Foundations Magazine - Autumn 2022 edition

FOUNDATIONS

AUTUMN 2022

SUPPORTING

KINGDOM

BUILDING

THE RIGHT MOMENT IN TIME Also in this issue: Discipleship – an unchanging call to community

God-given growth to a vital ministry

Growing church, encouraging revitalisation

FOUNDATIONS SUPPORTING

KINGDOM

BUILDING

I am so grateful to Jesus that I am reborn and a new creation, as He is not in the business of merely refurbishing, reordering, refreshing or even revitalising. Although we know this is the case when we personally come into a relationship with Him, it is not the case for us as churches and for our church buildings.

I am delighted that Church Growth Trust (CGT), working with our sister organisations, is able to support church revitalisation, and know that this is having an impact on many churches around the country. Although all churches need in some respect to be revitalised, refreshed and re-envisioned, this often works best with churches that still have effective leadership and a core number of people in fellowship. The Church Health Check that is offered by the Church Revitalisation Project (see page 14) will help these churches to reassess their priorities, clarify their vision and put in place resources to help them grow again. Sadly, it is all too often the case that fellowships wait too long before asking for help, so that they are down to very few in number, have age against them and are struggling to survive, let alone grow. They require resuscitation or end of life care!

Although my comments might seem discouraging, I see the Lord using these situations for His glory as well, as many fellowships are asking CGT to take on their properties, so that new evangelical churches can continue the Gospel work from them. This happened at Wroughton Gospel Hall, where the new church has transformed the building in a short space of time and is again seeing the property used to reach the village with the Gospel (see page 12). Kairos Church in Ramsgate, who are also renting one of CGT’s building, have seen their building refreshed, refurbished and reordered to enable them to more effectively reach their community with the Gospel (see page 4).

It is a great blessing to work with so many of our occupying churches that are doing similar works to their buildings to make them fit for their God-given purpose, and I am looking forward to initiating, agreeing plans and helping churches resource many more building projects in the coming years. Join me in giving thanks to Him who can (and will) do more than we can hope or imagine!

Yours in His service Giles Arnold, Chief Executive of Church Growth Trust

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CONTENTS Article

Page

Graciously giving us all things

4

Discipleship: An unchanging call to community

7

God-given growth to a vital ministry

10

New life for a village Gospel Hall

12

Growing church, encouraging revitalisation

14

Church mortgages

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Meet Church Growth Trust’s Trustee: Dave Foster

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Charities Act 2022

22

What’s New

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Graciously giving us all things The right moment in time in Ramsgate Church Growth Trust’s vision has always been to support churches to help them keep their buildings fit for their God-given purpose while keeping gospel halls and chapels all over the UK in Gospel use. One of Church Growth Trust’s (CGT) properties in Ramsgate, the former Anath Gospel Hall, is now occupied by Kairos Church Thanet, who are breathing new life into the premises and meeting many of the needs in their neighbourhood through God’s grace. John Duffield, CGT’s Property Manager, has been involved from day one.

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“The property was built in the 1930s and is surrounded by housing. The property has been held by us for a number of years.

When the Brethren assembly closed, we leased it to another church. They did a certain amount of building work during their tenancy, including an accessible WC and ramp, but sadly, a number of difficult and challenging situations arose.

One of the members faithfully worked to keep it going, striving to serve God and keeping everything on an even keel.

During lockdown, he contacted us and said that he simply couldn’t carry on.

We honoured him for his faithful service to the congregation and his recognition that it was time to pass on the baton,

and began to search for a new church to use the premises. God had just the right people in mind, as He so often does.”

And that is where Kairos came in.

Originally Thanet International Community Church, they were meeting in a school in nearby Broadstairs and waiting on the Lord about finding new premises.

Chris and Sara Young have been the Senior Pastors since 2020.

“We heard about the property through a friend and got in touch with John. For us, it was a huge answer to prayer. We had such a strong desire to reach out to our neighbourhood and we couldn’t do that without our own building. As soon as we got the keys, we started to modernise the hall, but without destroying its essential

character. We wanted to be respectful to those who had gone before us and worked so hard in the Lord’s service.

The neighbourhood is mainly residential and we see people from all walks of life.

There are a huge number of young single mums in our area. My wife Sara runs two toddler groups and a course for women to help them discover their self-worth through beauty and craft. They have been incredibly successful and are a safe place for women to talk, share and learn together.”

Chris has a particular heart for men’s mental health and has been horrified by the high rates of suicide in the area, especially in younger men. He runs a monthly men’s breakfast where relationships are built, conversations had and faith modelled. Part of the event is a cardboard craft club, which this year has developed into Robot Wars, something which everyone very much enjoys. Kairos also runs a dementia group, which has filled up so quickly that a second one is planned.

