Re-imagining City Mission Church
For a changing City Centre landscape
The centre of Sheffield is changing.
Retail and office spaces are being converted into coffee shops, entertainment venues, restaurants, and residential dwellings. The number of people walking past the iconic Victoria Hall is growing again, and so are the opportunities to offer an invitation to join a City Centre Community of faith. The formerly very traditional Methodist Church has also gone through change, out of necessity to survive the Pandemic. It is now fellowship-based and those who come are encouraged to get involved with the worship. From January we are preparing to become a Church of Sanctuary and we want to welcome people from all nations to join us. Our Sunday evening gathering also reflects this mission ethos that all are welcome: Oasis Recovery Church is an ecumenical Community supported by the Methodist Church, Salvation Army and the Church Army; it offers the sharing of food, friendship, and faith exploration with people on the Margins of the City. It feels like God is preparing us ‘for such a time as this’ to be ready and confident to offer a wider invitation to a tide of people moving back into the city. A prophecy shared by a member of the church seemed to quicken our hopes and dreams of refreshed city mission: “I feel that God has said that the time of decline has ended, and that growth has begun”.
Over the following weeks other signs that this was God’s timing started to appear. Firstly, a bequest from an elderly member of £150,000. And then an opportunity to take over the shop at 35 Chapel Walk as our midweek outreach centre. Now, instead of being hidden in a room deep within the corridors of Victoria Hall, the ecumenical mission is visible to passers-by. Prayer, fellowship, Bible study and a warm space is now available to all those who cut through Chapel Walk. We are forging new relationships and making our presence known. Our mission partners are creatively looking to use this space to share Jesus and make disciples. It is a safe space in the heart of the city. And all this dovetails with the Mission statement used by the Sheffield Methodist District, which is, wait for it, “Such a time as this!”
Sam Roberts, our Communications Officer explains; “For Such A Time As This is our strategy for resourcing mission, supporting people to respond to the good news of God's love in Christ using the gifts and talents that God has given them.
We know it is easy to be overwhelmed by the challenges before us, to feel powerless or despondent. But we believe that God has made us who we are, has called each of us by name, and will equip us with as much as we need to live out our vocation.
We draw inspiration from the Old Testament story of Esther who risked her own life to use the limited influence she had to save her people from genocide. God does not need someone better. There is no need to wait for a more opportune time. God has prepared us and directed our time to be God's agent right here and now: for such a time as this.”
About the Author
Jonathan is a Methodist Minister in Sheffield. He grew up in Swinton and he is a proud South Yorkshireman. He has a heart for the people of Sheffield. Jonathan is married to Chris and he has two grown-up girls. He is passionate about sharing Jesus and making disciples in the City that he loves so much.