12Oct *

Campus Redevelopment Meeting

Posted on 5 October 2016 by andrewbuckley

at Training Centre

Wed 12 Oct 2016 at 19.30 — 21.30

We have a potential opportunity to redevelop the Philadelphia site.

Background

We acquired the site in 2004, we received it as a gift from God. At the time, there was a long-term vision for development towards an ‘urban monastery’, with some of the ideas from the Celtic Monastic movement in mind.

It is mortgaged, the mortgage is being paid off through the generosity of the church family and is projected to be repaid in full by mid-2018. All the site is owned freehold except the conference centre (59 years remaining on the lease).

In brief, the site currently serves our needs:

• As a home for our Sunday gatherings, Philadelphia Base, Streetwise and Iranian Community
• A resourcing, training and conference centre for mission for the whole church
• As meeting and work space for 27 staff and 60 volunteers who are regularly on site
• As a centre for much of our Restore ministry.
• As a centre for our Playtime ministry

There is considerable incentive for us to consider some kind of redevelopment, because although the site meets our current needs, the buildings are worn out and are a significant drain on our resources. We estimate that currently the site costs £75,000 per annum to maintain with further capital expenditure of £150,000 in the next two to three years if we do nothing. Utility costs are around £55,000 per annum.

Potential

There is an opportunity for redevelopment. It looks as if the planning and commercial climate might support a development where some of the site would be sold for housing, which would pay for the rebuilding of the remainder to meet the needs of the church family and ministries.

What would it look like?

That’s the big question! Some of the possibilities and ideas that have already emerged are:

• Our meeting and work space looks like an office to run a business. It would be great if at the centre there was space where we pray and space where we eat together so the team and volunteers can be like a family on mission.
• If people live here, can there be a church community on site as well, with a vision to reach those who live here and around us. That way we can model missional community at the centre.
• We could step up our Restore ministry with units for social enterprise
• Our vision is the transformation of Sheffield, and our missional community shape means that we do not envisage an ever increasing Sunday gathering at the centre (although we would expect a larger size than we have just now). It’s a strawberry plant model, where many shoots emerge and the strongest take root and their centre becomes local to them rather than at Philadelphia.

Questions

• Is it the right time?
• If so, how should it be done to express our values?

We would like the whole church family to be part of this discussion. We will be holding meetings on the following dates:

• Wednesday 12th October at 7:30pm in the Training Centre
• Monday 31st October at 7:30pm in the Training Centre
• Wednesday 16 November at 7:30pm in the Training Centre (this is a general church meeting but time will be given to campus redevelopment)
• There will be a King’s Centre church meeting in November but dates are still TBC.

You can answer these questions and give your feedback by clicking the link here: http://bit.ly/campusredevelopment

Or you can email andrewbuckley@ncsheffield.org

Training Centre

St Thomas’ Church Philadelphia, 6 Gilpin Street
Sheffield
S6 3BL
UK