John works closely with Chris and Sara and from the first time they spoke has been impressed by their heart for the needs of their community and their loving respect for the work which has gone before in their new premises.

“Most people would have got the keys and gone in to change everything. This was never the case with Chris. He rang me every time he was considering a change and in many cases left things as they were. He and Sara are incredibly people-orientated and have built strong relationships with several of the former congregation.”

The hall is small and in need of some improvements. Chris and Sara are keen to do it all in God’s perfect timing, and, having chatted with Jonny Heaney, CGT’s Architect, are looking at putting a small extension on the back. They have redecorated and refreshed the interior as well as installing new spotlights. For the first six months, the church had a sense of God “leading them into the land that was promised to them”. For now, however, Kairos are thanking God for the wonderful opportunities He has given them to share their passion for the Gospel and reach out to their neighbourhood. As Chris says, now they have their own base to call home, they can offer so much more.

“We run a drop-in centre after our Sunday morning service, providing housing application help, assisting with filling in paperwork and signposting people to help for drug or alcohol addiction. Food bags, clothing and a safe place at the heart of our community are key to this service. We couldn’t do anything like that before we had the hall. In a previous job as an outreach worker in Thanet, I met a homeless guy called James. I was struck by how emaciated and poorly he looked. I invited him to come and see us again the next week, which he did. Over time, our relationship grew and he began to accept

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a little more help. Seeing the way he lived, as a hidden homeless person, broke my heart. God spoke so clearly to me. He told me not to put value food in the parcels, but to ask our clients what they really liked and missed. James loved tuna so I always included that in his food parcel.

Over time, he was able to begin to trust again and after some time, he came to faith in Jesus. James went on to become the kitchen manager at the drop-in centre, and his example and lived experience was the key to many others finding hope. My vision for our premises is that we will be the safe place that everyone can come to, however broken they are. I know that there are so many more people like James out there and my heart is to offer them hope and healing. We can start to do that now with our wonderful building, thanks to CGT.”

Men’s Breakfast

I n addition to his experience with outreach work, which God has already used at Kairos, Chris has a professional background in facilities management which has made John Duffield a very happy man!

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“Chris got all the electrical certificates for the hall without being asked and his professional knowledge has built on an already very good relationship. We work very well together and we are so happy to

know that the premises are in exactly the right hands, with a congregation who truly know and love their community.”

Chris and Sara are equally loud in their praises of CGT. “There is no way we would be able to offer so many groups and services to our community without our wonderful premises. John is a great guy to work with. He checks in on us frequently and is always there with advice and support if needed.”

Kairos pray together about the future of the neighbourhood and their premises, always waiting on God and listening out for that still, small voice. Chris feels that there is much to come.

“I frequently walk around the streets of our area, praying and asking God what He would like us to do. I often get a sense of Him telling me that He wants us to give families the gift of special time together. It may be that we offer to do gardening or wash people’s cars to free up much-needed time. It’s exciting not quite knowing what the future holds, but being absolutely sure that God has a plan for us.

We feel so blessed to be able to further the Kingdom and show the amazing love of God through our groups. We continue to pray for the local and national churches and pray that you experience the amazing steadfast love of God.”

Discipleship

AN UNCHANGING CALL TO COMMUNITY

By Beverley Bedford The nature of our world is changing around us, with political instability, economic downturn, personhood being redefined, climate change and wars affecting crop and food supply. Yet the unchanging nature of the world remains constant. Jesus is the answer to the big questions of life and the Gospel is still the transformational agent of change for our communities. There is no place that carries more hope and potential for life transformation in our communities than the Church.

The Church from its beginnings has been called to move out beyond its buildings; to leave its nets and go fishing. God’s people in every generation are held together and sustained with the power and presence of the Holy Spirit. It is this unchanging power

Beverley Bedford has worked as a nurse and part time Counties evangelist but has recently been appointed as Counties training officer and manages the training programmes.

Beverley leads Counties’ Neighbourhood Chaplains Scheme. She has a passion to see churches equipped to be the hands and feet of Jesus in their own communities making Him known though servanthearted outreach.

that enables and equips each of us to witness to an unstoppable redemption story. In the book of Acts we read how the early church was birthed in Jerusalem, the centre of the religious world, and then pushed out beyond her boundaries and comfort zone in mission and evangelism to make disciples of all nations.

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The people of God bring hope to the world and historically Christianity has brought significant, deep, permanent societal change.

The Church was engaged in healthcare long before the National Health Service and provided education before the introduction of the universal education system. The Church was behind prison reform and at the cutting edge of the abolition of slavery. Presently, it is the Church that is most effective in supporting addictions, providing food through food banks, offering shelter with emergency housing to the homeless and facilitating daily encouragement for mental health in café settings and wellbeing hubs. God is at work and there are many opportunities for the local church to express love and compassion to their neighbours, but how does that relate to evangelism?

