October 2011 - FX ARCHIVE...

Priorslee

Licensed as Pioneer Minister in Priorslee, Telford, Tim Carter outlines the launch of this Bishop's Mission Order in the Diocese of Lichfield.

There has been a lot of development around Telford in recent years. To the northeast of the town an area of around 1,800 houses have been built over the last 20 years. There is still land earmarked for development within this area with space for another approx. 500 houses. Within the area there are two primary schools, two small rows of shops, two doctor's surgeries and two pubs. The area shares a name with the original village of Priorslee, but there seems to be little feeling of it being continuous with it in any real sense.

The result is an affluent commuter area with many of the residents working in Wolverhampton and Birmingham because most of these houses are within a few minutes drive of the M54 junction.

This area has been identified as a mission priority over the last 5-10 years and various things tried along the way but then a strategic decision was taken to recruit someone to come and live on the estate and plant a church.

This BMO, the first in the diocese, is slightly unusual in that it doesn't cross any parish boundaries but the legislation is seen here as releasing the Pioneer Minister from expectations of involvement in inherited parochial ministry.

The aim of the BMO is for a church to grow in this area, with the shape of that church (gathered or network or something else to be discerned) but the achievement of that aim feels like quite a long way away. The BMO mechanism allowed the diocese to create some space in order to explore that.

I am employed by the Diocesan Board of Finance, which provides administrative support and a governance framework in these early days of the ministry. My licence allows me to operate freely within a geographical area defined by the BMO and by invitation anywhere in the Diocese. The BMO is time limited with a review period and the licence is linked to the BMO so is valid as long as the BMO is in place.

I am linked to what are known as two 'supporting' churches in the wider area – All Saints, Wellington and St Andrew's, Shifnal. We are still exploring exactly what that means though currently they are providing a place for my family to worship and be part of and be sustained by whilst, and until, the plant is able to sustain us. They are also providing some prayer support. This strategy has been implemented with the aim of guarding against the sense of isolation experienced by so many pioneers.

I was licensed on September 6 and diocesan officers worked hard to get us into the house, purchased by the diocese on the estate, in time for my children to get into the local school for the start of term. We still need to work out how we get involved in this community and the school, for instance, is very open to us.

We're at very early stages and at the moment it's all about talking to people and having neighbours around for endless cups of tea!

Kairos, Harrogate: From parish to network

From traditional parish to mission-shaped communities: adversity or adventure? Mark Carey describes the transformation of Kairos Network Church in Harrogate in an article for the New Wine magazine (Autumn 2011 edition).

Harrogate calling

First my attention was grabbed by a job advert promising a 'mission-shaped opportunity'; then I heard a passionate verbal appeal for the same post at the 2007 New Wine Leadership Conference. I was hooked. Here was a fantastic chance to do a new thing.

I arrived in Harrogate to lead St Mary's and All Saints' that October. Within 12 months we began the significant transition from parish church to a 'fresh expression' of church, serving beyond the traditional Church of England parish boundaries.

The parish was originally established to serve a particular part of the town. It had two centres of worship: St Mary's, the main parish church, and All Saints', a chapel for an outlying area. Due to severe structural problems both buildings were closed down shortly after January 2007.

The congregations continued to meet – St Mary's in a school, and All Saints' in the local Methodist Church – but numbers were dwindling and there was a real lack of vision. Something had to change.

Doing a new thing

And change it did. During a transitional period, we:

Decreased the number of services, to create space for mission;

Moved out of the school into the old church hall, making it simpler to gather together for worship;

Began 'café style' worship to help create community;

Purposefully shared faith stories, raising expectations of Kingdom activity;

Began to ask: how can we gather as communities of disciples, in simple, flexible and purposeful ways, and still be 'church'?

Out of this process emerged the first mission-shaped communities (MSCs). Each one of these small- to mid-size groups (up to 30 people) is treated as a church in its own right, meeting not in church buildings, but in homes, cafés, pubs, or workplaces. There were thrills and spills, false starts, uncomfortable tensions and downright difficult confrontations; but this new thing began to grow, with a vision to release communities of followers to live out the mission of Jesus.

