ChristChurch London

ChristChurch London /ˈkraɪst.tʃɜːrtʃ ˈlʌndən/ (also commonly known as ChristChurch; and shorthand CCL[1]), founded 2004, is a Christian church that meets at several locations across London, United Kingdom.

ChristChurch London
Founded3 October 2004
FounderDavid Stroud
FocusThe cultural, social and spiritual renewal of our city.
Location
Area served
London, Worldwide[1]
Members
700 approx. (2018)[2]
Key people
Senior Pastor: David Stroud
Leaders:
Ross Bull
Andy Tilsley
Employees
16 Full-time, 5 Part-time
Websitehttp://christchurchlondon.org
Registered Charity number: 1111950

As 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.[3]

ChristChurch is a multicultural community with attendees from all over the world.[4]

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 separate locations.[5]

The first CCL Broadcast Magazine, September - October 2009, Issue 1.
YearsVenueLocationCongregation
2004–2005International Students HouseGreat Portland Street30 approx.
2005–2006New Connaught RoomsCovent Garden240 approx.
2006–2007VinopolisSouth Bank300 approx.[6]
2007–2010Piccadilly TheatrePiccadilly Circus500 approx.[7]
2010–2016Mermaid TheatreBlackfriars550 approx.

Present
YearVenueLocationCongregation
2016–presentMermaid TheatreBlackfriars400 approx.
2016–presentPlatanos CollegeStockwell100 approx.
2016–presentSwiss ChurchCovent Garden50 approx.
2016–presentSt JohnBethnal Green100 approx.
2018–presentStanley Park High SchoolSutton50 approx.
2019–presentApiary StudiosBethnal Green50 approx.

Sundays

ChristChurch currently holds six weekly Sunday services[8]

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, two services celebrating London, and a Christmas Carol Service. They also have around six guest speakers each year.

Move to more services in more locations

When church attendance continued to grow, ChristChurch announced it would stop the afternoon service at Blackfriars from January 2016 and move from its existing two services to four, each in separate locations. A fifth was started in 2018 and a sixth in 2019. These services are currently running in Stockwell, Blackfriars, Covent Garden, Bethnal Green and Sutton[9]

Connect Groups

ChristChurch London has around 20 Connect Groups with more being added regularly. They are groups where people can build community and use their skills and passions to contribute to the flourishing of London life.[10] 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, groups for studying the Bible deeper, groups for those involved in social justice, and groups for East End Creatives.

Alpha

ChristChurch hosts free Alphas twice a year for non-Christians and Christians.[11] They are run throughout the week across London for eight consecutive weeks.[12] Since 2004, over 2000 people in total have attended Alpha at ChristChurch.[12]

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.[13]

5 October 2009: Patrick Dixon, chairman of Global Change Ltd and founder of the international AIDS charity, ACET.[14]

7 October 2009: Alister McGrath, author of The Dawkins Delusion?.[15]

20 January 2010: Jo Enright, comedian and actress, who has appeared in Peter Kay's Phoenix Nights and I'm Alan Partridge.[16]

21 January 2010: Andy Duncan, chief executive of Channel 4.[17]

19 April 2010: Baroness Cox, founder and chief executive of Humanitarian Aid Relief Trust.[18]

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.[19]

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.[20]

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.[21]

Teams at ChristChurch London include:[22]

See also

References
  1. "Charity Commission: ChristChurch London Charity Framework". charitycommission.gov.uk. Retrieved 26 August 2009.
  2. "Find a Church Report". findachurch,co.uk. Retrieved 3 July 2013.
  3. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 11 January 2011. Retrieved 14 September 2012.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  4. "CCL Podcast: "Building an International Church"". christchurchlondon.org. 7 January 2007. Archived from the original on 1 March 2012. Retrieved 8 September 2009.
  5. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 31 July 2012. Retrieved 14 September 2012.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  6. "The Mystery Worshipper: ChristChurch, London Bridge". ship-of-fools.com. 5 March 2006. Retrieved 25 August 2009.
  7. "Who Are We, ChristChurch London". christchurchlondon.org. Archived from the original on 5 February 2010. Retrieved 8 December 2009.
  8. "Sundays, ChristChurch London". christchurchlondon.org. Archived from the original on 3 February 2010. Retrieved 8 December 2009.
  9. "FAQs on meeting in four locations (Updated Jan 2016)". 20 January 2016.
  10. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 17 September 2014. Retrieved 4 September 2014.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  11. "UK hosts its big Alpha party". alphafriends.org. 26 November 2008. Retrieved 26 August 2009.
  12. "Alpha, ChristChurch London". christchurchlondon.org. Retrieved 8 December 2009.
  13. "What really matters?: CCL Life Group Discussion Outline" (PDF). christchurchlondon.org. 16 September 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 May 2008. Retrieved 26 August 2009.
  14. "Pandemics, Recession and the Unexpected, An introduction to the Alpha Course" (PDF). christchurchlondon.org. 5 October 2009. Retrieved 20 September 2009.
  15. "Is Dawkins Deluded?, An introduction to the Alpha Course" (PDF). christchurchlondon.org. 7 October 2009. Retrieved 13 September 2009.
  16. "An Evening with Jo Enright, An Invitation to Dinner". christchurchlondon.org. 20 January 2010. Retrieved 8 December 2009.
  17. "An Evening with Andy Duncan, An introduction to the Alpha Course". christchurchlondon.org. 21 January 2010. Retrieved 8 December 2009.
  18. "An Evening with Baroness Cox, An Invitation to Dinner". christchurchlondon.org. 19 April 2010. Retrieved 19 April 2010.
  19. ""ChristChurch London STUDENTS" Facebook Group". facebook.com. Retrieved 26 August 2009.
  20. "Students » Christ Church London » Working for the cultural, social and spiritual renewal of London".
  21. "CCL Podcast: "Staying Connected to God"". christchurchlondon.org. 19 November 2006. Archived from the original on 1 March 2012. Retrieved 29 August 2009.
  22. "Serving, ChristChurch London". christchurchlondon.org. Archived from the original on 28 May 2008. Retrieved 22 July 2009.
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