The Great Commission calls the whole Church to take the whole Gospel to the whole world. It has been stated by the evangelist Billy Graham that “faith and good works are handmaids of the Gospel which cannot be divorced”. A life of discipleship will reshape our views of society, culture and the community around us. To be a disciple of Jesus brings challenge and opportunities for every moment of our lives, as we live out the things we believe. Both evangelism and social action are expressions of Christian 8

compassion that make the Gospel visible. It has been suggested the heart of discipleship is following the example of Jesus, who demonstrated a servant-hearted posture, which readily, eagerly offered the towel of service.

The Counties’ initiative Neighbourhood Chaplains has been an example of how impactful both evangelism and social action can be. There have been so many remarkable stories of spiritual transformation through the church volunteer chaplains, who have been trained to befriend, connect and serve their communities. The encouragements for the local church have been increased trust and significant relationships built, seeing people on the margins integrate into church, and people encountering Jesus and accessing discipleship resources. These inspiring stories stand as a testimony of how a simple act of kindness has resulted in an individual taking a positive step closer to God in their spiritual

journey. God never writes us off, but can write us into His story, and it is by sharing this good news to the least, lost and lonely that lives and communities can change one by one.

Discipleship can be so practical, as it is out worked in the context of our communities.

The scope and reach of the Church are tremendous, as God’s people are released into every sphere of society, schools and education, hospitals and healthcare, business and commerce, government and politics, media, arts and science, not forgetting our leisure places and spaces. The unchanging call to our communities is to carry the Spirit’s presence, to speak blessing and be God’s vehicles of transformation, bringing life-giving, politics-changing, communityimpacting, family-redeeming, individualsaving, body-healing change. Yes, we can spearhead evangelism and mission right where we find ourselves and advance God’s Kingdom purposes in our generation and nation.

The Church serves an unhindered God, who has called His people and entrusted each one with an unchanging message. It is this Gospel

hope that is needed more than anything else in our communities. The Gospel is the ground we stand on, where we pitch our Kingdom flag. The good news that Christ died, was buried, rose again, ascended and is coming again is a fundamental reality and everything we do and say flows from this. This Gospel is the DNA that is bonded to the soles of our feet and determines our direction of travel.

God calls His people to eagerly proclaim and demonstrate this Gospel in word, deed, voice and action where we set our feet every day.

Is your community what God intended it to be and, if not, what would have to be different; what would have to change?

Evangelism through discipleship must be at the heart of the local church, for there is nothing more reviving for God’s people than to see the transformational Gospel at work.

There is no greater or more urgent priority for the Church than this unchanging call to reach our communities. Let us pray we never become numbed to the real and unchanging need of people who without Christ are lost and without hope. The Church is not called to maintenance but mission, and to rise to the challenge to make disciples who go on to make disciples.

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God-given growth to a vital ministry Since Church Growth Trust (CGT) was launched as a separate ministry from Stewardship in 2010, it has seen extraordinary growth, which can only be attributed to the blessing of God. Continuing Stewardship’s original ministry of holding independent evangelical church properties for these to continue in Gospel use for the future, CGT has seen the number of properties within its care increase from 50 to 120. This looks set to continue to grow, as Giles Arnold, CGT’s Chief Executive, says, “There is a great need with the independent evangelical churches for our services, as many are struggling to find trustees and expert advice. A number of churches, partly due to the pandemic, have decided to close or are concerned that they may have to in the near future. They are wanting their buildings to be secured for the future. This is where CGT comes in, by providing a service to ensure these church properties are kept in Gospel use, by finding new evangelical churches to rent them. The Lord has enabled us to do so with many buildings around the country. We also help the occupying churches to keep their properties in good condition, compliant with legislation and suitable for modern church use.”

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In recent years the Fellowship Property Trust (FIEC’s trusteeship services) have decided to close and many of their churches are asking CGT to hold their properties. Other trustees across the country are doing the same.

To cope with the increasing number of properties and the enhanced services that CGT offers to churches, new staff have been taken on over the years. From a part-time General Manager and part-time Administrator in 2010, CGT now has seven members of staff, four of whom are full-time, and it is taking on a new Building Surveyor to help churches with their condition surveys. The growth has also enabled the role of General Manager to be divided between different people, so Giles Arnold, who started as General Manager and is now the Chief Executive, is no longer having to manage all CGT’s properties or run the operations of the charity. This will allow for him to change to a part-time role from the autumn of 2023, as he will be moving to Dorset to care for his parents. He will continue to act as Chief Executive and meet with trustees of church properties where they would like CGT to be involved.

Neil Walker, CGT’s Chairman states, “We are delighted to support Giles in his move and are confident that the organisation is robust

enough to cope with him working part-time”.