We renamed ourselves the Kairos Network Church. Jesus used the word kairos of the 'appointed time' in the purposes of God:

The time [kairos] has come, the kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news

Mark 1:15

For this church, it was indeed time for a new thing. Kairos also describes how we hope to act in our missional communities – looking for where the Kingdom is coming, and becoming part of it.

We also began the process of becoming a Bishop's Mission Order (BMO), laying down parish status and becoming a network church. Encouragingly, senior Church of England staff were hugely supportive, and we began operating as a BMO in May this year.

Different shapes of mission

Those brave souls who have started a MSC find themselves on quite an adventure. Things can change quickly and look very different within a few months of start-up, as the community responds to the opportunities and calling of God and the personal circumstances of those involved, finding things that don't work – and things that do.

The groups enjoy low control by the church leadership, and we encourage high accountability, aiming to create an environment of trust which allows people to be the disciples Jesus wants them to be. At the time of writing we have a handful of MSCs at varying degrees of development, each seeking to have an impact either on their networks of friendships or particular geographical areas. They tend to meet in between our twice-monthly central gatherings:

The Wanderers are a vibrant example of disciples in mission, paying attention to the transformation of the whole person. This MSC started out with four people connecting with others through social activities. They became part of a walking and exercise group, carrying out street surveys in the centre of Harrogate, and have launched two discipleship groups.

Recently I led communion in the main room of a Wetherspoon pub with The Wanderers. We were with people who – because they have relationships of trust with this missional community, though professing no faith – wanted to share in what was happening. We were seeing people, there and then, coming closer to the Kingdom.

Tom and Hetty Wildblood joined The Wanderers through one of the small Alpha courses they run. They were nominal in belief and their experience of church was largely limited to traditional forms. They describe being involved in a Kairos missional community as having:

a dramatic effect on all aspects of our lives over the past two years.

Following a powerful encounter with the Holy Spirit, they are being encouraged to continue living life in the Spirit. In practical terms, Tom and Hetty have been helped to be more financially secure by attending a CAP (Christians against Poverty) course with someone else from the MSC. Another member helped them both stop smoking. They say,

We have certainly become less selfish in our day-to-day actions. Kairos is bringing goodness and understanding of God into a wider community and it doesn't require bricks and mortar as a foundation.

Vintage is a group of young adults building a shared life around meals, worship and mutual encouragement, reaching out to people they meet through workplaces and family life. They recently gathered nearly 40 people for a picnic. One of the couples from the core team is bringing together a group of men for Thursday evening football, as well as getting to know their wives and girlfriends.

Links is a MSC that may point to the development of the wider Kairos network. This group is from another Harrogate church. They want to do 'a new thing' with Kairos, but remain in good relationship with their own church. Thus they are finding missional accountability, supervision and support from Kairos, and pastoral support and encouragement from their 'sending' church. They are now working out a vision for a particular geographical area.

Elpis is a new MSC serving in elderly people's homes and aiming – among other things – to develop discipleship cells. It may not be the most glamorous mission field but promises to be very fruitful, with an ageing population both locally and nationally.

Off the map

Someone who was praying about my ministry a while ago had the words 'off the map' come to mind. How true! Going from traditional parish church to network church is not a much-travelled journey for many churches. Our friends at St Thomas' in Sheffield have been really helpful, but there is still a sense of going into uncharted territory.

We take inspiration from the journey of God's people after the Exodus, especially Numbers 9:23:

At the Lord’s command they encamped, and at the Lord's command they set out.

This is what I continually encourage the community of Kairos to do: live and move at the Lord's command. There is a lot of muddle, we sometimes don't know what to do, and we often fall back into old ways. We aren't anything like perfect at this – but we are learning, and enjoying the adventure.

Mark Carey

Mark leads Kairos with his wife Penny. Their vision is to release communities of followers in the mission of Jesus. They are also on the New Wine North & East Leadership Team, and are members of the Order of Mission, a network community of missional leaders.

