ChristChurch London

Coordinates: 51°30′40.7″N 0°6′7.1″W / 51.511306°N 0.101972°W / 51.511306; -0.101972

ChristChurch London
Founded 3 October 2004
Founder David Stroud
Focus Evangelical Christianity
Location
Area served
London, Worldwide[1]
Members
600 approx. (2013)[2]
Key people
 Senior Pastor: David Stroud
Leaders:
Ross Bull
Andy Tilsley
Employees
15 Full-time, 4 Part-time (2009)[3]
Slogan "This City. This Nation. The Nations."[4]
Website http://christchurchlondon.org
Registered Charity number: 1111950

ChristChurch London /ˈkraɪst.tʃɜːrtʃ ˈlʌndən/ (also commonly known as ChristChurch; and shorthand CCL[1]), founded 2004, is an evangelical Christian church located in the Mermaid Theatre, London, United Kingdom.

ChristChurch believes in salvation through faith in Jesus Christ alone, by the grace of God. They believe in the Trinity; Father, Son and Holy Spirit as one Godhead. They also believe in the baptism by full immersion. Baptism is a rite undertaken by new believers to publicly declare their Faith, representing the washing of sin and being made clean through the atoning sacrifice of Jesus' crucifixion. Baptism is also seen as a physical oath to God, which leads to Christians being born again to a new life in Christ through His resurrection.

As Evangelical Christians, Christchurch has a large focus on sharing their Faith with non-Christians by building community through holding a large number of social events throughout the year, which allow people to invite friends into the church community. These include football, curry nights, picnics, live music nights and other outings.[5]

ChristChurch is a multicultural community with attendees from over 19 different nations as of 2007.[6]

History

ChristChurch London was founded in October 2004 by David Stroud, who moved from Birmingham to start the church, and recruited Adrian Holloway and Rhys Scott to be part of the church-planting team. The church officially launched in 2005 at the New Connaught Rooms in Covent Garden and has since relocated a number of times as the church has grown. They now meet in four separate locations.[7]

The first CCL Broadcast Magazine, September - October 2009, Issue 1.
Years Venue Location Congregation
2004–2005 International Students House Great Portland Street 30 approx.
2005–2006 New Connaught Rooms Covent Garden 240 approx.
2006–2007 Vinopolis South Bank 300 approx.[8]
2007–2010 Piccadilly Theatre Piccadilly Circus 500 approx.[9]
2010–2015 Mermaid Theatre Blackfriars 550 approx.
2016-present Platanos College Stockwell 100 approx.
2016-present Mermaid Theatre Blackfriars 200 approx.
2016-present Swiss Church Covent Garden 50 approx.
2016-present St John Bethnal Green 100 approx.

On 5 September 2009, ChristChurch London re-branded its logo and launched its first bimonthly publication "Broadcast Magazine".[10]

The 28 February 2010 saw the official launch of "ChristChurch London: On The City", a virtual social networking service created by Zondervan, aimed to enhance communication amongst the church community.[11] ChristChurch London is the first church community in Europe to trial the website.

Sundays

ChristChurch currently holds four weekly Sunday services[12]

The service often begins with about half and hour of worship using largely contemporary Christian music, including songs by artists such as Chris Tomlin and Hillsong, together with original songs written by members of the ChristChurch London Worship Team. This is then followed by approximately half and hour of preaching by a church elder or guest speaker, with a sermon centred on a passage of Biblical scripture. At the end of the service, people are often given the opportunity to be prayed for and to stay for refreshments, or after church socials.

Special Sundays

ChristChurch holds a number of special Sunday meetings throughout the year, including three baptismal services, two dedication services, an anniversary Sunday in October, and a Christmas Carol Service. They also have around six guest speakers each year.

Move to four services

While church attendance for the morning service continued to grow, the afternoon service declined sharply in 2015. ChristChurch has announced it will stop the afternoon service at Blackfriars from January 2016 and move from its existing two services to four, each in separate locations.[13]

Connect Groups

ChristChurch London has around 20 Connect Groups each of about 20-35 members. They are groups where people can build community and use their skills and passions to contribute to the flourishing of London life.[14] These groups gather around a common cause; a people, a place, or a passion. Some examples include groups for those in the workplace, groups for Students, a group for those involved in social justice, and a group for East End Creatives.

Alpha course

ChristChurch hosts a free Alpha course twice a year for non-Christians and Christians.[15] The course runs on a Wednesday for nine consecutive weeks, including a weekend away.[16] Since 2004, over 2000 people in total has attended the Alpha course at ChristChurch.[16]

Notable Alpha launches

ChristChurch London hosts two or three launches per Alpha course, which are also held at Sway Bar in Covent Garden.

3 October 2007: Simon Thomas, former Blue Peter presenter.[17]

5 October 2009: Patrick Dixon, chairman of Global Change Ltd and founder of the international AIDS charity, ACET.[18]

7 October 2009: Alister McGrath, author of the The Dawkins Delusion?.[19]

20 January 2010: Jo Enright, comedian and actress, who has appeared in Peter Kay's Phoenix Nights and I'm Alan Partridge.[20]

21 January 2010: Andy Duncan, chief executive of Channel 4.[21]

19 April 2010: Baroness Cox, founder and chief executive of Humanitarian Aid Relief Trust.[22]

4 October 2010: Dr Ard Louis, theoretical physicist at the University of Oxford.

Students' Ministry

Due to its location in the centre of London, ChristChurch attracts many students from the nearby universities, mainly from colleges of the University of London.[23] In 2008, ChristChurch London held student launches at Imperial College London, University College London, University of the Arts London and the London School of Economics.

