Church in new housing areas: Challenge and opportunity
 The Labour government said that an estimated 3 million new homes were needed in England within 20 years. That target has not been altered with the arrival of the new coalition Government elected in 2010.
The economic downturn has affected the rate of building but not the intention. There is great debate about what should be built and where, but the bottom line is that new housing is needed, and being built to some extent in almost every area of England.
All local churches engaged in mission are likely to have the question of new housing on their agenda. In some places, like Calverton near Milton Keynes, the question is enormous as the village of 150 residents face the arrival of 16,000 new neighbours.
In many places, new housing is additional to existing communities served by well established churches. In others, new communities are being built where their is no community. How should the church respond in these situations? What is the local opportunity and how could it be addressed?
At Churches Together in England we serve a network of denominationally appointed representatives who have a watching brief for the 'Church in New Housing Areas'. The group developed a website of that name, (www.cinha.net) and collated a large amount of material for local church leaders - much of which is now being transferred in to this area of the CTE website. This is where you will find material in the future.
Our concern is to help local church leaders engage their congregations in the missional task. The key areas we consider are uder three key headings:
- Stories where churches have engaged in new housing areas
- Creating community, especially when often their is no community
- Getting involved in the planning process
What do we mean by 'new housing area?'
In order to think along the same lines the Churches Group for New Housing Areas, decided to adopt the model of '1000 new homes' as the unit for a 'new housing area'. This is large enough to raise questions about community, shops, schools, and Christian presence. We hope that local church leaders considering what to do with smaller developments, as well as those challenged by new towns and cities. We find this model for our thinking helpful as a base line and trust you can adjust it to your own context.
Listening to the local
A small group of national representatives cannot do much more than keep a watching brief and collate their experience and resources on this website. We have brought groups of ministers together who are appointed to engage in new housing initiatives and we are keen to listen to the experience of more. If you have a story to tell, we would be pleased to hear from you by email here.
Web content
This website is an introduction for those who have no, or little, previous knowledge in matters of new housing. We assume that most visitors to this site will be local church leaders. We trust that the information on this website is accurate, but ask all readers to check the material against the advice of their own local authorities. Churches Together in England cannot be held accountable for advice given. In addition, we do not necessarily share the views of the contributors included.
Our aims are to:
- Facilitate networks among those involved in planning for new communities
- Share good practice, especially for local church leaders
- Help churches and churches together groups engage in the challenge and take the opportunities
- Disseminate information which may help in the local mission of the church.
We hope you find this website helpful. Please ask if we can be of further help.
Jim Currin, Secretary
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