Barnabas Community Church, Shrewsbury
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Barnabas Community Church is an independent, evangelical, Church in Shrewsbury, England, and is in many ways a product of the UK charismatic movement. It is part of the newfrontiers[2] family of churches and a member of the Evangelical Alliance[3].
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[edit] History
Barnabas Christian Fellowship was founded in 1983, after the Crowmoor Baptist Church outgrew its building at the time[4]. The initial group was about 80 strong. Restricted by only having limited capacity in meeting rooms above a pub, as the church grew, it separated into two congregations for a three year period. In 1993, the two congregations reunited and began meeting together at the Wakeman School[5] with a clear sense that a new "home" was needed.
In 1996 Barnabas formally became part of Newfrontiers, an international family of similar churches.
In 1999 Barnabas formally adopted a Cell Group model for church life[6], having been inspired by teaching from Ralph Neighbour[7] and organisations such as Cell UK[8].
About the same time The Alpha Course was adopted and has been run twice a year since then[9].
In 2001 the name of the church was changed officially to Barnabas Community Church.
[edit] The Barnabas Centre
Between 1983 and 1985 the church met in various public hall including the Music Hall[10] and the Gateway arts centre[11]. Between 1985 and 1996 the church rented a suite of rooms above the Lloyds pub in Shrewsbury town centre.
The Barnabas Centre was formerly a Territorial Army[12] Drill Hall. Its layout provided an ideal basis for conversion into a Church Centre. Between 1995 and 2007, £550,000 was raised by church members to enable the purchase, refurbishment and extension of the building to take place.
[edit] Community activities
The Barnabas Centre is now a multi use church centre with many community agencies using the facilities, such as the Shrewsbury Senior Citizen's Forum[13] and the Community Council of Shropshire[14]
There are also community projects[15] such as a Debt Advice Centre[16], senior citizen's activities[17] and youth activities [18]
[edit] References
- ^ Shrewsbury Venue Shrewsbury - Barnabas Community Church Shrewsbury
- ^ Newfrontiers – A Worldwide Family of Churches Together on a Mission
- ^ Church Search
- ^ http://mysite.wanadoo-members.co.uk/crowmoor/
- ^ Wakeman School Internet Home Page
- ^ http://www.barnabascommunitychurch.com/cellgroups.htm
- ^ TouchUSA.org
- ^ CellUk: Home
- ^ Barnabas Community Church | Alpha UK
- ^ Shrewsbury Music Hall | Home Page
- ^ Gateway Education and Arts Centre | Shropshire County Council
- ^ Shrewsbury Venue Shrewsbury - Barnabas Community Church Shrewsbury
- ^ Shrewsbury Senior Citizens
- ^ Community Council of Shropshire - Effective Hearing Programmes
- ^ COMMUNITY LIFE - Barnabas Community Church Shrewsbury
- ^ Community Money Advice
- ^ Barnabas Community Church "Outlook Programme" (Shrewsbury) | Shropshire County Council
- ^ Impact Shrewsbury