The Student Team vision is to equip all their students to take the lead in bringing the Kingdom of God onto London’s university campuses.[24] New students are "built in" as active members by the Student Team by one-on-one coffees and social student lunches. Furthermore, the team organises one-on-one discipleship courses, prayer and praise evenings, apologetics training, Christian Union leaders Forums, student bible study and student weekends away.[25]

List of teams at ChristChurch

At ChristChurch London, there are a large number of people who serve and help the running of the service every Sunday. In 2006, there were 220 people who were actively serving on at least one of the ChristChurch teams.[26]

Teams at ChristChurch London include:[27]

  • Welcome Team
  • Worship Team
  • Production Team
  • Tech Team
  • Prayer Team
  • Alpha Team
  • Beta Team
  • Crèche (0-2)
  • Jumping Beans (2-3)
  • Kids Club (4-11)
  • Youth (11-18)
  • Student Work

Everything Matters

ChristChurch London hold a number of forums and seminars each year aimed to equip members in specific aspects of daily living, including "Work Matters", "Leadership Matters" and "Money Matters".[28] They also gather together people in similar sectors to network, pray and work together to make a difference in their world. This include groups focussed on law, business, politics, the arts and science.[29]

They also believe in caring for the poor and vulnerable as part of their service to God[30] and run a number of projects including "Goals to Glory" football project, "Food Bank" and Refugee Mentoring.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Charity Commission: ChristChurch London Charity Framework". www.charitycommission.gov.uk. Retrieved 2009-08-26.
  2. ↑ "Find a Church Report". www.findachurch,co.uk. Retrieved 2013-07-03.
  3. ↑ http://christchurchlondon.org/downloads/annual_accounts_31_12_11.pdf
  4. ↑ Broadcast Magazine. 1: 1. September–October 2009. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  5. ↑ http://christchurchlondon.org/calendar/social/2012-09-01
  6. ↑ "CCL Podcast: "Building an International Church"". www.christchurchlondon.org. 2007-01-07. Retrieved 2009-09-08.
  7. ↑ http://christchurchlondon.org/aboutus
  8. ↑ "The Mystery Worshipper: ChristChurch, London Bridge". www.ship-of-fools.com. 2006-03-05. Retrieved 2009-08-25.
  9. ↑ "Who Are We, ChristChurch London". www.christchurchlondon.org. Archived from the original on 5 February 2010. Retrieved 2009-12-08.
  10. ↑ "The News". Broadcast Magazine. 1: 5. September–October 2009.
  11. ↑ "Christchurch London: On The City". http://www.onthecity.org/. 2010-02-28. Retrieved 2010-03-01. External link in |publisher= (help)
  12. ↑ "Sundays, ChristChurch London". www.christchurchlondon.org. Archived from the original on 3 February 2010. Retrieved 2009-12-08.
  13. ↑ https://broadcast.christchurchlondon.org/articles/faqs-on-meeting-in-four-locations
  14. ↑ http://christchurchlondon.org/connect/connect.html
  15. ↑ "UK hosts its big Alpha party". www.alphafriends.org. 2008-11-26. Retrieved 2009-08-26.
  16. 1 2 "Alpha, ChristChurch London". www.christchurchlondon.org. Retrieved 2009-12-08.
  17. ↑ "What really matters?: CCL Life Group Discussion Outline" (PDF). www.christchurchlondon.org. 2007-09-16. Retrieved 2009-08-26.
  18. ↑ "Pandemics, Recession and the Unexpected, An introduction to the Alpha Course" (PDF). www.christchurchlondon.org. 2009-10-05. Retrieved 2009-09-20.
  19. ↑ "Is Dawkins Deluded?, An introduction to the Alpha Course" (PDF). www.christchurchlondon.org. 2009-10-07. Retrieved 2009-09-13.
  20. ↑ "An Evening with Jo Enright, An Invitation to Dinner". www.christchurchlondon.org. 2010-01-20. Retrieved 2009-12-08.
  21. ↑ "An Evening with Andy Duncan, An introduction to the Alpha Course". www.christchurchlondon.org. 2010-01-21. Retrieved 2009-12-08.
  22. ↑ "An Evening with Baroness Cox, An Invitation to Dinner". www.christchurchlondon.org. 2010-04-19. Retrieved 2010-04-19.
  23. ↑ ""ChristChurch London STUDENTS" Facebook Group". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 2009-08-26.
  24. ↑ http://www.christchurchlondon.org/students
  25. ↑ http://christchurchlondon.org/students
  26. ↑ "CCL Podcast: "Staying Connected to God"". www.christchurchlondon.org. 2006-11-19. Retrieved 2009-08-29.
  27. ↑ "Serving, ChristChurch London". www.christchurchlondon.org. Archived from the original on 28 May 2008. Retrieved 2009-07-22.
  28. ↑ "Everything Matters, ChristChurch London". www.christchurchlondon.org. Archived from the original on 18 June 2010. Retrieved 2010-07-04.
  29. ↑ http://christchurchlondon.org/transform
  30. ↑ "Social Action, ChristChurch London". www.christchurchlondon.org. Archived from the original on 6 February 2010. Retrieved 2009-12-08.
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