use of time, particularly during holiday periods, can produce genuine benefits for no additional cost. For example Christmas can be a challenging time for a building project. Often contractors leave site for anything up to two weeks, particularly if outside works are involved. This is because days are very short, more often than not the temperatures are low meaning concreting and brickwork needs very special consideration and also work generally becomes more hazardous.

The external works on our current project had largely been completed before the Christmas holiday. Moreover the lockdown as a result of the Covid Crisis meant that the building was going to be empty over the Christmas period. As a result our contractors, who are also genuinely committed to the project, took advantage of this to make real progress on the project including laying the underfloor heating and concreting the floor.

Planning like this has meant that the project looks more likely to finish on the due date which is very pleasing indeed. Even if there were not a lockdown, careful planning of the timing of events and the use of the building would have produced the same outcome. Careful planning, co-operation and commitment are essential commodities in a building project.

Church Growth Trust (CGT) are delighted to have been recently gifted Hebron Hall in Stockton-on-Tees.  For many years Stewards Company Ltd has held different mission and church properties in the UK and overseas.  A few years ago, the company agreed it would be beneficial for the occupying UK churches if these were held by property Trusts that had the expertise and were more focused on property and trusteeship issues; hence them transferring this property to CGT.

Prior to Hebron Hall being transferred, Giles Arnold (CGT’s Chief Executive) met with the church to discuss CGT’s involvement.  He also carried out a condition survey to highlight works that needed doing urgently, over the next 12 months and over the next few years, giving an idea of the costs for these.  CGT’s architect also produced sketch plans to show how the building could be better used and meet the requirements of the Fire Regulations. 

As Graham Edwards from Hebron enthuses, “It is good to have Church Growth Trust involved, as they are genuinely concerned for us as a church, and their property expertise and architectural guidance is already a great help to us.  We look forward to a long and happy relationship, as we have had with Stewards Company in the past”.

As Giles states, “the church have kept the property in really good order, which is a credit to them.  We are hoping to help them as they improve it further.  They have a very active work in the community, particularly with the Foodbank, and are keen to grow as they reach more people with the Gospel.  We look forward to working with them in the future.  Another exciting aspect with taking on this property is that it is our the northern-most property we hold!”

eginning the building project on site is a big moment. Work started on site at Roe Green Hall, Kingsbury on 7 October 2020 with a target finish date of 15 February 2021. These dates were agreed at a Pre-Contract meeting on site a week before. Church Growth Trust were there as both Client, represented by John Duffield, the Property Manager and as Contract Administrator through in-house architect Jonny Heaney.

Kings Church, Harrow, sent three people – the leader of the church, the leader of the church plant at the Hall and an elder who is acting as on-site liaison throughout the project. The Elder is also going to take photos as the build moves forward.  Finally the Contractors were represented by their builder and architect. After introductions, all seven people present agreed on the day-to-day site management, how stakeholders would be kept in the loop, how bills would be paid in a timely fashion to help cash flow and the main lines of reporting. After that, the detail of the build itself was left to the Contractors and Jonny. Jonny meets them once a month on-site for a progress meeting and sends an update note to the team via email. Another way of keeping in touch is through different groups on WhatsApp (Other forms of electronic communication are available) – it is nimble and allows photos / videos, instant messaging and means urgent matters can be dealt with quickly.

The first meeting is crucial to set the way forward for the project. Having a small, focussed and united team who all know their roles and are trusting one another to fulfil their tasks is the positive and constructive way forward, literally. 

Here are some great resources that you may find useful in planning for this Easter. 

The Comeback 

As God’s people, we have a sure hope that whatever darkness we might be feeling now, Easter is just around the corner and is a wonderful time for us to remember Jesus, the light of the world, making a way out of darkness for us.  Try out this video on the Evangelical Alliance website: 

My Hope is a series of evangelistic videos that are modern, relevant, short and punchy to get the message of Easter across. They are great to show online during meetings or at special events. 

If you are looking for a creative Easter outreach event, Johnny Prime, one of FIEC’s Associate National Directors, has written a courtroom drama which could be the perfect fit.  This is available as an online resource called “Who moved the Stone?”.  It is performed by Christ Church, Dunstable with an evangelistic talk by Johnny at the end.  It imagines one of the Roman soldiers from the tomb being put on trial for failing to guard the tomb.  It goes through the witnesses to the cross and resurrection and ends up with a modern day witness who gives her testimony to knowing the Lord Jesus.  It is accessible from FIEC’s website and is available free of charge to downloaded and used by local churches. https://fiec.org.uk/resources/putting-easter-on-trial 

Bible Society have many resources for Easter & Lent.  Lent is a time of reflection when we journey with Jesus on His path to the cross and celebrate His resurrection. Bible Society have a host of resources mainly for families to help you reflect and celebrate. 

https://www.biblesociety.org.uk/get-involved/easter/

Scripture Union have a great range of stock, perfect for Easter gifts, giveaways and seasonal services. Share the good news of Jesus this season with their resources. 

https://content.scriptureunion.org.uk/easter

Rural Ministries have an article called “From lament to celebration” in their latest Mosaic magazine with ideas for the Church to embrace more creatively the opportunities that exist all around you as you seek to celebrate the season and make the timeless Easter message more accessible. 

While we are unable to meet in our church buildings we can still be ‘Together at Home’.  Together at Home are providing free resources for churches to share with their families to help them explore the Bible and learn about God together whilst in their own homes. 

https://www.tath.co.uk/easter-resources

“Bringing hope in hard times – really good news” is a mix of good news stories on daily videos through March, special YouTube meetings over the Easter weekend and opportunities for people to join Alpha courses.  All of these are on Elim Pentecostal’s website.  

https://www.elim.org.uk/Articles/600715/Discover_Really_Good.aspx

Out of the 80 million Easter eggs sold in this part of the world every year, The Real Easter Egg is the only one which has an Easter story book in the box. 

https://meaningfulchocolate.co.uk/pages/real-easter-egg

Cornerstone Church at Crewe took the Tenancy of Bethany Gospel Hall in the middle of the pandemic, but between lockdowns.  This meant they were able to refurbish the property, after vandals had broken in, and start using the hall and the grounds in the summer for socially-distanced events.  They were also able to hold various Christmas activities, including outdoor carol singing and a nativity play.

January 2021 saw the end of their second year and the whole of last year had been an adventure, captured to share with you, in the clip below.

Having started as a church plant within the north of Crewe in the last few years, they are delighted to have their own building, as this enables them to establish a base in the community they are serving. 

CGT has purchased some Portacabins for their children’s work and these are now being installed, ready for the church to use after the current restrictions end.