Published: 02 November 2021
Carnforth Free Methodist Church in Lancashire is in reach of its new home, following 10 years of planning and with the support of £25,500 from Benefact Trust’s Methodist Grants Programme.
Carnforth Free Methodist Church was established in 1995 with 22 members meeting in each other’s living rooms. By 2000, the church had grown to a point where it needed its own building and so it purchased an old Pentecostal Church in Carnforth which was quickly too small for an ever-growing congregation.
For the last five years, Carnforth Methodist has been hiring space in the local secondary school for Sunday worship and only uses the church building for smaller bible study groups, funerals and the odd wedding.
The church purchased a piece of land next to the school over 10 years ago with ambitions to build a new, fit for purpose church and multiuse centre. Finally its plans are coming to fruition…
With the support of Benefact Trust’s Methodist Grants Programme, work is underway and great progress is being made to complete the building, with the hope it may be ready by December 2021/early January 2022.
The building will be an accessible community resource and training centre, and a hub for worship, with a focus on local people’s wellbeing. The new centre will accommodate existing church and community activities and create scope for many new initiatives. It will provide a support service for families facing bereavement or suffering the pain of divorce; it will be a place for those experiencing mental health issues exacerbated by Covid-19; and it will be a welcoming space for the young and older people in the community to gather.
The new location puts the church in a great position to expand its support work, with easier access from Lancaster, Morecombe and only five minutes from the M6.
The centre will include a foyer and informal area, a large multifunctional meeting room, several smaller meeting rooms, a refreshment and kitchen area, and an office and prayer room with modern AV facilities. There will also be a car park for 40 cars designed to be used by the secondary school and sports clubs using the school field.
David Broadhurst, Fundraiser for Carnforth Methodist Church, said: “Without a grant from Benefact Trust we wouldn’t be where we are now with the new build. We are hoping to take possession of the new building by the end of the year and can’t wait to start worshipping in our new purpose built space and with plenty of room to provide much needed services during the week for our community.”
