Introducing the LifeCentre

Rising Up

2012-01-31T13:57:00.000-08:00

Words by Chris Major

Photos by Julie Harris

On Monday 23 January, the first section of the steel frame forming the skeleton of the new LifeCentre was erected!

If you have been past the site on Washway Road over the last week or so, you can see impressive progress being made from what’s appearing above the fence. However, the builders have also been kind enough to insert windows into the fence so that passers-by could take a peek at what’s going on across the whole site, so anyone now going past can see the building actually taking shape from the ground up!

When I met up with David Leigh, site manager for Parkinson Building Contractors this week, he told me he is very happy with the overall progress of the work. Around 30% of the trenches needed between the concrete piles sunk at the start of the foundation work had been excavated before Christmas and the rest since January 10.

David says on Wednesday 18 January, he oversaw the pouring of some 180 cubic metres of concrete into the trenches. Thirty lorries were required to deliver it!! Bolts were also put in around the sheared tops of the concrete piles to prepare them to receive the 55 stanchions to which the rest of the framework will be attached.

Two concrete floor slabs have now been laid to form the base for two staircases which will be eventually be used for emergency exits, but in the meantime will be used by contractors working on the higher levels in the months ahead.

The team onsite expect to take around another 5 weeks to complete putting up all the steel framework. Corrugated metal decking will also be added to the floors to give them support. Next the roof will go on with an insulated liner sheet which will keep the area underneath about 95% watertight for the duration of the build. This will allow mechanical and electrical work to start with substantial protection from the elements.

Traditionally, buildings were completed one floor at a time, from the bottom up. However, this way of working is slow; David says the LifeCentre would take twice as long to complete if he and his team did things that way! As it is, they will use scaffolding, as well as the two staircases put in this week, to allow work to be carried out on all floors at the same time.

The mild winter weather has helped progress significantly... A real answer to prayer! When the walls are completed, the cement can be protected from any frost with hessian sacking so it won’t crumble.

David is still confident that the project is on track to complete in the Autumn. Despite the initial delay caused by the disconnecting of utilities and the fact that the groundwork has taken a bit more time than expected, once several trades can all work simultaneously, he believes, this time can be retrieved.

Relations with the neighbours remain high on David’s priority list. Although one or two concerns have been expressed when vibration was caused by the driving in of the piles, reactions have been favourable as to the way the builders are considering people in the vicinity.

Parkinson subscribe to the Considerate Constructors scheme which seeks to promote high environmental standards and good facilities in building work. David feels that he and his colleagues were harshly marked in a recent report, but was consoled by a sympathetic Health and Safety inspector who was pleased with the site and agreed with David that the Considerate Constructors man might have been more, well, a bit more considerate!

A side note is that the last Building Fund offering was held on 22nd January and church members gave and pledged £11,000. With a few more donations since then plus gift aid we're around £16,000 closer to the £260,000 target we need to hit by October. Thanks to everyone who has given so graciously thus far. Do keep praying that God will move hearts and provide His resources for His project!

Piles of Progress

2011-12-05T04:58:00.000-08:00

Words by Nigel Dickson

Since the last report, there has literally been piles of progress made at Raglan Road, because that is the job that is now well and truly underway: pile-driving.

For all us lay-folk, that means: driving square concrete poles 12 metres into the ground by means of an enormous mechanical hammer. The space between those concrete piles will then be excavated and filled with more concrete – to provide the base for our new building.

Once that base is in, the concrete will be left for two weeks to set fully, which coincides neatly with the break that the constructors will be taking over the Christmas period, between December 21st and January 10th. So, if you happen to be passing by during that time, don’t be surprised if there is little activity on site. Naturally, we will want our Church to be built on firm foundations – both literally and metaphorically – and, as the concrete is setting, that solid base is settling into place.

Once January arrives, the metal frame for the building – currently being manufactured off-site –will begin to be constructed on top of that concrete base.

