Hope on the highstreet
After an inspiring word from God and the door to an incredible opportunity being opened, the team at Rooted Community Church have taken the good news of Jesus right to the heart of their local community. We spoke to Stephen from the church team to find out what has been going on.
Back in July 2023 the team at Rooted Community Church in Tamworth, West Midlands were praying for the future of the church during a leadership morning. They were asking God about how they might multiply their congregation as they were now nearing their venue’s capacity. It was during this time that God spoke to them from Isaiah:
‘Enlarge the place of your tent, stretch your tent curtains wide, do not hold back; lengthen your cords, strengthen your stakes. For you will spread out to the right and to the left' (Isaiah 54)
“We were clear that we were not to just grow a larger congregation and move to larger premises, being committed to the community in Leyfields,” Stephen tells us. The church meets on the Leyfields Estate, where Stephen tells us there is a “very mixed population economically, from those struggling in social housing, unemployment, social issues and addictions, to those with very nice homes and very nice cars and everything that goes with wealth.” It brings both challenges for their missions but also many opportunities. Stephen and the team wanted to grow the church, but still stay rooted in their community, as their name suggests.
On the Wednesday of the week they had received that word from God, they “received an email from Support Staff making known that the Ankerside Shopping Centre had some empty shop units available to charities as charity lets - not for charity shops, but to fulfil their charitable objectives. We felt, Is this you Lord? So [we] applied on the basis [of] if this is you Lord, open the door, if not, close it.” This was when the flourishing welcome space known as Rooted Community Hub hosted in a shopping centre started.
The team applied, went to the open day for charities and within a few months they had the keys to the premises. God continued to provide from fixing the floor - “a local flooring company carpeted it for us at cost” - to the opening, just before Christmas, with a family craft session that had lots of people dropping in as they wandered through the shopping centre. It’s turned out to be an incredible location for meeting with the community. Stephen tells us that they have now hosted a couple of the craft sessions including puppets and music for the session this Easter, helping children and families encounter Jesus. Since the New Year there has been a Welcome Space 3 mornings a week, 9 am to 2 pm providing a place for conversation, free tea or coffee and community.
The impact is so exciting. “We have had folk who have been proactive in going out into the mall and inviting people in”,
Stephen shares. “Over the past 3 months, we have gained a regular clientele who drop in week by week. We have had the joy of leading one young man to trust the Lord, many other opportunities to share the gospel, and started a Discovery Bible Study with 2 ladies. In the last week, we were able to help one man very much on the poverty line, living a very simple lifestyle, by linking up with another local charity to provide him with a microwave to help him prepare healthy meals. We have had an interaction with another local craft-based charity who have taken on a premises and have had an ebb and flow of support and engagement between the two shops.”
This Easter, they will also be running the ALIVE series from the shop. Stephen says:.
“We were seeking a way forward to see about the possibility of starting some informal type of congregation in the Hub in the shopping centre”
“When we came across ALIVE we thought it sounded an ideal kick-start, given the nature of many of the conversations we have been having. The bringing together of themes of hope and purpose and the like, tied in with the resurrection appearances of Jesus is a brilliant way of touching home with needs in people's hearts and lives, but then providing a strong biblical base and hope in the gospel.”
God has been at work doing incredible things through a shop and a church willing to trust him and pursue him wholeheartedly. Hearing the stories of people finding faith and the impact on the community is so inspiring. We asked Stephen what advice he has for others who might want to give this a try: “We have been stunned by the level of engagement with the community and the openness of people to talk about the Gospel, in a way that we have not found when running similar events from church premises. We would definitely encourage other churches to explore the possibilities of charity lets as a means of engaging with their local communities. The Hope material, including the ALIVE zine, is a great giveaway for folk to be stirred by.”
Rooted community Hub wonderfully demonstrates that going out to meet people where they are, in the local community, has huge potential as we continue to share Jesus with others and see the Kingdom come.