Church on the Bus

Church on the Bus, set up by Church Army Evangelist Alan Park, offers practical and spiritual support to more than 60 homeless and vulnerable people every week. Alan explains the development of this fresh expression of church.

It all started in 2004 and we now have two buses, one single-decker and the other a double-decker, which make various weekly 'stops' in Derbyshire to bring the Gospel to those who would never normally set foot inside a church building.

Before I became a Christian I was homeless for seven years, but my life was changed when I came to know Jesus. Since then, I've wanted to share the hope of the Gospel with others.

The buses, staffed by 45 trained volunteers from different churches, travel to Chesterfield, Matlock and Clay Cross four nights a week. Lots of people comment on the fact that it's very peaceful and calm on board and that helps to break down many barriers. We have built up a firm foundation of trust and respect so it's very easy for people to mention God and talk about faith. We also help with practical things our visitors may need, like food, warm drinks, toiletries and clothes.

It was great to show the Archbishop of Canterbury what we were doing when he came to see us as part of his trip to the Derby Diocese. I know he was glad to hear that, as a mobile church, we have seen God move dramatically in people's lives. Some people come to us specifically for prayer but we are there to minister to others no matter what and that means sometimes you can come away happy and sometimes you can come away sad. Every day is different; you never know who you are going to meet.

We always stop in the same place as part of our weekly round so we are in Chesterfield on Monday and Thursday, Matlock on Tuesday and Clay Cross on Wednesday. As a result people know where we are if they want to reach us.

I have been in situations on the bus where it is simply raw evangelism. I think this is what more believers should be doing because Christians have been trying to get people to go into church buildings for years and years and they simply won't do it. With Church on the Bus we are not just talking about reaching those in need, we are doing it. This is a fresh expression of church serving a marginalised group of people and building Christian community with them.

One man we saw had been homeless for 25 years and if you mentioned Jesus Christ he physically attacked you. At one point he attacked me and I turned the other cheek. That clearly spoke to him because after six months he turned up again at the bus and said, 'Who is this Jesus guy? I want him in my life.' He's still homeless but now he carries a Bible in his pocket at all times and evangelises other homeless people.

Over the coming years we are looking to expand the work of Church on the Bus and as part of this we hope to begin visiting an estate in Matlock ministering to single parents. We are also in need of more volunteers to join the team as well as people to support us in prayer and finance. Currently the project is part-funded by Church Army while the rest of the money comes from donations.

I pray that more and more people will come to know Jesus Christ through Church on the Bus. It would also be good to pray for nurture groups as we work through how to disciple those who come to faith with us. I am thankful to God for everything that has been done through the buses so far and I look forward to what He has in store for us in future.

York Community Chaplaincy

York Community Chaplaincy (YCC) operates in the York Diocese as a Bishop's Mission Order. Leader Chris Cullwick details how its work has grown.

Building on the development of chaplaincy in various sectors across the city and the success of recent projects such as Street Angels, the Community Chaplaincy seeks new opportunities for chaplaincy service and trains and supports volunteers into a variety of chaplaincy roles.

YCC officially started in June 2010 as a three year project though I have been personally involved in chaplaincy here under the title of York Workplace Chaplaincy for several years before that. A previous Bishop of Selby, Humphrey Taylor, had originally set up workplace chaplaincy as an independent and ecumenical charity, representing all the denominations in the city and its range of chaplaincy services.

Among the many organisations and businesses using these services were the Chamber of Commerce and York City Football Club. That model worked pretty well until about five years ago because the partners benefiting from the chaplaincy were contributing to the charity so there wasn't too much of a worry about fundraising. Those partners included City of York Council, Nestle (which contributed £34,000 pa), Terrys and Norwich Union which provided us with an office space. However, over the course of time and with changes in management, funding support diminished.

Two of us had been employed full-time but then my colleague was made redundant. It was time to think again because the workplace chaplaincy provision under the old arrangements ended in January last year. The Diocese was keen to address the need and opportunity and, on considering various options, saw a Bishop's Mission Order as the best way to move things on. The BMO, from June 2010 for three years, was a new initiative to not only support existing chaplaincies in the city but also to develop new opportunities with new resources, in particular by identifying suitable volunteers.

