We heard from a number of churches who have looked at their buildings and how they could be used better, changed or developed.
Chester-El-Street Methodist Church
Identifying an outreach project that would draw people into the church saw the development of the building for a purpose other than ‘just’ worship and allowed a new building dedicated to this work.
Park Methodist Church closed due to rising maintenance costs and a reduced congregation. The church merged with neighbouring Monkton Methodist Church to become Monkton Park Methodist Church. Improvements were made to the Monkton Methodist Church building and has helped secure the ongoing Methodist resources with pooled resources, water-tight building and stable finances.
Three churches (two Methodist and one URC) within a stones throw of each other decided to come together from a place of strength. They joined together to form Trinity Gosforth and have a unified presence on the high street.
Credits – Alter View by Tom Blackwell under CC BY-NC-2.0