SHEFFIELD? WHY? PLANTING AMONG APARTMENTS: CHRIST CHURCH CENTRAL

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.
Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.
Galatians 5:1

PROLOGUE: FIRST DAY ON THE ROAD

Our first full day in the UK started with worship at St. John’s, Ealing with my wife and dear friends of hers. She had not seen them in some years – it was a joyful morning! The congregation was very similar to the Rez in many ways – on this Sunday about 200 strong – though the Rez has more children. St John’s, Ealing is gently charismatic and very informal – no robes – though the priest wore clericals. The songs were mostly contemporary. There are many exciting churches like it across London.

So when people asked where I was going to find some exciting Fresh things that God is doing, a look of astonishment appeared whenever I identified my initial destination.

“Sheffield? Sheffield!?! Why?”

Perhaps with famous church buildings like Westminster, or York Minister or Coventry Cathedral, or flagship churches like All Souls Langham, Place, Holy Trinity Brompton, St. Paul’s London - folks just assume there are more logical places for a tourist to go.

But I am not touring church buildings or even church as we have known it. My goal is to discern the future. And much of the future thinking is coming out of out of the way places where God’s people, moved by missional thinking are entering new ground.

So with my new best friend, "Guenevere" - a Sat Nav (GPS) that Bill and Imbi Kinnon graciously loaned us - very politely giving step-by-step directions, my “hire” car took me painlessly from London to Sheffield under clear blue skies.

The scenery was remarkably like that along the 400 from Toronto to Barrie – except for the occasional castle and the absence in the UK of annoying billboards which only commercialize the scenery. I could get to like this – so much easier to see life…

CCC
Life such as Christ Church Central, for example.

Glossop Road is a sort of northern border for Sheffield Town Centre. Above it is Sheffield Hallam University. The University of Sheffield sits along the hill to the south but neither campus is well defined, fluidly blending into the city.

Along and below Glossop Road., are a number of higher end pubs, very swishy. Apartment buildings (flats) are five to ten stories high.

On this Sunny Sunday a few more steps down Edgerton Street is a park where university students and a few young families are at play.

Further south, as the area suddenly turns under-used industrial, on the right is the small Christ Church Central office building. Gracing the front is a large vinyl banner proclaiming, “A church for people who don’t go to church”. Directly across the street is the DQ dance club – the space Christ Church rents for weekly worship.

HOW THEY DO CHURCH

At 4:30 PM the pre-service refreshments are on offer in both buildings and in between right - on the street: a brilliant way to let people slowly gather for church and to greet the curious walking past. It also afforded me the time to chat-up a goodly number of people.

CCC is a plant of Christ Church, Fulwood, launched five years ago with an initial fifty willing souls – mostly on the young side (but at my advancing age that could be most of the population!). The founders sensed that many of the young adults living in the area could be attracted to a church with a different style of church life and culture that that of the local parish church.

Christ Church Central then is "people who aim to make the message of Jesus and the teaching of the Bible accessible, understandable, relevant and available to everyone. Their vision and mission is to take the good news of the Lord Jesus Christ to people in Sheffield who don't yet know him, to be just as the sign says: "a church for people who don't go to church".

As this vision began to mature into a possibility, I am told Christ Church Fulwood, made every conceivable effort to get permission to launch across parish boundaries. However, the local parish in which this would happen felt CCC would be an infringement of the responsibilities entrusted to them by the Bishop and the Diocese. Permission was withheld. All across the UK, leaders told me that the recent Bishops Mission Orders were prepared in light of the struggles Christ Church Central encountered (see the next post).

So risking censure and marginalization, but with a clear hope that a new strategy and approach could bring people to faith in Christ and into His kingdom, Christ Church Central was launched anyway.

IT TOOK!

There has been some pain along the way but now CCC is clearly a thriving congregation with an effective outreach to young adults in flats (apartments).

That is why I came to them. In Toronto we have approved the first stage of a potential church plant project, the hope of which is to reach people in apartment buildings. Very few churches are good at that.It is said that people living in apartments are seven times harder to reach than home owners. I was told that Christ Church Central is doing as good a job at this as anyone in the UK.

REACHING FOLKS IN FLATS?

That part of their work used to be stronger even though there are a goodly number of their people in the under 40s who live in flats. It was not for want of trying.

1) Early on some of their leaders and members living in flats sought to make contact with their neighbours. Unfortunately most of that number have moved away.

2) Some Christ Church's members also took out membership in the gym meeting in one high-rise's basement – but then the gym closed.

3) A member named “Rick” said that they are still committed to reaching flats but, in the natural way relationships develop in apartment buildings, it takes about two years to build up sufficient trust with your fellow residents. By then many of the folks you have been nurturing relationships with move on.

Frustrating.

Perhaps if the residents stayed put longer, more fruit could be grown.

[Note - many of those apartment dwellers move on in order to buy their first homes and many stay on in Sheffield. Sheffield has one of the highest rates of any city in the UK at retaining its young people. So some of those who had been living in flats when first contacted by CCC have bought houses and continued at the church. Surely there is success in that. ]

YET LOOK AT THE LIFE HERE!