Pile-driving to secure our building’s firm foundation has actually put one or two of our neighbours’ foundations to the test! We received a couple of complaints about shock waves being felt through their floorboards and vibrations causing kitchen crockery to rattle and shake. Minds were put at rest by a few reassuring words from construction manager, David Leigh, however, and no permanent damage was done. When Mr Leigh asked the neighbour if he should come and witness the effect on the household’s crockery - he was told that “he didn’t need to go to that trouble.”

Sound progress has also been assisted by the unseasonably mild, dry weather we have been enjoying. Even the high winds of the last weekend in November had subsided by Monday morning, so construction could continue unhindered. God is good.

The Church's one foundation

is Jesus Christ her Lord;

she is his new creation,

by water and the word:

from heaven he came and sought her

to be his holy bride;

with his own blood he bought her,

and for her life he died.

Mid toil and tribulation,

and tumult of her war

she waits the consummation

of peace for evermore;

till with the vision glorious

her longing eyes are blessed,

and the great Church victorious

shall be the Church at rest.

From the hymn by Samuel John Stone, 1864.

Please continue to pray that circumstances remain favourable, and that the manufacturing of the frame is completed satisfactorily and to spec.

Off and running - work commences!

2011-11-08T12:01:00.000-08:00

Words from Chris Major

Photos by Julie Harris Photography

If you’ve been past the King’s Centre this week, you will have noticed that things have been on the move with work on the new building project. I was around to see the last of the old building pulled down yesterday (Thursday 3/11) and it was exciting to just see how much progress has been made in such a short time.

David Leigh

On Wednesday, I got the chance to sit down with site manager, David Leigh, and hear his assessment of what he and his team have already achieved and what still lies ahead.

Problems with disconnecting the gas and electricity supply unfortunately caused a delay in starting the demolition work for four weeks. However, since everything was declared safe and the demolition crew began to start in earnest, David told me that things could hardly have gone better. Any image I had of a quick swing of a wrecking ball doing the job in a day was taken away as I learned how the whole process of demolition lasted just over a week, with each part of the building being demolished in sequence and care being taken to reclaim and recycle all materials, fixtures and fittings where possible. Here’s a few photos taken over a number of day that show the journey - courtesy of Julie Harris.

The site just before main work begins

Work starts

The fundraising tent mural - each hand represented 10,000 raised!

The walls coming down from all sides

The floor being removed

Getting ready to take down the skeleton structure

Just before the big tumble

The Kings Centre gone

The next step is to move onto the foundations. Once the concrete floor is up, the groundwork contractor will then start with a dig to a depth of 1m below floor level. Bricks and rubble from the demolition will be crushed and the resulting material will be used to lay a 30cm “piling mat” over the entire area that the new building will cover. Amongst other things, this creates a solid base for the different contractor’s vehicles to access the site and get on with the exciting job of laying foundations..

A “piling contractor” will soon drive concrete piles into the ground, tracing a line showing where the walls will be built and forming the first part of the foundations. David says the plan is for this work to start in the week commencing 14^th November and that this part of the foundations will be finished before Christmas, so that work on the steel frame can start early in the new year. Cant wait!

Although winter is on its way, David says his men are blessed with mild weather at the moment, and he is philosophical about the prospect of any worsening in conditions. Laying the foundations involves pouring concrete. This process is vulnerable to hard frosts, and the architects engaged on the project will insist that it should not be carried out at a temperature below 5°C. This is definitely a prayer point for us as a church to get behind – the weather will play a big role throughout the project and we need to believe that our God is greater!

David reports good relations with our neighbours in Raglan Rd and with Peugeot dealer next door, Robins and Day. Work takes place from 8.00am until 4.30pm to minimise any disturbance. Apart from one complaint from a nearby resident about vibrations when ground beams were being extracted, things have gone extremely well. Praise God! David plans to host a coffee morning at a local venue in due course to keep neighbours fully informed.

