Hope for Huddersfield

Lewis Allen talks to EN about the beginnings of a new church.

EN: You were pastoring in London for 12 years, then you left to church plant on your own in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire. Can you explain how that happened?

LA: In a sense, my wife Sarah and I never saw it coming! Gunnersbury Baptist Church was (and is) very happy and healthy, and the work with the ministry team was productive.

Then two summers ago we found ourselves asking each other, is there some other place where we should be considering serving? We both see the benefits of long-term ministries, so rather shocked ourselves by asking this question, since we never considered our 12 years a long stint. Anyway, we prayed hard through the issues, and began to think about the North, where we have family, and where we considered ministry before the call to London.

After seeking counsel from brothers in ministry in West Yorkshire, we began to sense that the Lord had purposes for Huddersfield. The more we found out about the town and its needs, and the more we assessed our own strengths and weaknesses and listened to the thoughts of friends, the more we came to a conviction that it was the Lord’s will that we should move. It was daunting telling our five young children, and the church too. It was a tiring and emotional period. That was 18 months ago now, and we are convinced that we are walking in the Lord’s will, and can certainly testify to his love and care.

EN: How did the church handle your news, and how were you able to gather the necessary support for the change?

LA: They could not have been better. Many were very sad, but we experienced their ongoing love and abounding generosity. Within a week, the deacons commented on how the Lord was calling Gunnersbury, as well as us, to a new era. The church gave us a very sizeable gift, which was the basis of our first year’s financial support.

We then applied to several Christian charities, and circulated news of our prayer and financial support needs to friends and ministry colleagues. The support has been exceptional, which has confirmed the Lord’s purposes for us.

EN: So, what’s it been like so far?

LA: As we expected — exhausting and stressful, but faith building and brilliant. We were able to sell our property in the South and buy a house in Huddersfield. We started life in the fellowship at Brighouse Evangelical Church, who have been the supportive family we so needed at the outset. The Lord has enabled us to get our children into good local schools, they’re settling in, and we’ve begun to forge great relations with Christians and non-Christians.

After we announced our ministry plans last year, we had contact with a number of Christians who were living in Huddersfield, and had a burden for their town. Several local pastors encouraged us that they were serving Huddersfield folk who couldn’t settle in any of the town’s churches, who they would encourage to look our way.

This core of about 16 adults meant that the church took initial shape very quickly. Within three months of our move we felt it was right to take our Saturday afternoon gathering to having Sunday worship services, and there was also an appetite to meet during the week.

EN: Tell us a little about the church.

LA: With the exception of one couple, the 40 or so who meet on a Sunday (including children) are all local people, with a wealth of knowledge about the town and lots of friendships, though we’re not yet representing the racial mix of the town.

Our vision is to live out a Bible-centred Christianity which is clearly Reformed and evangelical. Our Statement of Faith is based on the 1689 Baptist Confession. We’re convinced that a doctrine-loving, Bible-preaching church is God’s chosen means of building up believers and gathering in the lost! As the only Reformed church in a town with active charismatic, Pentecostal and Baptist Union churches, we have a unique contribution to make.

In many respects we look like a ‘regular’ church, with 25 members, three elders, two Sunday services, a mid-week gathering, the sacraments, two Apprentices, and so on. We don’t feel that being new means rewriting the shape and structure of church life. We do, though, want to be radical in living out the gospel in community life and thought-through evangelism. We’re praying a big prayer, that we would be the kindest church in the area, where all-comers feel safe and welcomed, so that other churches are genuinely grateful for our presence.

EN: How can Hope Church make a contribution to God’s work in Huddersfield?

LA: We love Huddersfield. Like every other town in the country it’s struggling with the recession. Social problems are complicated and entrenched. Some churches are doing excellent work among the vulnerable, but there is so much more gospel proclamation and living out which needs to be done for all sectors of the town, including the 20,000+ students here. There is still some industry in the town, but, with the growth of the university, education is the main employer.

EN: Do you have particular ambitions or dreams for the next few years?

LA: Yes. We’ve agreed on the priorities we want to pursue until 2014 and have a vision document. We want to mobilise each other for practical Christian service and evangelism. We aim to work on town centre ministries where people will hear the gospel and experience the love of Christ in action. We’re developing ministries to reach students and townsfolk, and are praying that the Lord would honour us with a ministry of church planting around the town, as well as beyond.

One current opportunity we have is the relaunching of a Christian bookshop in the town centre. We want to refurbish and restock this excellent central venue to provide good books and resources, and to offer a welcoming space for people to come and chat and ask their questions.

EN: Church planting is currently in fashion, and is increasingly an attractive option for men new to the pastorate. How do we match the needs of existing local churches for pastors with the needs of the nation (and world) for church planters?

LA: I feel I can only do my current work because of how I was able to make my mistakes and do so much learning in Gunnersbury. I question whether we should always encourage our budding starting-out pastors to be planters. But there is a real need to plant.

Church planting does cause a lot of tension, even among believers of the same convictions. Some of the strain could be taken out of the situation if more churches had a clear strategy of planting. That would keep a local church focused on its gospel-sharing priority, force the issue of training members, and prevent stagnation in the congregation — let alone the sudden arrival of unwanted planters from elsewhere!

Lewis can be contacted on 07974 041585, or through Hope Church’s website http://www.hopechurchhd.org and he will be speaking at the Carey Conference (January 3-5 2012) on 'Planting a Confessional Church'.

A call from the South of England to the North