Two churches: One Vision

Summer's edition of Ignite can be found here on our website and features some great articles.

It includes our front-page story about Windmill Community Church in the West Midlands and Glebe Chapel in Newent, Gloucestershire.   

Both churches have a real vision and mission for Evangelism which is centred on their local community. 

Windmill Community Church, in Finchfield, Wolverhampton, is full. They can’t fit any more people in on a Sunday morning. 

So, ten years after praying and believing that God would give them a particular building, just a mile down the road and three times the size, He did.

Today, Windmill Community Church and its Hub, in Compton – led by the Windmill community - is now theirs. 

Counties Evangelist, Andy Hodson, leads Windmill Community Church and calls this growth: “A new season of evangelism built on the good work that has already been laid down.

“It sounds obvious but sometimes we are in seasons of preparation and sometimes we are in seasons of harvest. The encouragement for people is to keep believing and keep praying.”

“It’s about multiplication,” says Andy. “It’s never been about planting a church. It’s about planting a church, that plants a church, that plants a church.

It’s taken many years for the congregation of Glebe Chapel – a Counties supporting church - to move to the newly refurbished Newent Community Centre – but they are now fulfilling the bold vision of putting the community first, not the congregation.

Elder Stephen Cracknell says: “There were many groups using the building when we took it on: cubs, scouts, a line dancing group and so on. If we had built our own separate church, getting those groups to come in would have been a huge hurdle but by moving to where they already were – we crossed that barrier instantly.”

Pastor Paul Parker adds: “Historically, the church usually says: ‘Come to us – our church, our doors, and our ministries’. I think Glebe says: ‘How are we engaging and going to them?’ It’s about shifting the mindset of the church and thankfully as a centre, naturally people will do that.

“That’s what Jesus models for us; He incarnated himself to come into our world and be with us on His own missionary journey into our world.”