And Giles Arnold says, “I am so blessed by the reaction of the trustees and staff, as I have discussed the imminent change in my circumstances, with their care and concern in wanting to support me in this. I also give thanks to God for his provision in growing Church Growth Trust to enable this to happen.

In fact, I think this will allow others to grow in their roles and strengthen the ministry. We have such a great team and I know the Lord will continue to provide for our needs, to allow us to continue serving churches across the country”.

The trustee Board has also changed over the years, with a number of the original trustees retiring and new trustees coming on board. As Neil Walker says, “Recognising that a mixture of continuity and fresh blood is required with any Board, CGT is looking for new trustees who have a passion for its work, are committed Christians with an independent evangelical church background and come with some skills that will complement others on the Board.

Having property or legal, HR or accounting experience is really helpful with our ministry.

We have been very blessed in the last 12 years with such a great set of trustees and know that the Lord will continue to provide the right mix of people and skills to serve Church Growth Trust’s ministry in the future.”

Nigel Allen, who joined the Board in 2017, has recently stepped down as a trustee because of his work commitments. He commented, “I can say that over the years, having been associated with a team of Christians, desiring to build God’s Kingdom, through safeguarding and making church buildings fit for their God-given purpose, has been a privilege which I will always cherish”. CGT is delighted to announce that Susanna Sanlon has joined the Board and is already making an impact.

She states, “Over the last decade I have been

really grieved by the numbers of independent (and established) chapels being sold to developers and, in my professional life as a Planning Consultant, this is something I see regularly. Being the wife of a church leader, I know the sacrifices generations in the past made for these buildings - built for the glory of God - and it pains me greatly to see them developed for houses and offices when our Christian brothers and sisters had intended these buildings to be safeguarded for Christian ministry for generations to come.”

If you are interested in supporting the work of Church Growth Trust or need to use CGT’s services, please contact Giles Arnold on 01536 647164 or 07721 666660 or email him on giles.arnold@churchgrowth.org.uk.

Nigel Allen

Susanna Sanlon 11

New life for a village Gospel Hall Discovery Church previously known as Wroughton Assemblies of God started a work in the village of Wroughton, near Swindon, in 1996, buying a redundant pub and making extensive changes to use it as a church building. They soon outgrew it and sold the pub with planning permission for housing in 2005 thinking that it would not take long to find another suitable building or plot of land in the village.

That was 17 years ago during which time they have met in a local school and community centre, but have not been able to purchase anything of their own.

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They were aware of the Gospel Hall in the village, as one of their members had become a Christian there as a young boy in the 1950s, but it was still being used by a small remnant with a different background and worship style to themselves. Meetings in the hall ceased when the pandemic began, and the trustees of the property decided to gift it to Church Growth Trust (CGT). Although CGT were prepared to work with the remnant of the assembly and encouraged Counties to

support an evangelist in the village, these options did not work out. Having already let a building in Swindon to Discovery Church, CGT were happy to agree a letting of the Gospel Hall to Discovery Church Wroughton.

As the Pastor Geoff Naylor says, “Being offered the building by Church Growth Trust enables us to have a new home after all these years and to do some of the things within the community which have been difficult without our own building. They have been very helpful in reducing the rent in recognition of the work we are doing to improve the building and plot. We are so thankful for the advice and encouragement of the Church Growth Trust team”.

Geoff Naylor with the new accessible WC

The church already has a lively Toddlers group that continues to meet in the community centre and have built up good relationships with many of the parents and carers. As the infants’ school is just up the lane from the Gospel Hall their Sunday School (Discovery Club), which is mainly made up of non-church kids will meet there. They are planning to use the side hall as a comfy drop-in coffee and chat space after parents have dropped their children off at school. It will be a great venue for Alpha and other outreaches. There will also be the opportunity to meet the needs of the elderly in various ways and the church hope that other suitable community groups will use the hall as well.

Heating in the hall has been all electric and initially the church looked into getting gas connected, for a gas boiler and radiators.

However, this would have been far from cheap and, with rising gas prices and environmental considerations, was not considered the best way to go. Instead, they decided on solar panels and a battery which will initially cost approximately one third more than gas installation, but will be cheaper over the long term. They have also changed the doors and windows, transforming the front of building to make it much more welcoming. They have fitted a fully accessible WC, opened up fire exits and

created storage space to make the building fully accessible to all.

At the rear of the hall is a triangle of land which was chest high in brambles and filled with years of rubbish. This has now been cleared and levelled (mainly by an enthusiastic and fit 80-year-old!) and will become a vegetable patch, flower border and green space for use of the church and others.

John Duffield, CGT’s Property Manager, comments after a recent visit, “I am truly amazed by what the church have done in such a short space of time, but they have been successful because they have had substantial funds available and Geoff Naylor has had a semi-professional, very practical hands-on approach. For instance, he reused the WC doors to create a storage cupboard in the worship area. Members of the church are also getting stuck in and are passionate about the use of the building.”

