Grace Church Nottingham

Former Nottingham Labour Exchange, now the home of Grace Church

Grace Church Nottingham is a Newfrontiers church (part of the Newground sphere)[1] based in Nottingham City Centre. It is a growing church, made up of a mixture of people of different ages and backgrounds and various parts of Nottingham.

Origins

Grace Church began in September 2002 when Nick and Penny Sharp were commissioned to plant a church in Nottingham.[2] Initially meeting in their Bramcote home before moving to public venues, the church outgrew the Rose and Crown Pub in Lenton and in turn, the John Carroll Leisure Centre in Radford. When Trent Vineyard Church moved out of Meadow Lane in 2003, its leader John Wright encouraged Sharp to move Grace Church into the venue, which quickly became the new home. Being based at the stadium enabled the church to host the Newfrontiers youth festival, Newday, in 2005, attracting some 6,000 people and enabling a whole host of community projects to take place across the city, planned in conjunction with Nottingham City Council.[3][4] In November 2009, the church bought the former Ministry of Labour's Employment Exchange building on Castle Boulevard and renamed it 'The Ministry', a name which encompassed the heart of the church for the city.[5][6] The story attracted significant local press attention[7] and local incumbent MP Lilian Greenwood officially opened the building in September 2010.[8][9][10] The church has since based its Sunday gatherings, staff team and some of its community action projects there.

Vision

Grace Church defines itself as a family on a mission, summed up in 3 words: speaking, serving, sending. It seeks to speak the good news of Jesus to the city of Nottingham and give people an opportunity to explore his claims.[11] It also seeks to serve the city in practical ways and engages in a number of 'social action' projects around the city.[12] Thirdly, it seeks to send volunteers to other nations, to help spread the message of Jesus throughout the world as part of the Newfrontiers family of churches.[13]

Social justice

Grace Church is "committed to playing our part in serving those who are most in need in Nottingham, through our own initiatives and supporting other projects in the city." It believes "that the church is to be good news for those in poverty," and wants it "to reflect God’s justice and mercy by providing relief for immediate needs, seeing lives restored and challenging issues of social injustice in our city." It seeks "to do this through developing our own ministries to serve Nottingham and supporting other projects across the city."[14] Grace Church runs a Food Bank for those finding themselves in the difficult situation of being unable to feed themselves and their families, and is also involved in Nottingham Citizens, the Rally Project, Street Pastors and Nottingham Nightstop.[14]

Congregation

Grace Church comprises over 400 people, including large numbers of students and people in their 20s.[15][16] There are two Sunday meetings (10:30 am and 7 pm), but an essential part of the church's life lies in the community groups,[17] midweek gatherings of 15–30 people meeting across the city in various pub function rooms and community centres, with some based in The Ministry.

The Church is led by an eldership team of 5 people,[18] along with the staff and trustee teams. The church is both reformed and charismatic in its theology, giving high priority to expositional bible teaching and lively worship in its meetings, seeking to be "led by the Spirit".[19] It also runs various weekly projects, including the Alpha course,[20] a youth outreach project and a Mums and Tots group.

Links with other Nottingham churches

Grace Church has strong friendships with a number of other city churches, including Trent Vineyard, the Christian Centre, Cornerstone Church and St Nicholas' Church.

References

  1. ↑ "Vision". Grace Church Nottingham. Retrieved 2014-01-21.
  2. ↑ "Introduction to Grace Church". Grace Church Nottingham. Retrieved 12 November 2011.
  3. ↑ "UK | England | Nottinghamshire | Christian clean up for urban area". BBC News. 26 July 2005. Retrieved 12 November 2011.
  4. ↑ "Newfrontiers : Newday Report". Newfrontierstogether.org. Retrieved 12 November 2011.
  5. ↑ "Churches take key sites on Nottingham's Castle Boulevard". This is Nottingham. 23 March 2010. Retrieved 12 November 2011.
  6. ↑ The Ministry Building at the Wayback Machine (archived October 6, 2011)
  7. ↑ "Churches take over Castle Boulevard landmarks". This is Nottingham. 23 March 2010. Retrieved 12 November 2011.
  8. ↑ "A Church ministry will have its official opening on September 21". This is Nottingham. 17 August 2010. Retrieved 12 November 2011.
  9. ↑ "Working hard for Nottingham South – | Photo Gallery | IWC2". Liliangreenwood.co.uk. Retrieved 12 November 2011.
  10. ↑ "Lillian Greenwood photograph outside Grace Church". Liliangreenwood.co.uk. Retrieved 2014-02-19.
  11. ↑ Speaking the message at the Wayback Machine (archived October 6, 2011)
  12. ↑ Social action at the Wayback Machine (archived October 6, 2011)
  13. ↑ Nations at the Wayback Machine (archived October 6, 2011)
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 "Social Justice". Grace Church Nottingham. Retrieved 2014-01-21.
  15. ↑ "Students". Grace Church Nottingham. Retrieved 2014-01-21.
  16. ↑ "Grace Church Nottingham's Student Blog". The Student. Retrieved 2014-01-21.
  17. ↑ "Community Groups". Grace Church Nottingham. Retrieved 2014-01-21.
  18. ↑ "Leaders". Grace Church Nottingham. Retrieved 2014-01-21.
  19. ↑ "Nottingham's booming churches". This is Nottingham. 27 May 2010. Retrieved 12 November 2011.
  20. ↑

External links

Coordinates: 52°56′54.5″N 1°9′6.7″W / 52.948472°N 1.151861°W