A new church plant can often be met with questions of ‘What’s wrong with the existing churches?’ and ‘Do we really need another one?’ But in this instance there are compelling reasons to plant a new church in the centre of Warrington.
Supported by the North West Partnership, Central Church Warrington is looking to launch in Easter 2022. Anglican in nature and conservative evangelical in conviction, this initiative, which is in the Liverpool Diocesan consultation process, has an extraordinary opportunity.
For 25 years the population of Warrington has drifted to the suburbs, with most of the town centre residential property either being demolished or repurposed for commercial use. This ‘doughnut effect’ has left the town centre denuded of residential property apart from a small number of low-rent poor-quality dwellings.
Warrington Borough Council, realising that the town centre was rapidly deteriorating, has recently spent £200million on a new market area with a multiplex cinema and parking for 1,300 cars. In 2020 the council produced a masterplan promising 8,000 new affordable homes in the town centre, and placed great emphasis on invigorating the waterfront with domestic dwellings, cafés and restaurants.
But where has this left the churches? With very few exceptions, they have moved out to the suburbs, leaving a few heroic churches struggling with small congregations.
But up to 20,000 people may soon move in, especially given the benefits of great connectivity. As one local business person put it: ‘When one looks at the geography of Warrington, with its easy links east, west, north and south, the need for a good Bible-based church plant is obvious.’
The core group will soon be officially announcing a leader and there are the normal needs of ‘prayer, people and pounds’. This will be a great challenge.
However, as Brian Elfick, the minister of a supporting church, St Philemon’s Toxteth, put it: ‘I don’t think I’ve ever seen a church plant with so much potential. There is a clear need: Greater Warrington has over 250,000 people who don’t know about Jesus. There is a committed core team, currently travelling as far as Liverpool, Leyland and Knutsford to go to a church they want to bring friends to. And there is a plan to proclaim Christ that has been bathed in prayer for over 15 years already.’
We pray that you find these reasons equally compelling.