The last word from Geoff Naylor: “Although we are a small congregation, we have a heart for our community and want to reach out with the good news of Christ. We believe that having the use of the hall now is God’s timing and we are expectant and prayerful for Him to grow our numbers and make a difference in the lives of families and individuals.”

The freshly cleared grounds to the rear

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Growing church encouraging revitalisation “Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labour. If either of them falls down, one can help the other up.

Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone?

Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.” Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 Church Growth Trust has always understood the benefit of working with other Christian organisations. From the moment of its foundation, it has been building up strong relationships to help with its vision of serving churches and helping Christ’s Kingdom grow. One such partnership is the Church Revitalisation Project in conjunction with Counties, Partnership and GLO. Set up six years ago, its goal is to put key workers and local churches together to support any congregations who are struggling to develop or move forward.

A brand new “Growing church – church revitalisation project” e-booklet is out now.

Giles Arnold, Chief Executive at CGT and Chairman of the Revitalisation Operations Team, explains why it has been updated.

“Since we brought out the original booklet 14

and launched the project, we have been privileged to work with a number of churches and to watch them grow and develop. Some people only think about “revitalisation” when it’s too late and they have already become too small and weak to be revitalised. They require resuscitation or resurrection! We have improved the booklet because we think it’s better to encourage churches to engage with the project at an earlier stage.

We want to speak to them when they have problems but can still see a way through them. These issues are often elderly leaders, a dwindling and ageing congregation and a lack of younger members and leaders. If left unchecked, this will lead to the church having to close. When addressed through our Church Health Checks and mentoring inputs, that church can be taken on a whole new journey of revitalisation.”

Giles emphasises that the church has to be prepared to go through challenges and changes if they truly want their future to be bright and start growing again.

“I was speaking to an elder of a church in North Wales recently. They have a reasonable sized congregation, but he recognises that the elders are reaching retirement age and

the congregation is also mostly elderly.

Unless they do something now, they will get to the point of no return. I gave him a booklet and had a chat and watched as his eyes lit up.

‘This is exactly what we need!’ he exclaimed.

It is a response like that which gladdens our hearts and encourages us to carry on with this project.”

Mark Davies is an Elder at one of CGT’s properties, Highgate International Church (HIC), and the Regional Training Director for GLO, one of CGT’s partners on this project. He has first-hand experience of how the project works at HIC and is currently engaged on a Church Health Check (CHC) with another church outside of London.

“In a sense, our church had lost its core, a very London phenomenon. Young families worship with us, but then need to buy a bigger house and move further out into the suburbs. An entire generation of our church elders retired and many moved further out of London. Highgate is quite central and we do see a lot of people passing through.

We have been focusing on arresting the

decline, stabilising the church, looking for some key giftings and regrowing a central core of committed workers. In September, we welcomed a new pastor team leader as an addition to a community evangelist who joined us six months ago, and we have been blessed with new key volunteers to the team.

“HIC has always been about building relationships and seeing people come to faith in Christ. Two of the long-term community activities, the twice-weekly toddler group and the Thursday afternoon community café, have been revitalised and in the last five years we have seen a number of people come to know Jesus as their saviour. For us, it is not so much about starting new things, as building a team for the future, futureproofing our church against what was a dwindling and ageing congregation. Without the clarity that a health check brings, the mentoring and, in HIC’s case, the hands-on support from the project, our future would not be looking so positive.”

Andrew Conlan, the South-west Regional Coordinator for Partnership, has been working 15

closely with churches on their CHCs for over four years and, like Mark, is seeing God at work.

“As with any project, the last four years have been a bit of a mixed bag. However, I have seen two of the congregations with whom I have worked joining forces with other local churches and going forward in a whole new way, which is wonderful.”

Andrew adds, “If a church is concerned about its growth or future, getting in touch is simple. The church needs to email us on revitalisation@partnershipuk.org or calling one of the organisations behind the project.

We then contact them and send over some written information. The next step is for the church to complete a profile which gives our adviser the basic background and an idea of the present situation. Once that is done, I arrange a Zoom call or meeting with the elders and we chat about the process and how it might work for them. We are flexible and tailor everything we do to individual needs. Crucially, the entire congregation is invited to complete a questionnaire, asking about various aspects of church life. We find that this is a fruitful process, as everyone feels that they are part of the revitalisation journey. Once the leaders have completed a more detailed questionnaire, I can ask more in-depth questions and form a clearer picture.

This is the time when the church makes decisions about where it is going and how it is getting there, and it can be incredibly encouraging to watch as progress is made.”