Its important that everyone who has helped us get this far feels connected to the ongoing journey of the project. As well as this blog, the site itself is willing to host small groups of visitors at scheduled times every now and then when it is safe to do so. If you're interested in visiting then please contact the church office who will help co-ordinate.

So that's it for now. Watch out for more updates on this blog as work progresses. In the meantime, it’s a good opportunity to remember the fact that this is a time of mixed emotions. The building has stood from 1963 and served thousands of people over the years. Many people in the church will have fond memories of weddings, baptisms and times of meeting with God. Looking at the images of these walls coming down provokes us to remember that a church is its people, and although these particular walls have been torn down, it is to make way for a new facility where many thousands more people can create many more amazing God-filled memories in the years to come.

Day one in the new Baguley Offices

2011-07-05T01:32:00.000-07:00

Well. We did it. First service in The Avenue Methodist Church and offices now fully moved to Baguley.

Starting with Sunday then, everything went pretty smoothy. The only downside was the fact the windows wouldn't open meaning it was a bit of a greenhouse! Fortunately (on that front) we don't have too many sunny days in Manchester so i doubt that'll be a regular occurrence. A highlight in the meeting was the welcome we received from Rev Richard Mottishead, a real sign of unity amongst the churches in Sale. And to extend that feeling, Andy revealed that we are exploring as a church a way to accommodate Kingsway church in Sale, who are also looking for a building, into the new multipurpose LifeCentre. The meeting they had on Sunday night sparked a very positive view of this possibility and talks are continuing. Pray for wisdom amongst our Elders and Directors and for the leaders of Kingsway church but this is a great sign of churches helping each other out.

So, our offices have moved to Baguley. The first person to unpack all their boxes and have their desk straight? Tom Giles. To be fair he only brought with him a photo and some healing oil :)

But the offices look really nice inside, there's lots of space and we've settled in quickly. Paul is still bringing over the remaining items from Kings Centre today but it now looks a desolate shell and is almost ready for the demolition. We'll keep you posted when the demolition begins and get some photos up online.

On a last note you'll have hopefully seen by now one or both of our new LifeChurch Manchester videos! One of these is now posted on our website to invite people to our services at The Avenue and the second one will be used to begin our Sunday afternoon / evening services. Feel free to repost them to help invite as many people to church as possible.

Have a good week, we'll see you all on Sunday.

50 years in 3 Minutes

2011-06-27T03:17:00.000-07:00

Hey all, what a momentous day it was for LifeChurch Manchester. Following on from a great meeting where Mike spoke about the funeral service for the building which has served us well for over 50 years. During the bbq in the afternoon there was a great sense of family and anticipation for what is to come over these next few years. It's been quite a journey for us and so here is 50 years of the Kings Centre - in 3 minutes..

So we start in 1963 when the church was known as ‘Sale Baptist Church’ when the Kings Centre was built. People from across the congregation which was around 50 members contributed to the project. The overall cost of this building was £34,000 ! However the extension (where the crèche meets) was constructed later. We’re grateful for those faithful givers – as without them, who knows where we would be now.

Fast forward 15 years and Mike Beaumont who we’re please to have with us today was ordained as minister on 1^st July 1977. Mike served as vicar until 1991when he was called to the beautiful pastures of....Oxford and the Church temporarily met as three different congregations in Sale, Urmston and Stretford led by Geoff Chad, Martin Dunkley and Nick Matthews respectfully. Martin Dunkley then took over the reigns at what was now called SMCF as these congregations merged as one in Sale. Dave Rolles recalls that it was in 1992 that we started pursuing a new building but after pursing multiple options, including a long pursuit of the bingo hall in Stretford but it was felt in the end that God was calling us to remain in sale and to rebuild.

