Adapted from an email originally sent to Catch The Fire Bournemouth’s email list on 7 July 2023
We want to share our good news with you! We have purchased a building in the centre of Bournemouth.
We’ve been looking to buy a permanent home for the church in the BCP region for a number of years, and we are delighted to have finally found our place!
We plan to use the new building as a base from which to see the love of God impact the people of Bournemouth, and to have a positive impact on the town's vitality.
'Tell us more about this building'
St Stephen’s Church Hall was put up for sale in April this year, and our purchase successfully completed in June. The attractive Purbeck stone-clad building is situated opposite St Stephen’s Church, right in the heart of Bournemouth, and just minutes away from the town centre. We will spend the next few months renovating the building, before moving in sometime in the Autumn.
We are so excited! (There may have been a few confetti cannons, streamers and party poppers released in church on the Sunday we announced the good news to our amazing and generous church family 😃).
A little bit of back story
For many years, our dear friends and prophets, Ivan and Isabel Allum (now Skulason) prophesied over us (Dave and Adele Richards) that we are church planters and would one day plant a church.
Nine years ago, with great encouragement from John Arnott and Bob Kilpatrick, we started the church in our home, crowding into our conservatory for some rowdy worship and prayer meetings. Since then, the church has grown, and has rented various properties over the years, including Talbot Heath School. We currently meet on Sunday mornings at Bournemouth School for Girls.
Why a building?
As you know, a building itself is not the church, but simply a place we can use to serve the vision God has given us and to extend his kingdom in Bournemouth. Having said that, it gives us an amazing opportunity to loose the glory of God right in the centre of town and assert his superiority over every force of chaos (See Ephesians 1!). We want to saturate the atmosphere with the name of Jesus in worship and prayer; release his light and declare the truth of who he is as revealed in the Scriptures.
‘If I’m part of a different church, what's that got to do with me?'
Great question. As well as gathering our local church family, we are looking to encourage and equip the wider church family - by hosting conferences, events, and regular training such as prophetic bootcamps, worship bootcamps and intercession bootcamps.
We are excited to continue combined worship and prayer events with other local churches, as the Ephesians 4 unity and maturity arises in the Body of Christ in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole area (BCP), as each part does its work.
Declare with us: 'Bournemouth is alive with the sound of worship!'
We know without a shadow of a doubt that God has big plans for this town - there is a move of the Spirit that will come through here and sweep many into the kingdom. The fields are white to harvest! And we believe that worship is a huge part of what God wants to do, especially with reaching the younger generation.
That’s why we are boldly asking if you would like to sow a financial gift into us, so that we can sow into the kingdom of God in BCP and the South of England.
'What do you need money for?'
We’ve bought the building but now we need around £350,000 to renovate it and make it fit for purpose, bringing it up to building code.
And we need to equip it with all the usual stuff: chairs, sound and lighting equipment, functional toilets, a creche room, you know; the glamorous end of church life! :-)
We need around £350,000 to do all this.
God loves a cheerful giver - and so do we!
If you would like to sow into what God is doing with us, and help us turn this beautiful old building back into a glorious sanctuary of his presence…it’s very easy to do! It only takes a few minutes…
HOW TO GIVE
Please give online using the Crosspay app at the link below.
*IMPORTANT: Please designate your gift “Building Fund” so that we know what you want your gift to go towards.
If you have any questions, please get in touch with us at bournemouth@catchthefire.com
Thank you SO much
We SO appreciate your generosity and kindness as you ‘worship with your wallet’...thank you for taking the time to read this and consider your response.
Want to know a little bit more about us?
Our Vision is to blaze with the wildfire of the Holy Spirit, and to extend God’s kingdom in Bournemouth and beyond.
Our Mission is to:
Grow Big People – call out the God-given purpose of every believer; activating them in their gifting and calling. We are a sending church, so we train and equip people, and raise up leaders who demonstrate the supernatural kingdom of God in all different walks of life.
Grow Healthy People – to emphasise character, resilience and heart-healing as much as gifting. To walk together as disciples of Jesus; increasing maturity and to demonstrate love and forgiveness as we go. To walk in freedom and intimacy with God and other people.
Grow Passionate People – to love God with everything in us and to give Him the glory. To grow prophetic people who know the Trinity intimately, who hear His voice, flow with His Spirit and bring His kingdom in Bournemouth through powerful prayer, worship, prophetic and witness.
Finally, did you know?
We have also recently employed Mark Reid as our full-time Associate Pastor. Mark is a gifted singer-songwriter, worship leader and recording artist who has moved here from Bristol with his young family.
Mark says: “I’m looking forward to seeing our new home in St. Stephen’s Hall being a base for vibrant expressions of faith, community and art. I pray it will be a place of connection for people, especially for students looking to find a ‘home away from home."