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Giles, Mark, Andrew and everyone involved with the project across CGT, Counties, Partnership and GLO are in agreement that the process is a journey. Churches who complete a health check are usually looking for some clear and positive recommendations on how they move forward with their findings. Often, the existing relationship

between the project and the church moves into a different stage where an adviser continues an ongoing dialogue with the church and supports them through changes and challenges. Whatever happens, a useful list of suggestions is offered to the leadership and whatever help is needed is on hand.

As CGT continues to work with GLO, Counties and Partnership, churches are helped to start growing again and continue proclaiming the Gospel in their communities. With clear guidance, prayer and support, many churches are finding that the revitalisation project is having a miraculous effect as God works through it to breathe new life into their congregation and building.

Two are indeed better than one, and four are better yet, as independent churches throughout the UK are revitalised and the Kingdom of God continues to grow.

The new e-booklet “Growing church – church revitalisation project” can be found at www.partnershipuk.org/ church-support/church-revitalisation

Thanks to Ruth Leigh for writing this article.

Ruth is a freelance writer who works with a number of Christian charities

Church mortgages

For most churches buying a building or raising a mortgage only happens once in a lifetime, so it is important for churches to understand where they can look for help and to have an awareness of what some of the pitfalls may be. Church Growth Trust (CGT) has just revised and updated its briefing paper on mortgages for churches. It can be found on CGT’s website: www.churchgrowth.org.uk/ briefing-papers. It tries to raise awareness of some of the issues and considerations that arise to help churches and Christian charities through the process of raising a mortgage or purchasing property.

everything yourselves has often resulted in major difficulties for churches and charities.

Expert advice is not free, but it can end up saving considerable cost. Enlisting the help of advisers on mortgages, as well as building, planning and insurance and having a good accountant, can be invaluable. It is also important to engage with advisers at the earliest opportunity, as sometimes there are many issues that should be addressed long before looking for properties to buy or arranging a mortgage. These could be things like changing to the most appropriate charity structure, saving for a deposit or ensuring that your accounts and policies are all up to date.

Mortgage broker

Probably the most important point to make is that proper planning and preparation are crucial. Trying to save money by doing

Simon Shefford of Church Mortgages, who co-wrote the briefing paper, says, “Raising a mortgage from an external lender can be a lengthy and complex process. Church borrowing is very different to the residential mortgages most of us have on our houses.

It can be difficult to find lenders who understand churches, and professionals who can give appropriate advice. Remember also that a church will enjoy none of the 17

protection an individual enjoys under consumer legislation. I am an independent mortgage broker with 34 years’ experience.

I have helped churches and charities to obtain competitive mortgages for church buildings. There is a big gap between most churches and the lenders that I help to bridge, with my experience in the loans market. Having been a pastor & trustee of a church also helps!”

Simon Shefford can be contacted at Church Mortgages on: Tel: 01604 643399 Mob: 07713 121515 Email: simon@churchmortgages.co.uk Web: www.churchmortgages.co.uk Every church needs a clear vision and the building you might want to buy, refurbish or extend has to fit with that vision. You will need to assess the costs, not just for the purchase and refurbishment, but also for repairs, ongoing maintenance and utilities, and consider how you want to structure any loan (length, deposit, fixed or variable rates, early redemption costs and up-front costs).

The briefing paper covers all of these and many other issues.

Church Growth Trust has worked with three organisations who offer mortgages. In 2014 Simon Shefford negotiated with CAF Bank to provide a mortgage for CGT to build a new church building known as Miracle House in Wickford. CGT was birthed out of Stewardship in 2010 and still has close links with them. CGT also works with Kingdom 18

Bank. All of these organisations offer mortgages to churches, so they were asked to comment for this article.

CAF Bank

CAF Bank has a shared social purpose with the charities it exists to support. It provides secured loans from £150,000 to £5 million, for up to 25 years, to help churches fund the purchase or development of residential property and meeting places.

By engaging banks early in the planning stage, you can find a lending partner that understands your vision and work together to bring your project to completion.

CAF Bank is experienced in working with churches. Projects supported include the refinancing of a church, where its commercial terms enabled the church to dramatically shorten its mortgage, the purchase of staff accommodation and part funding an annex build which opened during the pandemic to support its community.

Borrowers benefit from the support of a Relationship Director, bringing understanding, experience and professionalism, and terms designed for charities.

Find out more: Tel: 03000 123 444 Email: clientrelations@cafonline.org Web: www.cafonline.org/church-loans

Stewardship

Stewardship have been providing loans to churches and charities for over 25 years.

They started doing this because churches were struggling to get finance for building projects from traditional lenders. Today they have a loan book of over 110 churches and Christian charities across the United Kingdom financing building purchases, and refurbishments to large development. Their approach is to provide relational expertise and understanding of the client ministry need and partner with you to execute your project successfully. Clients appreciate their service because they talk your language, they understand how your ministry works and what you are looking to achieve. A recent example of their work is where they have helped a church with finance to finish off the development of their new church building where they had struggled to get funding from traditional funders. Two years later, the church has now moved into the new building successfully and have grown substantially in size as a result. Stewardship were delighted to see the potential in this client and their project and see it to execution.

