From running a café to providing tea and cakes at events, preparing food is a common activity in the life of a church. There is no reason why you should not prepare and sell food to support your mission in this way. Whilst instances of food poisoning and allergic reactions are rare, these are more likely to occur if poor food safety practices are adopted.    

Although you will have fewer responsibilities if you only handle, prepare, store or serve food occasionally and on a small scale, all food supplied, sold or provided at charity or community events must comply with Food Hygiene Regulations and be safe to eat.  

  Church Growth Trust (CGT) has recently updated its briefing paper on this subject, particularly adding details of how to deal with food allergies, food intolerance and coeliac disease, as well as applying the requirement of “Natasha’s Law”, which came into force in October 2021.  

 You can find CGT’s recently updated guidance on food safety in the briefing papers section of the website here. 

In 2019, Jesus is Lord Church Rhyl took a tenancy of the Vale Park Chapel in Rhyl, having been recommended by the previous tenant, Mike Bettany of Wellspring Church. Up to this point, the church had been meeting in a community hall, but this meant that each Sunday they were having to set up before the service and pack away afterwards. Wellspring Church were looking to move to bigger premises just down the road from Vale Park Chapel and very kindly connected Jesus is Lord Church with Church Growth Trust (CGT).  

God has blessed their ministry, as since moving into the building, they have seen steady growth in their membership. ‘From the outset, we were extremely grateful for the property. We continue to be thrilled at the opportunity given to us by God through CGT’ says Brother Jun Hendive. ‘The chapel has given us the freedom to expand so we can meet mid-week and on a Sunday without the pressure of setting up and taking down each time.’ 

‘Last year we were delighted to invite all our members to celebrate our sixth thanksgiving anniversary of God’s goodness, faithfulness and love in Rhyl. Three of those years have been spent in the new building’ continues Jun. ‘There are many reasons to celebrate a church’s anniversary!  It has served as a great reminder of the church’s history, helping to strengthen our identity and presence in Rhyl. We have also been blessed with recently celebrating at a large event in London the 38 years of Jesus is Lord Church UK.’  

John Duffield, Property Manager at CGT, is delighted to see the church prosper. ‘It is wonderful to be part of the walk with Jun and Judy, to witness their hard work and love for the Lord Jesus and to see how the Lord is blessing their ministry. It is an encouragement to see how they have worked diligently to look after and maintain the building. We look forward to working together with Jun and Judy in the years ahead as they seek to fulfil God’s purposes for His church at Vale Park Chapel.’ 

At Church Growth Trust (CGT) we often see people repaying a kindness they have received with a good deed to someone else. Particularly those choosing to invest in the future of a property and the church that may occupy that building, enabling the Gospel work to continue in that area.  

We see the ripple effects of this generosity, not only when church properties are gifted to CGT, but also when the trustees of the property make a gift of funds as well. This is usually when they have a general “building fund” or where they have saved specifically for a particular project, such as an extension or a new roof. The trustees make the additional gift on a restricted basis requiring CGT to only use the funds for the property or the particular project. 

One example of this is Roe Green Hall at Kingsbury, North London, where the trustees had funds for an extension to the building. The planning permission for the extension had expired and CGT took the opportunity to review the plans. The result was a very different extension, which we felt was much more useful for the occupying church, improving the appearance of the building. Without the gifted funds, we would not have been able to extend the building. 

Another example is at Liss in Hampshire, where the church had been saving for a new roof. The building had been owned by CGT for many years, but when the existing fellowship gave up their use, they were happy to pass on the funds for the reroofing project. The new church were then able to proceed with the work and along with other alterations, make the building suitable for their use. 

Giles Arnold, CGT’s Chief Executive comments, “When we are given property, there are often works required to bring it into good repair, make it compliant with legislation or more suitable for modern church use. This can be anything from fitting an accessible WC to removing asbestos. Having funds to put towards this work is so helpful and a real blessing, not only to Church Growth Trust but also to the new church that will be continuing the Gospel work. I am so impressed with churches and trustees that are willing to give generously to ensure that the Kingdom continues to be extended in their locality. This is a real example of Kingdom values, as they pay forward and sow into the new ministry.” 

Since taking on the tenancy of Hey Street Evangelical Church back in September 2021, One Church Grimsby have transformed the building making it more fit and welcoming for Gospel use. The building formerly only had toilets that were accessed externally, an asbestos concrete sheeted roof in poor condition, and a façade that did not present an open and welcoming presence to the street. Internally the décor was dated and the fixtures and fitting were generally in need of upgrading. 

With an amazing work ethic and attention to detail Wendy and Tom Hawkins and their Team at One Church have overseen extensive renovations including the safe removal and replacement of the old asbestos roof with a new metal sheeted roof finish, the reconfiguration of the toilets to form an internally accessed toilet that is fully compliant with the current building regulations and an extensive programme of internal and external decorations that now give the building a striking presence within the surrounding area. 

In addition to all of the works to bring a new lease of life to the building, One Church have also commenced extensive community outreach activities using the building effectively as a base for their Gospel outreach in the local community. We trust and pray that the building will be an excellent setting for their ministry and that all of the building work will strengthen their presence and help to bring new people in to worship and into the Kingdom.