They are indeed reaching people in flats though it is a slower process than they would like. CCC's members on average are among the youngest I have seen for a self-financing church. There may be others like it in the UK, but in my doctoral research in Toronto, I only found two plants with a congregation this young on average. The closest example would be "Freedomize", but that’s PAOC (Pentecostal) and for a more "artsy" crowd. The newly revitalized Grace Church Toronto has a congregation on average about the same young adult age as CCC.

THE SECRET?
CCC's "secret" of success is not in the special efforts above that they tried. Actually it is no secret: it is...

1) PRACTICAL GOSPEL LOVE, that is, the systematic and careful love they extend to each other motivated by the love of Jesus. At the staff meeting to which I was invited, each apprentice or leader discussed not only programme plans, but also pastoral needs of the people they were looking after. Where are they in the faith? What can we do to help them along? What issues are arising for them? People who had shown up on Sunday just a time or two were given special consideration. How can we come alongside them? Do they have any special needs? Who might be able to befriend them? This was extraordinary care proffered for young moms, teenagers, university students, international students, the homeless, those of Sunday School age - and all. See more at their web site http://www.christchurchcentral.co.uk/ourvalues.html

2) GOSPEL WELCOMING: The people of Christ Church Central are an exceptionally enthusiastic and genuinely welcoming lot! When I arrived somewhat lost and slightly disoriented from my rushed trip north, one person after another came to introduce themselves to me. This was wide spread - hospitality was being extended to me not just among a few but eagerly by several people.

For example, after worship was over I was invited to join them at the Devonshire Cat Pub. Chatting with about a dozen gathered there allowed me to get to know them more personally – and to quaff a pint of “Pale River” a local fav.

Such welcoming contributes to making Christ Church such a hopping place. On the night I attended there were easily 200 there.

A youngish church they have an increasing number of children (there has been a mini-baby boom).

Having filled the DQ Dance Club space, they are planning to launch in October a second worship opportunity:
4 PM would be tailored for young families who need an earlier service to accommodate children's bed-times; 6 PM would be for the rest.

3) GOSPEL DNA
“How have you handled objections about breaking up the congregation?” Everybody seemed mystified by my question. Was I speaking a foreign language? (Well, yes actually but more to the point ...) Everyone at Christ Church just "knows" that multiplying opportunities to enfold new people into the Body of Christ could only be a good thing. That feeling is a symptom of this church's missional DNA. Helping people discover the transforming power of faith in Christ is at the core of who they are as a church. It is on everyone's mind. A practical demonstration of vision ownership: the only thing the pastor Tim Davies did the night I was there was give the notices. The whole evening the leadership was shared - everybody actively and visibly embracing the same vision (see "building planes in the air" on YouTube for what it takes to do an FX! Thanks Tim for that!).

Perhaps the pain of being marginalized by the Anglican institution they loved had ahelped them be that much more focused. Why are we doing this? Because these young adults need the good news of Jesus Christ, and need to learn His way, His truth, His life.

4) GAMMA TEAMS (You’ll never guess what the “G” in Gamma stands for.)
Organizationally, the church is broken down into “Gamma TEAMS” an effective small group structure that meet during the week. Gamma, Greek for G, Gospel Teams! The aim of these are:

Gospel sharing: pro-actively telling others the message of Jesus Christ,

Bible study that teaches, rebukes, encourages and trains in godliness,

Prayer for one another and the church

Christian friendship that loves, supports, rejoices and weeps together

Practically Gamma Teams…

a) meet together mid-week for study sharing and prayer;

b) engage in some form of outreach through natural relational networks (intervening with “the poor”, International Student Ministry, children’s ministries, crib, etc.);

c) and also form task groups for set-up and clean-up of their rented space on Sundays.

When they add a second worship time, people will likely decide which to go to based on which Gamma Team they belong to and what their Gamma decides to join.

It was abundantly clear that the vision for this venture was held firmly by the laity – with clergy and staff supporting and teaching. So the whole church and every member in it has embraced the gospel imperative that led to its foundation.

5) GOSPEL WORSHIP

Everything about the worship was designed to help all hear and take to heart the gospel. As the worship progressed Associate Minister Bill Fearnehough spoke in between

each song, separating it from the next by sometimes a testimony, or an explanation, or a reading. or notice. Founding pastor Tim Davies said that was intentional. The design is to help people concentrate on the content of the gospel not to be swayed or manipulated by emotion. (I knew only one of the five songs - it is a different country after all.)

One of CCC's members, "Stephanie" was interviewed about what it was like to be a Christian at school. She talked about her struggles in being a good student and also for acceptance. But she found that some of her fellow students were curious about her faith in Jesus and were willing to hear more. Her words were an encouragement to us all; even more profound when coming from "Stephanie": she was just eight years old .

The Scripture lesson was read by two of the international students both gradually making progress in their new journey with Christ. Their grasp of English was a little rough and so the lesson was not all that easy to understand but we all had had been given bibles to read. The important point was that that the words they were reading from the Bible were for the whole world.

It WAS refreshing for me as an evangelical to hear Associate Minister Matt Thompson do exceptional expository work on one of the most difficult of Pauline passages (Galatians 4:8-5:1) in just 20-25 minutes. "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery." Galatians 5:1

This was the first church I have ever visited (and there have been hundreds) in which I has handed at the door only a Bible - no bulletin, nor a hymn book nor notices – just a Bible. Church members receive an e-newsletter during the week so there is little need for wasting paper.

More power to Christ Church Central – we have much still to learn from you.