Search Archive churches for all

ByDave Hall

The Church Organiser launched by the Church of England

Administration in Anglican churches got a whole lot easier this month, thanks to a new online system launched by the Church of England in partnership with iKnow Church.

The Church Organiser features a range of tools to help with booking rooms, managing live events and ticketing.

‘It is particularly useful for churches with rooms that are constantly in use and many different buildings can be covered from one centre,’ said Chris Gibson, senior church liaison officer at iKnow Church, a complete administration and donations platform for churches. ‘It takes online bookings and payments and optional extras can be added such as catering, heating and electronics.’

Room availability is shown and a donation facility can be added. A Ticketing section can cover both free and paid events, collecting important information. An optional charge can be made for attendance.

Alongside these important tools, the Life Events Diary helps churches manage weddings, baptisms, funerals or banns of marriage. With automated reminders, online enquiry forms and digital production of the marriage registration document, the diary covers all bases.

There is also A Church Near You Integration section which contains Life Events Diary contact forms. The booking of rooms can be made directly within the A Church Near You profile – giving a seamless experience to visitors.

And it comes free of charge, thanks to funding by the Archbishops’ Council using a grant from the Church Commissioners.

Registering your Church of England church can be done here.

Church Organiser representatives will be at CRE Midlands 23 where visitors can see and try out the software for themselves. It will also be presented as part of the talks programme (4pm, Wed 8 Nov, Talks Area 1).

‘We are thrilled to launch this tool to assist Anglican churches and look forward to showing visitors at Cranmore Park,’ said Chris.

• The Church Organiser will be on the Church Edit and iKnow Church stand A9 at CRE Midlands 23

Book your ticket for CRE Midlands 2023 here from as little as £3

Organisations looking to book a stand should contact James Batterbee 0161 250 2306 (E: james@creonline.co.uk) or Carol Malpass 0161 250 2467 (E: carol@creonline.co.uk)

Click to view the latest floorplan and price list for available stands

ByDave Hall

Goodbye collection plate, hello CollecTin

Churches which no longer pass the collection plate around during a service are discovering a special unit that encourages people to support their work.

The CollecTin More allows people to use a contactless credit card, mobile phone or smart watch to make a donation to church funds.

‘Many churches opted not to pass the offering plate when services resumed after the pandemic and have continued with the same policy,’ explained Chris Allwood, co-founder of CollecTin, first-time exhibitors at CRE Midlands 23. ‘The CollecTin More allows people to make a donation easily – without embarrassment. It is also useful in larger churches and cathedrals, which remain open for long periods, providing a means of raising funds from tourists, for example, who may be carrying less cash.’

Churches can identify up to six amounts which can be programmed into the system. Donors can select how much they wish to give, or opt for the ‘choose your own amount’ button.

‘It is a simple system which more than 1,000 churches have already started to use with great success,’ said Chris, who, with co-founder Guy Robinson were the first to build and trial a mobile contactless donation unit in 2015. They formed the CollectTin company in 2018 with the latest system made available three years ago. Now used by many large charities, including OXFAM and Cancer Research UK, it can be seen on the CollecTin stand at CRE Midlands 23.

• CollectTin will be on stand DS35 at CRE Midlands 23

Book your ticket for CRE Midlands 2023 here from as little as £3

Organisations looking to book a stand should contact James Batterbee 0161 250 2306 (E: james@creonline.co.uk) or Carol Malpass 0161 250 2467 (E: carol@creonline.co.uk)

Click to view the latest floorplan and price list for available stands

ByDave Hall

How Emmaus set Christopher on the road to deeper learning

A friendly nurse pointed Christopher Fletcher to the Bible and changed the course of his life – but signing on for a correspondence course took his Christian experience to another level.

‘I was reading a commentary by William MacDonald, a tutor at Emmaus Bible School,’ said Christopher. ‘I looked up the establishment online and found out about their correspondence course. I learned more in the first few weeks than at all the other places I have studied. The way the lessons are planned is very informative, turning difficult doctrines into practical understanding.

‘Thanks to the training, I have done a lot of preaching in prisons and churches and the school has really helped me to pass on what I have learned to others.’

Emmaus started in 1942 and was introduced to the UK in 1951. Since then, more than one million courses have been distributed.

Jonathan Hughes took over as UK director six years ago – leaving his work as a clinical biochemist in hospital laboratories to lead the Emmaus vision of making Bible study accessible and understandable to thousands. More than 10,000 courses are distributed each year – about 40 per cent to those in the prison system.

‘All the courses are free of charge,’ said Jonathan. ‘Our students all study from home and at their own pace. Their work is graded by tutors who take a personal and pastoral care in each student. We also supply multiple copies to church leaders who want to use our courses as the basis of their Bible teaching programmes. From personal experience, my fellowship has massively benefitted from this approach.

