Clarence Road Evangelical Church in East Cowes on the Isle of Wight has recently been gifted to Church Growth Trust (CGT). As the building does not comply with the Equality Act in providing reasonable access for disabled people, and needs modernising in other ways, CGT agreed with the church to appoint an architect. The brief for the architect was not only to ensure that the property is compliant for legislation, but also that it is suitable for modern church use, enabling the church more effectively to reach the local community.

Plans were drawn up by John Quinlan Architects. These included raising the floor of the main worship area, so the whole ground floor is at one level, as well as providing a new more welcoming entrance. The draft plans were presented to the church and a meeting was held recently to discuss these. Giles Arnold from CGT attended the meeting and was encouraged that the church were willing to have a very open and frank discussion. Although this included concerns over the potential cost of the building project and the practical details of how the work might be phased, there was a real sense of vision for reaching the local community, growing the church and seeing the Lord provide the resources that are needed to change the building.

As Giles Arnold states: “we always encourage churches to start with their God-given vision, so that any plans for their building fit with the vision. It was encouraging for me to see the church engage with this. There was a sense of excitement over the idea of carrying out a survey in the local community and seeing the building transformed to enable the church to open it up for the community to use. It is a great privilege to work with churches like this, to enable building projects to happen that would not have taken place otherwise. I can see the church’s faith growing through this.”

Church Growth Trust is trying to find a new church to take on the use of Widney Evangelical Free Church at Bentley Heath, so that the property can continue in Gospel use.  Giles Arnold, Church Growth Trust’s Chief Executive, states: “I have spoke with most of the local evangelical churches and, although a few have expressed an interest in supporting a work in Bentley Heath, none are in a position to lead and fully resource a church plant.  I therefore invited these local churches to an evening of prayer and sharing, to explore what the Lord may have in mind and ways of working together to resource a new work from the property”.

Tim Cracknell, Counties’ Church Planting Officer, who heads up the new Counties Planting Network, was also at the meeting and was able to explain how Counties would be able to support and train church planters and leadership teams in situations such as this.  He said: “This is another great example of Counties and Church Growth Trust working together, connecting and using Kingdom resources to see churches planted, as well as replanted and revitalised”.

The meeting was very positive and Giles Arnold was delighted that there appears to be a number of churches that are willing to support a church plant, as well as the possibility of leaders being willing and available to give vision and drive a new Gospel work from the building.  “We are not just about church buildings, but primarily about growing churches and seeing local communities transformed by the Gospel.  We are praying that the Lord will lead us to the next step and that this property will soon be used again to impact families and others in Bentley Heath”.

In July this year Church Growth Trust shared the news that work had commenced at Redhill (Shrewsbury Chapel) to replace the external staircase and provide an accessible toilet.

Amazing progress has been made and updated pictures below show how the work is near completion.

We look forward to sharing the fully completed project very soon.

Church Growth Trust have just been gifted Yardley Wood Full Gospel Church.  The fellowship closed in 2018, leaving the trustees with the question of what to do with the property.  They did not have the funds, time or energy to refurbish the building or find another church to occupy it.  They were delighted when they contacted Church Growth Trust to discover that this is precisely why it exists.  They were relieved to discuss the options for the future of the property and resolve all the issues relating to the trustees and the Trust Deed under which the property is held. 

The trustees were also pleased to know that Church Growth Trust has a passion to find another evangelical church to occupy the building and continue the Gospel work in the locality.  This is precisely what is now happening with CGT’s Property Manager John Duffield contacting local evangelical churches and national networks to find a suitable church to use the building. 

Church Growth Trust has also used its expertise to assess what works are required to refurbish the building and make it suitable for modern church use.  There will be a building project in due course to deal with structural issues, disabled access and works to make the building welcoming and fit for its full Gospel purpose.

Church Growth Trust is very pleased to announce that Arena Church from Ilkeston, led by Senior Pastor Kristian Thorpe, have taken a tenancy to Clumber Hall to establish their next campus.