I now help to recruit, train and support a growing number of those volunteers into chaplaincy positions. Under the umbrella of York Community Chaplaincy we now have a team of about 10 volunteers doing a variety of things. I'm also employed part-time by York St John. I have worked alongside the University's Theology and Ministry Department and very much hope to develop the chaplaincy strand as training for general use.

Looking at general trends, we can see that more and more vacancies for chaplaincy welcome applications not only from ordained ministers but also from suitably qualified lay people. We are providing opportunity for those who have not come through the route of ordination.

It's easy with pioneer ministry and fresh expressions to overlook what the church has been doing for hundreds of years in the form of chaplaincy. The fact is that chaplaincy has become a very, very flexible term. As far as I'm concerned, it's all about being where people are with a focus on service and I think that's why many are getting excited about it.

I have organised a number of days to help people explore chaplaincy, one chap who came is now heading up the retail chaplaincy in York which regularly visits over 100 city centre businesses.

The BMO is very helpful because it gives YCC a sense of support and respectability from the diocese in taking this kind of initiative across parish boundaries and drawing in volunteers from different kinds of churches. We hope it will enable YCC to continue its life beyond my present appointment and direct involvement.

Others recognise the BMO as a cross city initiative which doesn't have to tiptoe around parish boundaries. We are now at a pretty critical stage and quite a lot needs to happen because chaplaincy is a huge opportunity and a tremendous way to harness a lot of volunteer engagement with our churches and community; going out to meet people where they are.

Methodist General Secretary urges radical rethink of resources

Martyn Atkins calls for the Methodist Church to look again at the money, personnel and resources made available for mission – including the development of fresh expressions of church – if it is to meet the challenges of today’s fast-changing society.

Reflecting on his report to this year's Methodist Conference, the General Secretary urges the church to build on its firm foundations but take risks in order to encounter those

who don't find it easy to encounter the Gospel, see the relevance of Christ or experience the love of God in society'.

In an online interview with Anna Drew of the Methodist media team, Martyn outlines the pressures facing many churches and chapels in Britain, saying that the kind of worship and church life enjoyed by many devoted Methodists attracts fewer and fewer people from the general population. This is turn sets up a

disquiet from God,

prompting increasing numbers of Methodists to look at the missional agenda and ask,

What does God want of us in this time?

Martyn emphasises that developing new forms of church needs a disproportionate amount of time, people and resources to tease out ways in which people can encounter an authentic Christian life in the 21st century – rather than trying to get them to repopulate the churches and take their place in the pews.

In calling for a more radical shift, he says this can't be done by using

fag end time and fag end money,

warning that – as church changes – nothing is sacred in terms of trying to hold on to the way that things have always been done.

In looking at the big picture, the questions revolve around,

How do we move this forward? How do we take the risks that we think God is leading us to? How do we become that discipleship movement shaped for mission?

Regrouping for that mission is not about managing decline but it does involve taking a good look not only at inherited church resources but, vitally, how things such as fresh expressions are financed. Until now they have been resourced from money in the bank but that has to change. Martyn says,

We're put more and more in a situation where we can't do both; which are we going to do?'

He urges Methodism to take the risk of using a greater proportion of money on something far more than

simply servicing church as we know it.

Instead he calls for the 21st century version of what Methodism did originally – looking to reach those the inherited church doesn't reach.

The Methodist Church has 5,300 chapels,

far too many for what we need,

says Martyn.

Bold questions should be asked as to whether they are fit for purpose. Does the Church need them all and should it own them? How many of them do we need and where should they be?

He exhorts Methodism to continue to use

a disproportionate amount of finite resources in exploring what God might be leading us into.

At present £100,000 to £110,000 a year goes to Fresh Expressions with clergy stipends amounting to some £64m a year.