‘The prison ministry means that chaplains and other visitors regularly see the evidence of changed lives formed in the most difficult of circumstances. CRE Midlands 23 will be an ideal opportunity to meet new students and make connections with church leaders who have not heard of the Emmaus Bible Study books.’

• The Emmaus Bible School is on stand D17 at CRE Midlands 23

Book your ticket for CRE Midlands 2023 here from as little as £3

Organisations looking to book a stand should contact James Batterbee 0161 250 2306 (E: james@creonline.co.uk) or Carol Malpass 0161 250 2467 (E: carol@creonline.co.uk)

Click to view the latest floorplan and price list for available stands

ByDave Hall

Church leaders look forward to CRE Midlands 23

Dozens of leaders from churches across the Midlands met at Cranmore Park in Solihull last week (28 June), venue for the upcoming CRE Midlands 23 (8/9 Nov).

In the purpose-built exhibition centre, Dr Peter Green, director of the Christian Family Trust told the audience: ‘It blew my mind when I visited CRE some years ago. It was so exciting – you must bring all your people here. They will see dozens of things which can transform local ministry.’

Rev Margaret Simmons, from the parish of St Matthew and St Oswald, Rugby, said: ‘When I was a new vicar I went with members of my church. There was so much to see and always an excellent talks programme – such a lot to inspire fresh ideas.’

Lynn Boulden, producer at UCB Radio, based in Stoke on Trent, relayed how the station’s Word for Today Bible reading notes, written by Bob Gass and sent to millions worldwide, owed a debt to the exhibition. UCB’s Ian Mackie travelled to Washington and attended the only exhibition ever held in the USA. While the event itself was unsuccessful, with only a handful of visitors attending, Mackie met Gass for the first time. The rest is publishing history.

Steve Goddard, owner and managing director of CRE, said: ‘Bringing people together makes all the difference. The internet is a wonderful invention but, in our opinion, face to face beats mouse to mouse – every time.’

More than 150 stands at CRE Midlands 23 will offer products and services ranging from contactless card machines to customised keyboards for worship (pictured). Mission on the Map will bring together a dozen missions working nationally and internationally. Some 50 talks will feature experts offering advice in various aspects of church life, from fund raising to faith sharing.

Birmingham-born Roger Jones will bring a choir to perform a revised version of his musical Saints Alive. The BIG Sing choir (pictured), who scored a hit with the judges on Britain’s Got Talent earlier this year, will help open CRE Midlands 23 (10am, Wed 8 Nov), the first-ever CRE at Cranmore Park and the first in Greater Birmingham for eight years.

• CRE Midlands 23 at Cranmore Park, Solihull opening hours: Wed 8 Nov, 10am-5pm; Thu 9 Nov, 10am-4.30pm.

Book your ticket for CRE Midlands 2023 here from as little as £3

Organisations looking to book a stand should contact James Batterbee 0161 250 2306 (E: james@creonline.co.uk) or Carol Malpass 0161 250 2467 (E: carol@creonline.co.uk)

Click to view the latest floorplan and price list for available stands

ByDave Hall

Post-pandemic volunteer crisis hits local church ministry

Churches provide a vital lifeline for communities hit by the cost-of-living crisis but a lack of volunteers prevents them from doing more, a new survey reveals.

Specialist insurer Ecclesiastical, exhibitors at CRE Midlands 2023, asked 583 churches about the services they provide to their community and discovered that more than one in three offer food banks, one in four warm banks (pictured) and one in nine debt support. Five per cent run a clothes bank.

Of the churches offering warm banks, almost one in six set up the service in response to the spiralling cost of fuel. Overall, nearly half the churches said the cost-of-living crisis had led to higher demand for services, with a 21 per cent increase in demand for foodbanks and a five per cent increase in demand for debt support.

However, churches are struggling to meet the demand due to the lack of volunteers, with over a quarter saying this had affected their ability to offer services to the local community.

In a 2021 survey carried out by Ecclesiastical, half of the churches contacted said they had seen a fall in volunteer numbers in the 12 months prior, pointing to a major loss of volunteers since the pandemic.

Helen Richards, church operations director at Ecclesiastical, said: ‘It’s no surprise to see churches stepping up to support their communities when most in need and the efforts to tackle the cost-of-living crisis reflect the wider contribution to society our churches make. With more demand on services offered, the church needs even more volunteers to help them support some of the most vulnerable people in their communities. If churches are unable to attract people to fill these roles then there is a real risk that they will be forced to stop providing these vital services, or even close altogether.’

Ecclesiastical has produced a range of guidance for churches on some health and safety aspects of looking after volunteers on its website and also a video to help inspire volunteers.

• Ecclesiastical are on stand P29 at CRE Midlands 2023

Book your ticket for CRE Midlands 2023 here from as little as £3

Organisations looking to book a stand should contact James Batterbee 0161 250 2306 (E: james@creonline.co.uk) or Carol Malpass 0161 250 2467 (E: carol@creonline.co.uk)

Click to view the latest floorplan and price list for available stands