Interestingly I have a prophetic word with me from Bryn Franklin from that same year which he had a picture of a very expensive perfume which carried a tremendous odour and was very precious. He felt that God had given many boxes of perfume to people in this church and He was saying ‘don’t preserve what I’ve given to you but break it open and let the smell and the aroma fill the whole place because God is in the business of expansion.

So, when Martin felt the call to the beautiful pastures of … Teeside Andy Barclay Watt took the reigns in 2003 and along with the elders gave hugely sacrificially to really get the ball rolling with this project. Many here have given sacrificially to make this happen, and we’ve seen our target reach £1.5m in gifts and pledges and finally, we get to move out in order to see the growth and expansion we need.

This Friday we move offices to Baguley although phone numbers / emails are the same and all post will be automatically redistributed.

Really looking forward to our first service at The Avenue this Sunday at 4.30pm. We will be kicking off our meetings in a slightly different style. There will be a 5 minute countdown video running from 4.25 and then a video that welcomes people to LifeChurch Manchester. Have a great week and we'll see you on Sunday.

The Final Countdown

2011-06-07T02:10:00.000-07:00

Hello and welcome back to the blog. We've had a great weekend in Manchester with Emily, Esther, Varsha and Tash all getting baptised on Sunday morning. This was followed by another great Sunday Night Live with live music coming from Meg Dean and Rich Littlewood.

So, although we are pressing at full steam ahead with the new building there are still lots of things to iron out and we need your prayers that this goes smoothly. The last thing we want is for delays at this stage. One of those things is that we are still waiting for the banks valuation of the new lifecentre which is connected to the mortgage offer and the legal steps that need to happen before the directors can sign all need to go smoothly to prevent any unnecessary delays.

On a separate note, to avoid any uncertainty, our first service in the Methodist Church will be on Sunday 3rd July at 4.30pm. During the summer we will be hosting just one service and will return to two services in September with the second one beginning at 6.30pm. This is an exciting and challenging time for us as a church and we are going to be taken out of our comfort zones! But God is good and i believe we'll grow as a church and see more people come to faith through this time and i'm looking forward to the change.

Have a great week and remember to put the 26th June in your diary as a Sunday not to be missed.

BBQ's, Bounce Castles and Baguley

2011-05-27T03:12:00.001-07:00

Good morning all. Sorry for the strange timing of this weeks blog as I was off Monday and next Monday is bank holiday so here is the latest news regarding the building.

Incase you’ve been away or living in a shed for the last couple of weeks – the Directors of the Church have given the green light to go ahead with the new building! This means that Sunday 26^th June will be our last service in the Kings Centre. We will be having a celebration that day so please get it in your diaries. Many people from the past will be joining us and we will have BBQ’s, Bouncy castles and games running from approximately 1pm onwards.

So what’s the ‘Baggley’ part? Well that’s where our offices are moving to in the meantime. The reason why is that it is by far the cheapest option, it can accommodate all of our full time staff, and there is a meeting room similar to the one we have here at the Kings Centre, which will enable us to run smaller meetings throughout the year instead of having to hire venues. Also it helps us with storage as we have a lot of things that need storing over the 12 months we are out.

This is great news and once again a sign of Gods provision.

So there are still a few ends to tie up. Firstly the bank have not finalised their loan with us yet as they are waiting for the valuation of our building to be approved. This is a matter of ironing out the details but it would be good to pray that this goes smoothly. The last thing we want is any hiccups at this stage.

I’ve attached a couple of pictures of the Methodist Church we’ll be meeting in from July onwards, taken from my phone so you can get an idea of what it looks like. Get ready for the pews! See you next week.

The pledges just keep on coming!

2011-05-16T05:57:00.000-07:00

Good morning everyone and what a great weekend we've had at LifeChurch Manchester. Firstly the guys had a fantastic weekend at Wildfire (Men's weekend) with some great testimonies coming from that. Also we had a Worship and Thanksgiving Sunday at Church which was a great time of worship and prayer together. Credit also to Helen Thomas, Sarah Smith, Ben Dutton, Matt Walls and may others for doing the Manchester 10k run. All that and Manchester dominated the football world on Saturday by bringing home the Barclay's Premier League AND the FA cup (City were lucky...)