In the seven years of the Fresh Expressions movement our latest statistics for mission tell us that one third of all Methodist causes in the country have formed what they consider to be a fresh expression of church. And that's all happened on £110,000 a year…

Looking to the Methodist Church as this radical agenda is explored, Martyn is clear,

The Spirit of Jesus is saying to the church, 'Can I use you or can't I? Are you going to be with me incarnationally in Britain, in the 21st century or are you going to be a movement consigned to a particular time in history?' History's replete with the bones of churches that didn't hear the cry to follow and accompany Christ into a new world; with dirty fingernails; with resolute prayer; with a pretty radical agenda of social change and social justice and the promise of an inhabiting spirit that makes all things possible.

Graham Cray’s video series: worship

How do we ensure that worship is integral to the culture of a fresh expression rather than something that's 'tacked on to it'?

Graham Cray, in the second of a video series from our On demand page, highlights some of the key issues surrounding worship and fresh expressions of church, including appropriateness of style; the blend of ancient and contemporary and the link between worship and formation of Christian character.

He says,

One of the things we're trying to do in worship is be contemporary and engage with the present but another thing we're saying is, 'this wasn't dreamed up yesterday; there's been a long, living tradition of people worshipping and we have a treasure chest of things that we bring from that tradition.' You don't bring them from the tradition because that's what tradition always uses but you draw from the tradition… because of their appropriateness to be transforming here and now.

Sharing communion is one of the thorniest issues to contend with but Graham Cray emphasises the importance of getting to grips with the question, saying

If a fresh expression is going to develop into a mature expression of church then the sacraments – baptism and holy communion – are going to be part of it and the heart of it.

In acknowledging that a fresh expression would normally begin sacramental life not with communion but with Christian initiation; baptism or renewal of baptismal vows or confirmation – or some combination of all of those – he stresses the importance of carrying that out in the fresh expression when and where it normally meets.

Don't cart them off to the parish church, 'proper' church or something like that to do that because you're actually undermining the long term ministry. It's this expression of the body of Christ that they're joining. If it's the tradition that everybody comes together for a bigger event that’s fine but let the characteristics of the fresh expression have some place to be offered to the whole gathering.

In looking at communion, he asks people to consider the fact that leadership of a church community and presidency are not necessarily the same thing.

When it comes to communion each denomination has its disciplines and we need to stay within those disciplines,

he says,

but there are various ways in which those disciplines can help.

It's important to remember the fresh expression's character, culture and quality when shaping shared worship – he adds.

If the heart of a fresh expression is a meal and you're going to have communion; put it in the setting of the meal – don't tack it on afterwards. Partly it's recognising the culture that, under the Holy Spirit, you have been helped to grow and making sure that the worship is integral to it and not something tacked on to it or strange.

Graham Cray goes on to consider the relationship between worship and the forming of Christian character.

What are the habits we're forming when people gather for worship? Worship is meant to have shape as well as freedom because it's meant to be habit forming; habits that equip you for the rest of your life.

The Upper Room

Hope Cirencester opened The Upper Room in 2008 with the aim of reaching out to people who had never been to church to show them that Jesus loved them in a way they could understand and relate to. Leader Kim Hartshorne tells how a cup of tea and chat can lead to a world of opportunities.

We provide a welcome and a place of acceptance. We felt that society has become quite fast moving and many people are isolated, not heard or noticed by anyone, especially those who are vulnerable. We felt Jesus would want to welcome them and so we became his hands and feet for that. We try to demonstrate Jesus' love for people – that they are each unique, valuable, precious and made in God's image.

Listen to Karen Hartshorne discuss The Upper Room with Karen Carter.Read the transcript

We run a drop in space called The Upper Room above a shop in the Market Place, Cirencester. This is open on Monday and Friday mornings and that's when we listen and welcome everyone with a cuppa. We run meditation classes, eat out together and support local people and charities. Many people who find their way to us have never had any background in church and so we gently offer to pray if they have a problem, explaining that Jesus does care about the small things of daily life. We try and chat in a relaxed way about what the Bible says, but always offering space for disagreement or conversation. We are helping people start their faith journey and travel alongside them as it develops.

