The Point Church in Burgess Hill has just celebrated its tenth birthday in style with a weekend full of celebrations. Jules Middleton reports in an article written for the Mid-Sussex Times.
Ten years may not seem that long in church terms but The Point is part of the Church of England and is a 'church plant' or new church, started under the fresh expressions banner – an initiative set up to think about different ways of 'doing church'. Begun back in 2004 with a just a few people meeting in the living room of Vicar Will Kemp, the church has grown quickly and now meets at St.Paul's Catholic College, Burgess Hill on Sunday mornings.
The TEN celebrations included a glittering awards evening and party, with the theme 'dress to impress', a fantastic morning service with special guest Bishop Lindsay Urwin, who was instrumental in getting the church off the ground in the first place, and finally an evening celebration which gathered many friends of The Point from local churches to celebrate together, including Bishop of Lewes, Richard Jackson and special guest speaker, church planter Rev David Cooke from Holy Trinity, Barnes.
Will Kemp said that the weekend was
an amazing celebration of all that God has done through The Point in the last ten years
and noted that it was great to look back at some of the highlights so far, including the very recent story of Point regular Tim Adams who miraculously found his mum after 50 years. Plus many other things such as the 'Church in a Pub' initiative, which meets at the Woolpack in Burgess Hill; Walking the Land, a giant prayer walk across Mid Sussex over 24 hours involving many local churches; and the many community events and ventures that have impacted people across Mid Sussex.
Will Kemp added,
We are delighted to be celebrating ten years as a church, but it also seems like the start of a new season and we are really excited about the next ten years and where God will take us next.