So, if you were wondering where we're up to in raising money for the new building after this phase ended in spectacular fashion yesterday - let me remind you about the facts. We needed to get to in the region of £1.7m before the directors meeting tonight to decide whether or not we can proceed with the building project. Yesterday (and some still filtering through today) we raised over £85k which means we now have over £1,515,000! We are still £185,000 short of our target but have received £50k interest free loans which really helps (It's not too late, you can still make a pledge!) We are really encouraged by this and I was particularly encouraged to see over 2/3 of the church participate in the giving for the new building.

Wow, what an amazing time to be a part of this church and the journey we're on.

Wednesday night we have the Vision Partners evening at the Kings Centre which will kick off at 7.45. At the rate we're going - this is going to be an evening you don't want to miss. See you there.

There's only one Tom Giles

2011-05-09T06:39:00.000-07:00

Hello LifeChurch peeps!

Breaking news! The married couple used in yesterdays story told by Tom Giles was NOT about Mark and Sarah Smith. Phew! (Sorry if you missed it. Download the preach to know what i'm talking about. Vintage Tom Giles...)

Yesterday we announced we've received a staggering £90,000 from within the church in the last week. WE ARE GETTING CLOSER!! There's still a gap of £300,000 that we need to close in order for us to go.

So, this Sunday, to celebrate the end of this phase and hopefully see the pledges come in to make this a reality, we're going to have a slightly different format and they'll be no preach ( more controversial then a Tom Giles joke ) and we'll have an extended time of Worship, Communion and Prayer. I'm excited, I love these kind of meetings, not that i don't enjoy preaches... erm - but you know what i mean right??!

Other news is that we've received some interest free loans which will help. Also we're waiting to hear our mortgage offer this week. Once again we need to see provision of God in this just like we've seen with the Tendors, the planning permission and of course the £1.4m that has been raised towards this until now.

Started planning our last Sunday in the Kings Centre today. Sad / Exciting times! Sunday 26th June - put it in your diary. I'm thinking bbq, bouncy castles, ice cream, Elders in the stocks, games etc... Let me know what you think or any ideas. Email me davidm@lifechurch.uk.net

A Matter of Urgency

2011-05-03T02:16:00.000-07:00

Good morning all. Hope you've enjoyed all the many bank holidays, holidays and of course,

the royal wedding! (Even i noticed that the dress did look nice)

On Sunday night we launched 'Sunday Night Live' in Altrincham and had a great night, almost a full house. The team are really encouraged and look forward to running these now on a monthly basis.

So where are we up to with the building. Well, we're facing a critical 2 weeks as all pledges for this next phase need to be in by Sunday 15th May. Only 16 % of the Church has so far pledged for this phase which we are hoping will rise substantially if we are to see this dream become a reality. We do acknowledge and appreciate that some have given sacrificially before and simply cannot give again but we are desperate to see as many people get on board with this and give, some for the first time and some who have given before but can stretch over these next 15 months

(These pledges do not need to be paid in full until July 2012).

Despite the financial gap we're still pressing on, in faith that we will see provision for this and the decor team met to discuss the lighting for the new building. Dave Rolles has been working tirelessly on the legal aspects of all this and we are very keen to see this through and move in to our

new home in September 2012.

If you haven't pledged yet, please do take the time to pray about this and think about

what you can give and fill out a form in the newsletter sheet this Sunday.

A Realm of Opportunities

2011-04-18T08:59:00.000-07:00

Morning. This week we're looking at all the opportunites we have as a church when we move out of our current home, the Kings Centre in June this year. As Andy communicated at the recent Engage evening, we are switching to 4.30pm and 6.30pm services where we will meet at the The Avenue Methodist Church, just across the road in Sale. During the Engage evening we discussed in groups some of the opportunities we have as a church when we make this move.