Kitchens in chapels and Gospel Halls were designed for a past era and are often not suitable for modern church use. This can be any of the following:

• Size – Often they are too small as they were only designed for making tea and coffee and may need to be used for preparing whole meals.
• Location – Not being next to the rooms that they are to serve, such as the welcome area or meeting rooms. Sometimes installing a serving hatch or two can help with this.
• Lack of modern units – This can be old kitchen units, as well as old equipment, lack of an extractor fan, as well as no handwash basin (in addition to the sink). A fully stainless steel set of work surfaces is not normally required, even when catering for large numbers, and domestic kitchen units can be used.
• Inappropriate surfaces – One of the major problems with kitchens not meeting the food hygiene regulations is poor surfaces, where dirt and food can build up. Sealed vinyl floors, smooth splashback surfaces, sealed joints around the worktops and plinths, as well as ensuring that the walls and ceilings are not collecting dirt are all to be considered.

One good example where all the above factors were affecting the kitchen is the Gospel Hall at Wroughton. Discovery Church, who now occupy the building with advice from Church Growth Trust (CGT), have extended the kitchen, taking in the corridor, adding serving hatches into the main worship area and smaller meeting room. New units have been fitted, along with a sealed floor, ensuring the room meets the current food safety regulations. The kitchen has been transformed into a fresh modern space that will be of great benefit to the church as it hosts various activities to reach the local community.

You can read CGT’s briefing paper on Food Safety on our website – see link. 

Every charity is required to have in place good governance and one of the key foundation stones to this is a Board of passionately engaged, knowledgeable, dedicated and responsible trustees. They are relied on for directing the work of the charity and keeping the “ship watertight”, finances sound, actions are within the charity’s objects and powers, and the charity has the resources to fulfil its vision.

Church Growth Trust (CGT) has been blessed since its formation with a great Board of trustees. As Giles Arnold, CGT’s Chief Executive, says, “They are all different, bringing a variety of skills and experience. They are not afraid to have a robust debate on issues, but they do come to a consensus and make wise, God-centred decisions, empowering the staff team to get on with their work. They have always been passionate about the ministry of CGT – I consider this to be the most important qualification for being a trustee.”

The CGT trustees meet four times a year, as well as sharing responsibilities through various Board Committees that specialise in different areas. The last meeting on 16 February was online and covering a huge amount of work and decisions. This time the trustees said goodbye to Dave Foster, who has been a trustee since 2012 and is now retiring at 70 years of age. Dave has served so faithfully over the years, not only directly with the CGT Board (and Committees), but also representing CGT on national groups such as the Church Planting Initiative. Trevor James, who also reaches 70 this year, will be retiring later in the year.

It was encouraging to have two new potential trustees attend the February meeting with a view to them joining the Board soon. It is great to have continuity with trustees who have served for many years, as well as having new trustees join and give new perspectives. Their combined effort and experience ensure the charity continues to make headway towards its vision. More on whether these two candidates come on board later in the year.

As we rapidly approach spring, we are all excited for a year full of opportunity and hope. I, however, would like to encourage a few moments of reflection, to look back on what the Lord has done through Church Growth Trust in 2022 to help keep church buildings for their original Gospel use and to help occupying churches make them fit for the God-given purpose.  

You will have seen some of their faces and read some of their stories. These are the churches we have worked with this year who have been remarkable and their commitment inspiring. So often it starts with trustees who take the bold step of passing on their buildings to Church Growth Trust (CGT) to allow other churches to continue the Lord’s work in their communities or because they want to benefit from the help that CGT can give them.  

We rejoice in the work the Lord enabled us and the churches we have worked with to do over the last year and have some highlights to share with you. 

• In 2022, we were gifted or appointed as sole trustee of 10 church properties  
• Seven new custodian/holding trusteeships were taken on 
• 26 churches helped with advice on building issues or potential building projects 
• Six building or refurbishment projects were either started or completed for our occupying churches 
• Two new staff members and one new trustee were appointed. 

The staff team at Church Growth Trust is truly grateful to God for all that has been achieved during 2022. He has been faithful in providing us with the resources we needed, keeping us going through busy and stressful times.  

Also, I want to thank you for working with us in many different capacities. For encouraging us, for speaking well of us and for being gracious with us if we have not met expectations. We look forward to working with you and seeing the Kingdom grow further in 2023.  

May the Lord give you fresh vision and direction for the year ahead as you seek His will.

Yours in His service 

In 2010 Terry Wilkes of Windmill Community Church visited the danger zones of Columbia to care for persecuted widows and children of murdered Christian Pastors. On his return, he was called to plant churches in West Wolverhampton. Following a successful initial planting project, the first service was held in September 2013.

Church Growth Trust (CGT) has supported Windmill Community Church since 2017 providing a comprehensive range of professional architectural services from feasibility proposals to securing both planning consent and tender prices from contractors. The first planting project in 2018/9 involved the complete restoration of the derelict Victorian church building in the heart of Finchfield.

The original St Thomas Church closed over 20 years ago and had been vacant ever since. It had fallen into disrepair and substantial structural work was needed to bring it back into use. Later in 2019/20, a phase two project saw the addition of a new extension. This church plant is now a vibrant Christian community, and the building is virtually full to capacity each week.

In July 2021 Windmill Community Church started to plan for the second church plant and entered a 100-year lease on the City Council owned former  youth centre in Henwood Road, Compton. The 1960s building was derelict requiring complete renovation. CGT helped with the entire process, including feasibility, planning consent, contractual tender drawings and documentation. This six-figure contract was a major project for a charity the size of Windmill Church. The project is nearing a successful practical completion due in Spring 2023.

The Windmill Community Church praise God for the building and are excited to see what God will do through their ministry there. As Terry says, “The Windmill Community Church trustees and leadership are extremely grateful for the excellent services CGT have provided throughout. In fact, we would not have achieved both projects without the support provided. We highly recommend CGT and have found their Christian commitment, expertise and professionalism greatly helped us during the grant funding and building process. Both our buildings are on budget and debt free”.