We have seen some amazing answers to prayers small and large. It is noticeable in the past year however that we have seen our visitors suffering greater pressures than anything we've seen before in the areas of finance, family issues and mental health problems.

As a registered charity, Hope Cirencester's aims are to show the love of Jesus and alleviate need and distress in Cirencester and elsewhere. It all started when a group of us we were praying for our town and we were really hoping to take church out onto the streets and just get involved in a missional 'day to day' sort of way with our community. We were praying for a building on one of Cirencester's estates but we didn't find one so we kept on prayer walking and calling out to God, 'Where do you want us to do this?'

Eventually an estate agent contacted us to say they had a set of three rooms right in the market place so we asked him for the keys and brought a team of about 12 people here, including some church leaders from other churches in the town. We prayed in the building for the morning and very much sensed the presence of God here so we felt that this was the place to be.

The Upper Room is accessible to those who wouldn't necessarily do traditional church because they feel it wouldn't be for people like them, saying it's only for people who are clean and neat and have nice clothes and drive big cars or whatever. A lot of our visitors are homeless or people with addictions, severe depression or mental illnesses, those who have perhaps suffered abuse in the past, people who just find it very difficult to access things that they just consider to be for the well-educated. Perhaps church is too 'intellectual' for them and they need to 'see' the Gospel demonstrated practically in order to grasp it.

So they come in for a tea or coffee and to talk to us about what's going on in their lives. We offer to pray with them, signpost them to other agencies, and go with them where they need to go or advocate for them if they need us to. Social justice is really connected to the gospel and so when Jesus comes to someone, you would expect to see changes in every area of their life – and that's why we just try and look at where Jesus really would begin to work in their life and we follow on from that. For example we have supported mums learning to read for the first time, sent someone away on holiday for a break, we supply starter boxes to people moving into a refuge and fill up flasks of coffee for homeless people in the town.

The Message translation that says, 'The Word became flesh and moved into the neighbourhood', is talking about Jesus transforming whole neighbourhoods when he comes. So we work really collaboratively with all the other churches, charities, Citizens Advice, local council – everybody that will have a connection with us in order to go and try to build bridges for the sake of the Kingdom.

I'm inclined to say The Upper Room is like a mini branch of social services combined with a prayer room and a coffee shop; just like the church in the Victorian era built schools and eradicated slavery, and Anglo-Catholic revival 'slum priests' ministered to the poorest people. Instead of a binary way of thinking that is 'either/or', for us, it's 'all/and'. That to me is a sacramental view of life – everything belongs to God and so we are 'being' church in everything we do.

We don't have a Sunday expression at the moment but it seems that the Spirit is leading us to consider that and we're really praying and brainstorming and just waiting on God to see what will bubble up. I'm sure something is coming, we don't know what it's going to look like yet, our team is still waiting – but God has gone ahead of us and has a plan.

Our people seem to want things that lead to belonging, they want to be together with each other and be together with us so people will say things like, 'Why don't we go out for a curry?', 'Why don't we invite some people in?' or perhaps we'll have a birthday party for someone. On Easter Sunday we gather at my home for a BBQ to celebrate our belonging – to Jesus and to one another. We're open to all of that because belonging is a big deal in today's society; belonging is such a huge part of faith to me and if we can help people to belong and to feel safe, to join in community and in family together we'll have already done so much of the journey towards the gospel, towards Christ.

The Order of the Black Sheep – Oct11

The Archbishop of Canterbury has officially launched The Order of the Black Sheep in Chesterfield. The Order, led by pioneer minister Mark Broomhead, is a fresh expression of church for those who feel like the black sheep of society.

Mark welcomed Rowan Williams to The Order's church base, known as The Gates, during the Archbishop's visit to the Diocese of Derby. The Order was made a Bishop's Mission Order earlier this year when Mark was licensed as its full time minister by the Bishop of Derby, Alastair Redfern.

Extensive renovation work on the premises during the summer continued until just a few minutes before the Archbishop's arrival. He toured the building, which includes a chapel, café/bar and media suite, and met many of the people involved in its development.