This is what you said...

1. Not having a building will take us out of our comfort zones and encourage to be creative.

2. This gives us opportunities to use our Sunday mornings to have friends and neighbours over.

3. It helps us adapt to change better and be more flexible.

4. It puts more emphasis on our Lifegroups and brings more community.

5. It helps us build bridges with the Methodist Church and keeps us in the public eye.

6. It allows people to come to church who wouldn't or can't make morning services.

7. As it is a larger venue there is room for growth in our services.

8. During the building work peoples attention will be drawn to see 'what's being built' (we will have a 'coming soon' sign during this process) helping us be more visible.

9. There's more opportunities to support our mission teams with events / services they may run on a Sunday morning

10. We now get a lie-in on Sunday mornings (my moneys on this being Matt Walls comment!)

Some great ideas there and this is going to be exciting time for us. Some of the questions that were raised have been answered in a document posted on the LifeChurch website called ''Engage' Thursday 14 April 2011.

The next 2 Mondays are bank holidays but do not worry! I'll still write a blog to keep you up to date ;)

Stairs

2011-04-11T08:52:00.000-07:00

Afternoon all. Hope you've all been enjoyed the b.e.a.u.t.i.f.u.l weather this weekend - who needs a holiday in spain after that? Actually don't answer that one...

11 weeks to go then in the Kings Centre then, the countdown is definitely ON! If you weren't around on Sunday you would have missed the new wall which has the picture of a tent demonstrating the financial gap that needs to be closed in the form of Isaiah 54 which talks about enlarging your tent pegs and stretching for more. And it was our pleasure to add another 5 hand prints to the wall this morning (representing £50,000) - thanks Dave Hagon for the expert hand...printing?! That takes us to £1.3m and there's still some more to be added to that!

So, stairs. That's apparently what our youth are looking forward to the most in the new building...! Although most would argue not having to walk down the road to a cold, wet scout hut every Sunday morning and an amazing venue to invite their mates along to Revelation events would top that... just slightly. But it was great to hear the youth look back on their memories at the kings centre that would send shivers down every health inspectors spine and be an integral part of this journey we're on together.

I'll hopefully see you all at Engage - this Thursday night 19.45

Tenders now in!

2011-04-04T08:23:00.000-07:00

Afternoon all, hope you're all having a fine afternoon.

So the Tenders are back in and we're really encouraged with the quotes. They're better then expected but i can't publish the figures until they've been validated. But the main thing is that we are seeing God's hand in this all the way and if God is for this - who can stand against it?!

This morning we went to The Avenue Methodist Church to check out the facilities and work out how it will look running our Sunday services there in the evening. If all goes to plan and the money comes in, we'd look at moving in there on from 3rd July onwards (thats only 13 Sundays away!!)

Moving on now, Gods been speaking to me about the impact we want to make on the community around us. I've been reading 'The Church that never sleeps' by Matthew Barnett, telling the story of a 24 hour church in LA that serves the community by meeting and supporting the needs - a book i recommend reading. It's challenged me to start thinking move about how we're going to impact our city and how the building can be used to meet the needs of people in South Manchester. I suppose this is two fold because this can happen directly by inviting people in but also to equip leaders in order to send them out across Manchester to fulfill our mission statement:

'' to be a large city-wide church transforming lives and communities with the life and presence of Jesus Christ ''

Holding Nothing Back

2011-03-28T06:02:00.000-07:00

Hello and welcome back to the blog. Sorry there was no blog last week as I was off.

So we’ve had a ‘pre tender’ estimate in from one of the contractors and it was lower then expected!! But let me remind you, this is only a pre-tender estimate and will change before the final quote on 4^th April. Although it was lower then estimated, we think it could be even lower, so we really need to pray over the next 7 days that we get the best possible outcome.