The letting process has taken some time and all parties have leant heavily on God in prayer. The outcome has been a campus for Arena Church to reach out to the student population of Nottingham with the momentous news of Grace through the Lord Jesus Christ. Links have already been established between the church and UCCFs in anticipation of Freshers Week. The launch of the first service is at 5 p.m. on Sunday 29 September. Church Growth Trust looks forward to hearing salvation stories in the days, weeks, months and years ahead as Arena Church take the baton of faithful service and presentation of the Gospel from Clumber Hall Evangelical Church. To God be the glory.

Work has begun on site at Redhill (Shrewsbury Chapel) to replace the dilapidated external stair and provide an accessible toilet and shower for the work that Renewed Hope Trust do in the building with homeless people.

Here you can see that the original stair and structure has been removed, the garden wall has been rebuilt and will become the new boundary wall that encloses the new stair. A party wall agreement has been arranged and the neighbour is delighted that the unsightly structure will be replaced.

Church Growth Trust is a charity set up to support independent evangelical churches and to safeguard their properties for future Gospel use. There are many strengths with “independence”, but the biblical principle is “inter-dependence”, rather than independence or complete dependence. This is where people and organisations recognise each other’s giftings and strengths and choose to have relationship and work closely together, for the furtherance of the Gospel.

At Church Growth Trust we try to live up to two of our values, being relationship and generosity, by working closely with other sister organisations across the UK. It is why we have in the past co-operated with Counties, Partnership and GLO in the creation and running of the Church Planting Initiative and the Living the Passion Conferences. As the church planting work of CPI has moved to be directly under Counties and GLO, we continue to support their work financially and in practical ways by sharing information and looking for opportunities to serve the churches that need revitalising and replanting.

This spirit of inter-dependence has resulted in recent meetings of the Chief Executives and Chairmen of Church Growth Trust, Partnership, GLO and Counties to explore ways of working more closely, being prepared to live up to Philippians 2:1-5, in looking to each other’s interests before our own and having the same attitude as Christ. It has also resulted in consultation with local church leaders to explore ways of setting up a network for independent evangelical churches.

Church Growth Trust (CGT) has been working more closely with its sister property trust organisation, the Western Counties and South Wales Evangelisation Trust, and with FIEC Ltd, FIEC’s trust corporation. As Giles Arnold, CGT’s Chief Executive says “It is hoped that we will play to each other’s strengths and be a blessing to each other. We are always looking for opportunities to serve other organisations that share our heart; hence us taking on trusteeships from FIEC Ltd. This will help them, keep church building in Gospel use and provide resources for local church that are desperate to serve and reach their local communities”.

A recurring theme in the Bible is to persevere and not give up. In Luke 18 Jesus specifically talks about this in relation to prayer. The ministry of Church Growth Trust (CGT) is soaked in prayer and often we find ourselves having to return to the throne again and again over some issues.

One of these occasions has been with a property that is held on trusteeship by CGT in the Yorkshire ex-mining village of Skellow, near Doncaster. The property, a pre-fab gospel hall on a large plot of land right in the centre of the village, is vacant. After a number of attempts to find a new church to occupy it, we could have taken the easy option of the selling the site. However, we believe it is vital that this property is kept for Gospel use.

There is no other church in Skellow and a small and not particularly active Anglican church in the neighbouring village of Carcroft. With an overall population of almost 8,500 people, without an effective Gospel witness, CGT is prepared to take the longer view of holding on to the property and continuing to make enquiries both locally and through the national networks of churches, until we find the person or people that God is raising up to serve and reach this needy community. Please pray with us!

Church Growth Trust has been helping Kirkby Stephen Evangelical Church to purchase an old church building, which has been used as an antique furniture showroom and café for many years. One of our surveyors inspected the property to check its condition and our architect Gill Pedler carried out a feasibility study and drew up plans for turning it back into church use. She has also obtained planning consent for the change of use.

Church Growth Trust was also able to advise on the various complications with the purchase, as well as the sale of the church’s existing building, and offer back up in the negotiations. We were also able to help the church think through the charity law issues involved. John Heron, one of the church’s trustees and an elder, commented: “we were so grateful to Church Growth Trust for their advice and support through the whole process. It is pretty scary for us to take on such a big project, but their expertise and steady hand has given us the confidence to proceed and we thank God for His provision at every stage”. The sale of the church’s existing building and the purchase of the new building both completed at the end of June. The church was able to purchase without a mortgage. Praise God that this old church building is now being put back into Gospel use.