Speaking at the launch, the Archbishop said,

Jesus took it for granted that if there was somebody around, that somebody was worth his company – and that's how the Church started. Jesus' company is whoever's around and whoever's prepared to spend time just wondering, listening to what he's got to say to them. It's as simple as that.

He said that was what The Gates and The Order of the Black Sheep was all about.

It's about letting people experience a bit of that company… in the sheer mysteriousness of this world you never quite know what's going to happen, what's going on, you never quite know what God's got in store, there's no real way of telling (the difference) between insiders and outsiders. Like all sheep are black in the dark, we struggle with the real darkness of experience sometimes. We’re all in the same boat.

Mark Broomhead, and his wife Sarah, said their serving of the alternative culture, to anyone who felt they didn't fit in, was not alien to them.

For us it's a culture we understand, our 'village',

said Mark,

I'm like a village vicar really. It's a different sort of community but, for us, it's one we are very familiar with. We're focusing on that community because we don't feel it's catered for elsewhere but we want to be inclusive to anyone who wants to be around.

I really believe in the Anglican Church and I really believe in what's going on through pioneer ministry and fresh expressions. In some ways it would be easier to try and break away and just get on with it but I think it's really important to do things properly so there is accountability and people know we're serious about what we're doing; that it's not a fad or an add-on, it's a genuine expression of church.

The Gates will be open to the public from 21st October.

The Hothouse

An old hardware shop in Walsall, had been empty for some time when churches in the parish of Aldridge took it over, changing its name to The Hothouse. Gary Daniel is the Hothouse and Redhouse Community Worker.

The original vision for the Hothouse was to be 'a safe place for children and young people to meet, belong and discover the love of the Lord Jesus.' Whilst that vision is still in place it has increased its range in seeking to care for the families, the vulnerable and the older people in the community.

We are a charity supported prayerfully, physically (with volunteers), and financially by individuals from Aldridge Parish Church, Tynings Lane Church, St Thomas' Church and Aldridge Methodist Church.

Before The Hothouse started, there had been an evening club at Redhouse Primary School for several years run by Aldridge Parish Church's children's and schools' worker Jean Elliott. It was very popular; children and families appreciated the fact that activities were happening on the estate where they lived.

In September 2000, Jean felt the time was right to expand the work of the Wednesday evening and regular summer holiday clubs. Her idea was to transform the hardware shop into a permanent Christian venue. Obviously this couldn't happen instantly and it took time to gain planning permission, money and a group of people to take the vision forward. We also needed to know what the community thought and – above all – that this was God's project. Sometimes things have taken a little longer than we thought they would, and, as on any long journey, there have been frustrations but we have come a long way.

Initially the Hothouse met on just two evenings a week to concentrate on our original vision of meeting the needs of the 5 to 11 year-olds of the Redhouse Estate. However, over time and with increased resources, we've grown the Hothouse so that we now run a vast array of activities which include: youth groups for the 11 to 14s, toddler groups, breakfast clubs, tea-time events, children's after-school and evening clubs, larger community events, special holiday club sessions, day trips, training, special lunches and we now even offer a Sunday worship twice a month.

Originally the focus was on activity within the Hothouse building itself but now because of increased staffing levels (both paid and voluntary) and a larger vision we are able to offer support to children and families outside of the Hothouse, building stronger pastoral links into the community. We have, along with our wider support networks, been able to meet certain basic needs of the community, such as providing furniture, food, practical support, a listening ear and care for needy families. If we haven't been able to do these things ourselves we've been able to point people in the right direction.

A major change in the community came with the loss of the school in July 2006. As a result the Hothouse became, and remains, the only regularly used community building in the Redhouse. In some ways it's an unlikely hub of activity; we're in a parade of shops with a chippie on one side, a corner shop on the other and flats above us but it's a space that is certainly being used by God. In fact we're being used so much as a base that we're now physically constrained as to what we can offer because of the relatively small size of the property.

Between 120 and 160 people a week now regularly use the facilities and there is so much potential that we are excited to see how God will continue to develop and grow The Hothouse.