Kingdom Bank

Kingdom Bank offers mortgages to churches, Christian charities and Gospel workers (including missionaries) for the purchase or renovation of property, subject to meeting the Bank’s eligibility criteria. The Bank is often able to lend when high street banks are reluctant to do so, due to their understanding of the nature of church structures and income. One of the great things about Kingdom Bank is that the leadership and customer-facing teams are all Christians.

Customers feed back their appreciation that the Bank speaks their language and understand Gospel ministry and church finance.

Kingdom Bank’s typical church mortgage types include, but are not limited to, premises mortgages, housing mortgages, community enterprise mortgages and community housing mortgages. One example of a how Kingdom Bank helped a church was by providing a mortgage to the church at a time when their high street mortgage application was moving slowly. The client commented on how Kingdom Bank was able to understand their finances, explain the process clearly and help in completing their purchase of the property. This enabled the church to have a permanent home and for their ministries and local outreach programmes to grow.

Contact the lending team lending@stewardship.org.uk Link to our page www.stewardship.org.uk/loans

To find out more, please visit: www.kingdom.bank/borrow/churchescharities/overview/ or contact Andrew Atkinson at Andrew.Atkinson@kingdom.bank or 0115 921 7280

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Meet Church Growth Trust’s trustee

How did you first hear about Church Growth Trust (CGT) and what were your first connections with CGT?

Dave Foster

What areas do you feel you contribute most to as a trustee of CGT and what have you enjoyed about being involved?

I was a trustee of The Midland Evangelization Trust, which due to a lack of trustees and the increasing complexity of running a charity, decided to pass the properties we were responsible for to another trust. In looking for a suitable trust, CGT stood out, for a number of reasons. Not only because of the way they dealt with the initial enquiry, but also the name, Church Growth Trust; it shows the intent to assist with the growth of churches.

Not having qualifications in the main areas of expertise for the running of the Trust my main contribution has been as a church leader, from a background similar to the churches occupying CGT’s properties. Also, I have an overall appreciation of the needs of these churches without being too influenced by a particular expertise. Working with a group of Christians with the same aims and being able to discuss issued openly to come to an agreed decision has been a highlight of my time as a trustee.

What changes with CGT have you seen since you became a trustee?

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There have been many changes in my time with CGT, including with trustees, staff, premises and working practices. They have not all been easy, but have been worked through very well mainly due to the excellent staff. One thing that does standout as a change that has proved so helpful in the time of the pandemic was moving to a cloud-based office structure which made the transition to home working much quicker and easier. Fortunately, as I will be retiring soon,

understanding and working with the new systems is not a major priority for me!

How would you summarise the work of CGT? With the sad decline of the church in many areas in this country, CGT is making positive steps to counter this. One area is giving those with vision to grow the Christian faith the opportunity, where a building becomes available and a new building is needed, of a new place to work from. This is bringing encouragement in showing that there is a future for the Christian faith in this country.

Often church buildings can cease to be welcoming by their poor condition. CGT, by its diligence and by putting in place good processes of inspection and checking, is helping occupying churches maintain their building to a high standard.

What challenges do you perceive are ahead for CGT and what is the greatest need?

One of the greatest challenges is going to be managing growth. This will include how to wisely spread into other geographical areas, position staff to maintain efficiency and continue to meet the growing emphasis on the wise use of renewable resources.

The greatest need is to maintain good staff relations and continue to keep true to our values.

and damaging to the faith. Seeking the wise counsel of others will continue to be important. Although CGT is involved in bringing organisations who are like-minded together, the challenge of encouraging churches to work together and share skills and resources is even more challenging.

Can you think of one memorable moment in your time with Church Growth Trust?

The day Miracle House in Wickford opened stands out in my mind. It was to me the culmination of a process of working together with a church to achieve a grand outcome to meet the then need of their growth. Now to find that they want to start a further phase of development shows that there is a future for independent evangelical churches. Praise God! As you step down as a trustee next year, what are you going to be doing in your “retirement”?

Although I will retire from CGT, as yet I have not been able to retire as an elder in my local church, where there are many challenges and continuing growth. I do enjoy travel, so as long as I am fit I will continue to do so, especially on my motorbike with the encouragement of my pillion wife.

What do you think is happening with independent evangelical churches and what do you think CGT can do to help them?