This Sunday we’ll be continuing our looking back / looking forward interviews. Yesterday we heard Paul Gray sharing his testimony (Thanks Tom for stepping in to interview as Emma Cooper forgot to wind the clocks forward ;) and last week featured Dave and Jen Hagon sharing about the impact of the school and family weddings / baptisms. Dave shared prophetically that:

The building should not shape who we are, but we should shape the building
The building should not be a container but a launchpad

In the next couple of weeks you'll notice something
remarkably different in the building.

We'll be covering one of the walls in the main hall with a visual financial position which will be updated on a weekly basis as the money comes in . This will enable people to know exactly where we're up to and how much we still need to raise.
I would say 'look out for it' but you can't miss it!

Looking back / Looking forward

2011-03-14T09:36:00.000-07:00

Good afternoon all.. Sorry I’m late with the blog, I’ve been in an exciting meeting in Altrincham as we plan to set up a new event called Sunday Night Live which is an evening of live music, interviews and coffee. You'll be hearing more about that over the coming weeks in LifeChurch.

It was great to hear Rosh and Mirian share their memories on Sunday morning, as they looked back at life in the Kings Centre before sharing what they're looking forward to most of all at the new LifeCentre. I feel that there is a lot of sentiment about the Kings Centre as many people have lots of memories here and it’s important that we honour that as well as looking ahead to the new building. Our proposed farewell ball in June should it go ahead would be an emotional affair for some. We'll be continuing our Looking Back / looking forward series this Sunday.

I'm really excited that some people with creative ideas and entrepreneurial skills are beginning to get together to and be creative with their money. If you feel you have something to add and would like to get involved or would like to contribute to this, please email me at davidm@lifechurch.uk.net

Looking ahead, bear in mind Tim Arnold as he’s freezes his pants off (literally) on top of a mountain somewhere in Cumbria this weekend and don't forget to sponsor him if you haven't already.

Keep the ideas coming in :)

Tenders go out today!

2011-03-07T03:05:00.000-08:00

Bonjour, les gens! I’ve been practicing my French as Amelies parents are staying with us at the moment. And that’s as far as I’ve got… L

We’ve had another great weekend at LifeChurch, what a great atmosphere in the second service on Sunday Morning for the baptisms. It was great to see Julie and Lee taking the plunge of life!

So, today is important as the building spec goes out to 6 contractors at 12pm!

They are all due back by 12pm on Monday 4^th April. Just to remind you we feel we have a real window of opportunity because of the current economic climate. Time to start praying guys, we’re expecting it to be in the region of £3m but wouldn’t it be amazing to get something lower!

It was great to interview Tim yesterday, and even more encouraging to know that more and more people are beginning to plan different events. What can you do? A sponsored hike? Marathon? Coast to Coast bike ride? Sky dive? Fundraising Dinner? Art auction? Live music event?

You’ll be hearing over the coming weeks what people are getting up to.

Remember we need pledges in by Sunday 15^th May so we can move out in July.

Just think, if everyone raised £1000 each with a sponsored event, we’d have over £400,000!

Don’t be a spectator, get involved!

No Spectators

2011-02-28T06:44:00.000-08:00

Morning all.

Well this week you would have noticed we’ve had some trees cut down around here in preparation for the demolition. A former member of the Church - Debbie Latham revealed she and husband Pete shared their first kiss under one of those trees. Any other ‘tree memories’ that people had?!