Our sessions for children and young people include:

Mondays. Youth Alpha for 11 to 14-year-olds;

Tuesdays. A 'youth club' style evening called 7-11s for those in school years 3 to 6 where children come along to play games, create different crafts, make new friends and socialise in a safe environment;

Wednesdays. WOW (Worship on Wednesdays) is an after-school session for three to seven-year-olds with an emphasis on Bible teaching in a fun and age-appropriate way;

Wednesdays. ALF (About Life and Faith) is an evening session for 7 to 11-year-olds. It is a more structured session than Tuesday night's '7-11' club and looks at many different aspects of life and faith with a Christian perspective;

Thursdays. Big Kidz for young people aged 11-14.

As for the community activities, we also have:

'Baby Rhyme' every Wednesday morning in partnership with the local Children's Centre;

'Hot Tots' parent and toddler group on Thursday mornings;

Community breakfasts every Friday morning where we invite people in for a bacon or sausage sandwich, free of charge;

That Sunday Thing – a monthly session for the whole Hothouse community to come together. This came about after we'd had a community get-together at which people said, 'We appreciate all you're doing but if you say you're a church, why don't you do anything on Sundays?' That was a learning curve for us because we had to fulfil their stereotype of church but then break down the stereotype of what church is all about!

All Age Communion – this provides a regular (monthly) service of Holy Communion to anyone who would like to come and join in. There is no other church situated on the Redhouse estate and we are aiming to offer new opportunities for members of the community to come along and take part in what we offer at the Hothouse.

We monitor and evaluate change in our community through relationship, conversation, evaluation and questionnaire. This is backed up by using statistical information from the Office of National Statistics. As full-time community worker here since September 2006, I am looking to develop the Hothouse as a viable community project as well as overseeing its growth and development as a fresh expression of church.

We are not self-supporting but it is amazing to see how some of the mums in our community, for instance, have said they want to donate to our work because of what they have found here. The next question for us will be how do we build a congregation? The short answer is that I don't know how but I do know that many (church) people now see Wednesday as our 'Sunday' here with lots going on in the way of children's worship and teaching. Our spiritual community is certainly growing because we recently had our first dedication service here – it was for two-year-old twins. The local ministers are very supportive and we use them as much as we can!

We also have a volunteer community-based family support worker whose role is constantly expanding as the work of the Hothouse grows and a part-time sessional worker who supports a majority of the sessions that we run for a nominal monthly salary. This role enables the sessional work at the Hothouse to continue week-by-week.

In addition we have about 20 volunteers ranging from sixth-formers to the retired, and – increasingly – members of the Redhouse community itself. They provide a necessary 'work-force' for the day-to-day running of sessions and are often involved in planning and leading sessions alongside the paid members of staff.

All sessions and activities at the Hothouse are provided free of charge to all participants. This is so that no-one within the community is excluded from taking part due to lack of sufficient means.

Our overall vision is to make the Hothouse a positive place for children and their families to meet, belong and develop community. In doing this we hope they will discover the love of the Lord Jesus and we do this because, as it says in 2 Cor 5:14, 'Christ's love compels us.'

For the next five years we have five words which we are using to envision us and help us move forward:

Consolidate: We have come a long way in the last nine years and so we want to consolidate where we are now. This means keeping the level of resource and personnel at least at the level it is now so we can continue to meet the needs of the community.

Grow: We also want to grow. The facilities we have now are fine but we're reaching their maximum capacity. We would like to consider renting/purchasing another shop unit to enable more creative things such as like running alternative sessions at the same time.

Engage: We want to continue to listen to the community, find out more of their needs – and respond to them.

Manage: We will continue to make sure our management and administration is following best practice and up to date.

Fund: We will look at various ways of building on the existing funding already in place for this project. We look to local trusts, charities and churches to achieve extra funding which will follow two streams. Firstly, funding for personnel, we need one full time project leader and our hope is to move our two part-time paid workers to full time and we would also like a part time administrator. Secondly, we need funding for materials, toys, furniture, technology, maintenance and hopefully bigger premises.