Church Growth Trust (CGT) are pleased to announce the letting of Vale Park Chapel, Rhyl to the Jesus is Lord church.

The church have been meeting for some time in a local centre but have been looking for a place of their own where they can expand their ministry and outreach. The current tenants of the Chapel, Wellspring Church who are led by Associate Pastor Mike Bettaney and Associate Pastor Mark Jones, had bought and moved to the Rugby Club Social Centre some 400 metres away. Mike Bettaney notified CGT of Jesus is Lord’s interest in the property and helped in the discussions between them and CGT.

CGT’s Property Manager, John Duffield said, “Mike Bettaney’s support of the new tenants as they have navigated the intricacies of getting a new tenancy and his wholehearted endorsement of them as suitable tenants has been so helpful in the letting process. It is really encouraging to see one church supporting another in this way as it establishes itself.”

Following the launch of our new booklet ‘Your Guide to Running Church Premises’ at the end of 2018, and receiving massive interest to provide this resource to churches and those we are connecting with, we are already needing a second print run due to giving all but a few copies out.

It has been really encouraging to hear and see positive responses to this FREE resource. The booklet was created to provide pointers for occupiers of church buildings, by covering a number of different topics set our alphabetically, ranging from asbestos to ventilation and from boundaries to storage and stacking.

We thought we would give you a glance of a couple of the pages of this booklet.

For your FREE copy of ‘Your Guide to Running Church Premises – Legal and Compliance Issues for Churches’ booklet, email us at enquiries@churchgrowth.org.uk or call us on 01536 201339 and we will be happy to send you this latest resource.

Leslie Lucas, having served faithfully as Chairman of Trustees of Church Growth Trust since its inception in 2010, has now retired. He was also a Trustee of Stewardship, from which Church Growth Trust was established, from 1982 to 2012. As Giles Arnold, Church Growth Trust’s Chief Executive, states “Leslie Lucas has been an amazing Chairman, being a steady hand on the tiller, giving visionary direction and always being supportive and encouraging. He will be greatly missed and we wish him all the best in his “retirement””.

After Leslie’s final Trustees’ Meeting in February 2019, he attended a meal with past and present trustees, as well as his wife Pat, who has been so gracious in giving up her husband’s time over the years. Leslie was presented with a salver to mark the occasion.

HOT OFF THE PRESS….Church Growth Trust have just received notification of an approved planning permission for change of use of an industrial building in Brampton Carlisle (image below) to become a place of worship.

We are really pleased to have received and be distributing our new and useful resource for you and your church premises covering 34 varied topics that we know will be of benefit to you.

Our recent distribution of this new resource has been greatly received. A recent email from a church leader commented that this resource was “a brilliant little signposting tool to have as a reference – but all in one booklet. Very helpful. In these times when the issue of Church planting is very much on our collective hearts, an A-Z style practical booklet like this…perfect!”  

For your FREE copy of ‘Your Guide to Running Church Premises – Legal and Compliance Issues for Churches’ booklet, email us at enquiries@churchgrowth.org.uk or call us on 01536 201339 and we will be happy to send you this latest resource.

Chief Executive Giles Arnold has met with various groups of trustees in the last few months across the country. He has been offering advice on a number of occupational property matters. More importantly, he has been able to help trustees unravel the knotty issues that often seem to be present in various trusteeship and charity matters.

For example, he was able to advise an Open Brethren assembly in Liverpool that, somewhat to their surprise (although not unusually), the property Trust and the assembly were two separate charities. He went on to give advice on detailed steps that needed to be taken to get the property trusteeship up to date. Happily, he could give the Trustees and Elders reassurance that H M Revenue and Customs would not be asking for Gift Aid to be returned, merely because the assembly had yet to register as a charity.

A grateful chairman of trustees wrote after the meeting to say “we wish to express our gratitude for your visit last evening and for the extremely helpful information and guidance which was very welcome to all”.

Giles Arnold states “it is an immense privilege to work with trustees and elders, who are so committed to the work that God has called them to. It is professionally rewarding to be able to give Trustees sound and practical advice and the reassurance that they need”.

Church Growth Trust was recently gifted The Tabernacle in Hastings. This is a prominent church building on one of Hastings’ busy High Streets near the beach and the railway station. The trustees wanted to retire and the remnant of the church occupying the building has also decided that they will close in the near future. Church Growth Trust were delighted to be able to help the trustees by taking on the property and we are now in the process of finding an Evangelical church to continue the Gospel work from the building.

The Trust Deed, under which the property was held, was drawn up in the 1850s and had some “interesting and unhelpful” clauses in it, which would have restricted the type of church that would be able to occupy the building in the future. Church Growth Trust’s solicitors, Ellis-Fermor & Negus were able to give some sound and practical advice to be able to deal with the complicated Trust Deed and through their help the property has now been transferred for Church Growth Trust to hold under our own trusts. Simon Hale of Ellis-Fermor & Negus commented “it was a pleasure to work with Church Growth Trust and to devise a solution which honoured the terms of the original trust and at the same time allowed the building to be used for fresh gospel ministry”.

Giles Arnold, Church Growth Trust’s Chief Executive, said “our core work at Church Growth Trust is to safeguard buildings such as The Tabernacle for Gospel use in the future. We are privileged to be able to help in this case. Our Architect is drawing up plans to make the building compliant for legislation and our Property Manager is in active discussions with an Evangelical church in the town to take on this building in the very near future.”