Although there are still a good number of strong independent evangelical churches, their future depends on good leadership and members of the churches being disciples of Jesus. Fierce independence can create an arrogance that can be counterproductive

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CHARITIES ACT 2022 The recent Charities Act, in response to the Law Commission’s review, received Royal Assent in February and is now in place. However, it is proposed that this will take until the end of 2023 for the Charity Commission and Government to implement through secondary legislation/regulations.

The new Act updates and amends the Charities Act 2011 and there are many aspects that will affect independent churches and other charities. This autumn the following are expected to be in place:

Trustees providing services

Changes with the new Act allow trustees to provide services for the charity and be paid for these services, even if it is not expressly allowed in the governing documents. This would allow a church trustee to provide services through their company or employer for the benefit of the church. It still does not allow for a trustee to be employed, unless this is specifically allowed within the governing document, and safeguards still need to be in place.

Trust Corporation status

The new Act allows for CIOs and charitable companies to act as trust corporations. This may mean that churches that have set up CIOs may appoint their CIO as the corporate trustee of their separate property Trust.

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Ex-Gratia payments

The changes to ex-gratia payments allow charities to make payments to employees or allow them to receive a benefit of which they would not contractually be entitled to, but where there is a moral obligation to do so. It might allow ex-employees of churches to stay in properties at low rents.

Cy-pres schemes and charity appeals

The changes with regard to cy-pres schemes, where the purposes of the charity may have failed, apply only to financial appeals. This might be relevant to churches where they are raising funds for building projects and have not needed to use all the funds.

Other changes, including allowing more flexibility on changing the governance of charities and making the process of granting leases and selling property easier, will be introduced over the next 12 months or so.

Look out for updates on Church Growth Trust’s website and in future magazines.

Church Growth Trust has produced a briefing paper giving the details of these changes and this can be viewed on CGT’s website: www.churchgrowth.org.uk/briefing-papers.

Local and enjoyable staff away-day Two of Church Growth Trust’s (CGT) values are relationship and generosity. These are also what underpin its focus when connecting with churches, sister organisations, and friends and advocates of CGT. These values therefore have to be key with CGT’s staff and are demonstrated in many ways throughout the year.

One such way is the annual staff day out of the office with the aim to spend some quality time together. In recent years the team have visited York, Norwich and Belvoir Castle near Grantham.

The recent away-day was more local, but no less interesting. The visit to Althorp House in

Northamptonshire was enjoyed by everyone with viewing the beautiful house, stable yard and surrounding parkland. Food is always a key part of the staff away day and a sumptuous picnic lunch included everyone’s favourite choice of food.

Water water everywhere!

The biggest problem with buildings is water damage. This can be from rain, rising damp or burst pipes. To prevent unnecessary damage to your church building, Church Growth Trust (CGT) recommends that you carry out regular inspections, some of these being monthly and others on an annual basis. A good time to carry out the annual inspection is the start of autumn and CGT would recommend that you look at the following: Roofs, Gutters and downpipes, Walls, Paths, Pipework, and Baptistry.

With the drought conditions experienced recently, it is difficult to imagine lots of rain and other water problems, but it is worth preparing for the winter ahead. You can read the full version of this article on CGT’s

website www.churchgrowth.org.uk/category/ news or more detailed information can be found on these and other ways to look after your church building in CGT’s briefing paper on that subject. This also includes checklists on items to review monthly and annually. The paper is found at www.churchgrowth.org.uk/ briefing-papers.

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Dates for your diary As a result of Church Growth Trust’s relationship with linked organisations we are aware of the following relevant and useful training courses for churches and trustees:

Rural Ministries

Push out even deeper – Rural Mission Hubs Thursday 20 October 10am – 4.30pm: Lee Abbey, Devon – in person event www.ruralministries.org.uk/deeper

Christian Safeguarding Services

Safe & Sound Safeguarding Training for Trustees and Church Leaders Wednesday 2 November 6.30am – 9.30pm – online event www.thecss.co.uk/events/

Counties UK

Neighbourhood Chaplain: ‘Inform & Inspire’ webinar Thursday 17 November 7pm – online event www.countiesuk.org/training

Chief Executive: Giles Arnold Operations Director: Garryl Willis Property Manager: John Duffield Trustees: Neil Walker, Richard Canham, Dave Foster, Trevor James, Richard Jones, Susanna Sanlon, Paul Withams.

Church Growth Trust is a charitable company which holds and accepts independent church properties (as owner or trustee); blesses churches which occupy its buildings by granting concessionary rents; helps these churches to keep their properties in good condition, compliant with legislation and suitable for modern church use, including helping to fund building projects; provides professional property and architectural services and guidance in church practice and governance, including encouraging churches to make best use of their properties, and supports church planting and revitalisation of independent churches.

The Barn 1 Manor Farm Barns, Baines Lane, Seaton, Oakham, LE15 9HP 01536 201339 enquiries@churchgrowth.org.uk www.churchgrowth.org.uk Charity number: 1138119