This week I’m talking about fundraising and there is no better place to start then with the legend that is Tim Arnold. The guy is nuts – he’s decided to climb 24 peaks in Cumbria in 48 hours wearing just his pants (and hopefully a rucksack) all to raise money for the new building. You can check out his fundraising page here for more details… http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fundraiser-web/fundraiser/showFundraiserProfilePage.action?userUrl=timstrepidteam&isTeam=true

We’re also looking at developing some entrepreneurial groups who will be committing to a target and developing entrepreneurial ideas to reach their target. Other ideas include a farewell ball to the Kings Centre, an Art auction, Sponsored Events. If you have any further ideas or would like to be a part of something’s I’ve mentioned, please email me at davidm@lifechurch.uk.net

I felt God spoke to me this week and said ‘When I provide for the new building, how will you feel when you look back?’ It was amazing firstly that God didn’t say IF but WHEN and in terms of looking back - Would I feel gutted that I doubted this was really going to happen? Would I be gutted that I didn’t give all I could because I was afraid to push the boat out? Or would I be marvelling in the amazing provision of our God, thankful that through Gods grace we were able to play a part…

So what are you going to do?? As Heidi Baker said at last weeks Leaders Conference in Oxford ‘Let there be no spectators’. God is going to provide for us to have a new building. Question is: ‘Are we going to join in?

The Window of Opportunity

2011-02-21T04:07:00.000-08:00

Good Morning. Well for all those there yesterday you would have received the new building brochure, if you weren’t there they are available from the building stand which is where the weekly offering will take place.

So you’ve now seen the new logo – if you missed it here it is:

If you’re not a fan – take a look at some previous attempts for us that we could have ended up with! :

Anyway, building news – we’re still waiting for the tenders to come back which we’re expecting at the end of March. *Note* We are expecting this to be in the region of £3m (yes £3m!) which includes all the building work, interior design, heating etc… BUT we got wind that we could get this for lower as there is limited work available for builders which means we can take advantage. Please pray that we get the lowest possible deal (we could save up to £400,000!!!) This is a window of opportunity for us at the moment.

From this Sunday until the 15th May you can give to make this happen although these pledges won't need to be paid in full until July 2012. It's a massive ask but we have a massive God and we're in faith that we'll see this happen!

Next week I’ll let you know about the fundraising ideas that we’re pursuing. Stay tuned...

Salvations, Branding and Boreholes

2011-02-14T07:43:00.000-08:00

Morning all. What a great weekend we’ve had in Manchester – 7 people gave their lives to the Lord at the youth weekend plus (including a dude from Eden Eccles) and another on Sunday Morning. In the prayer meeting last night there was a real buzz about what Gods doing in South Manchester at the moment!

So, this coming Sunday we’re launching the ‘Crucial Phase’ and you’ll get the new LifeCentre brochure on your way in (As well as a new look newsletter ooooh!!). As I’m writing this there’s some guys digging massive boreholes in the ground around us. Apparently they’re verifying the soil conditions for the foundations of the new building... Are you getting excited yet??

A question many of you have been asking is ‘When we move out of the Kings Centre, where do we go?’ Well, Andy announced at last weeks (packed) engaged meeting that The Avenue Methodist Church in Sale will welcome us in which will probably mean moving our services to later in the day, but more on that later.

Have a great week and see you all on Sunday.

The Beginning of the End...

2011-02-04T08:10:00.000-08:00

Greetings readers! Welcome to the blog where you’ll find out anything and everything about the plans for the new building to host LifeChurch Manchester.
So where are we at? A couple of weeks ago LifeChurch Manchester announced we’ve reached the £1m milestone WITH another £200,000 pledged. A fantabulous achievement over thelast 6 years by the faithful givers of the Church.
So, what next? Well, to be frank, we need more! The end is in sight though
and if we raise £500,000 in gifts and pledges before Sunday 15th May, that will be
enough to move out and hammer the old Kings Centre into oblivion
(although these wouldn't need to be paid in full until July 2012)
To help people get a feel for what this new centre can achieve, we have a

new flashy (or ‘snazzy’ as my mum would say) LifeCentre brochure coming out FRESH

with our new logos for both LifeCentre and LifeChurch Manchester.

Keep your eyes peeled as they say (although that sounds very painful).
Hope you noticed the background of the blog J It’s gonna be awesome!!!!!!