In short, to make space for what God is doing. There is both a push and a pull in this. The push is the reality that our current building is very tired, and the pull is the desire to generously invest in a building that will be a blessing to many in the generations to come. 

In God’s grace our church family is full of life, diversity, and vision but you wouldn’t know that if you walked past the building. After 130 years it is no surprise that the building needs repair but the fact that it was originally formed by knocking through 6 back-to-back cottages limits how much refurbishment can accomplish. 

Whilst in one sense we could continue to make do as a church family for a few more years, our heart as a church has always been to generously share the love of Jesus with those around us. A new building would provide a welcoming, practical, and accessible space that will be a blessing to those we serve for many generations to come.

Locked Door to Open Door

Whilst we are a gathered church made up of people who live all over the city, we are still committed to our original mission to be a gospel witness at the heart of Bradford. We are on the boundary between the City Centre and Manningham which remains an area of significant social and spiritual need.

Our current building is not well designed to meet that need. It is laid out with the kitchen set away from rooms suitable for gathering in, lots of corridors and stairs and it is not disabled access friendly. This new building has been designed so that it can be a continuous presence in the area with an open door to the community throughout the week, whether that be people living in the growing number of residential blocks in the area, university students from the nearby campus, or those struggling with homelessness and addiction.

Our vision is to have a community café in the community space open each day for people to come in and have affordable food and drink. This will give the opportunity to meet people, share the gospel and assist with practical needs. Groups and individuals can use the space to meet and provide services and activities for the community. We hope to be an open place, full of life, where people can come and go.

Vision

The vision behind this project is to make space for what God is doing. In Isaiah 56:8 the LORD declares to his people,

“I will gather still others to them besides those already gathered.”

It is a reminder that God’s vision is big, forward looking, and focused on outsiders which is our heart with this new building.

We have bought a plot of land on Sunbridge Road just across from our present site with space to construct a two-story building with sufficient car parking.

The street level entrance will take people straight into a community space consisting of a large open multi-purpose area, kitchen, and meeting room behind which will be toilets, storage, and staff offices. This will be our front door throughout the week allowing us to welcome people living nearby: whether students from the university, those struggling with homelessness and addiction, or some of the many people moving into residential properties in the city centre.

This multi-purpose space could be enjoyed by people meeting for a coffee, larger community meals, youth nights; focused courses, music events, or even opened up as a café or hired out for community functions.

The lower floor is accessible from the car park and will be the main entrance on Sundays with the lobby leading into a main auditorium, kids’ wing, conference room, and toilets. The auditorium will seat over 300 people which gives plenty of space for the church family to gather together and provides a venue to host conferences and events for the wider area.

It’s important that this building is a space the next generation can call their own. The kids wing will have the flexibility to be opened up as one big space or split out into smaller rooms providing an excellent space for Kids’ Church on Sunday as well as groups during the week.

Architects Drawings

Architects Video

The total cost of the project is expected to be just over three million pounds (£3,115,000). When we started building in September 2024 we had raised £2.25m (including the expected funds from the sale of our current building, with 25% of this target remaining (£750,000). It has been great to see a number of generous gifts, grants, and pledges over the last few months such that our current fundraising target is down to £150,000. If you’re able to help us achieve this target please get in touch with us. We’d love to raise this now to avoid having to pay interest on a loan!