The Glory of his House
Church Restoration Programme
‘The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former…’ Haggai 2:9 (KJV)
Few years ago, we started to see church buildings in England being auctioned off and sold for other uses such as residential, retails etc because the church charities that own them could not really afford their maintenance due to the dwindling number of worshippers. This was a hard pill for us to swallow given the labour of the older generation to put up those structures as a place of worship and fellowship between God and His children.
This is a passion of ours that is borne out of a genuinely love for God. We are not founders of any church organisation and do not intend to. However, we do not want to see churches being offloaded at the expense of the spiritual health of the nation.
The Liberality Foundation is committed to doing its best to ensure that church buildings in England are not sold off for other uses but are maintained as places of worship for the Lord. At the same time, we understand the many challenges that congregations face when caring for church buildings across England but this cannot be compared to the joy of fellowship.
According to the Historic Religious Buildings Alliance, parishes across England are spending £100 million annually on major church building repairs. Very small churches may be able to average £3,000 per annum on repairs, but larger historical church buildings will require much more.
Historic England also created a recent assessment of 30 of England’s listed church buildings, projecting the total cost of fixing all 30 of these church buildings at £6.95 million. That amounts to an average of £231,666 per church building to repair the damages present at the beginning of the study; a financial challenge, indeed.
Regular church building maintenance is imperative to preventing even more costly damage from developing. Yet state funding is not guaranteed and annual data released by the Church of England found that congregations end up footing 65 percent of the bill. Many parishes simply cannot keep up with these costs on their own and are forced to vacate their beloved church buildings.
The financial commitment of repairing and keeping up a church building is substantial.
Why Church Building Restoration?
Our Church Restoration Programme acknowledges each church building as “the place where His name will be honoured.” (Deuteronomy 12:5). It is our passion to see church buildings used for their original purpose as places of meditation and praise.
The truth is that churches as a place of Christian worship benefit their communities in a multitude ways that extend beyond Sunday services. Losing a sacred space doesn’t just affect believers--it takes a toll on nonbelievers, too. People outside of the Christian affiliation still rely on churches in their communities as:
-Places of peace available to all for moments of quiet.
-Valuable community spaces for coming together socially.
-Community outreaches that offer counselling and meals to the needy.
-Sources of essential funding for charities and causes.
-Encouragement through uplifting words and music.
-Reminders of England’s rich religious and architectural history.
We want to preserve these church buildings of blessed worship. Our towns and cities lose so much more than just a building when a congregation closes its doors to public worship. Believers and nonbelievers alike look to our church buildings as welcoming places for all, a second home for members of the community.
How does it work?
“Rather, you must seek the Lord your God at the place of worship He Himself will choose from among all the tribes—the place where His name will be honored.” (NLT, Deuteronomy 12:5).
Alongside our partners and donors, The Liberality Foundation is seeking to help save many of the church buildings from being used for secular purposes and transform them back into places of Christian worship. Churches and congregations meet many needs for people in the surrounding communities. It is a shame to see these church buildings lost as places of contemplation and praise.
It is our aim to be “rich in good works” (NLT, 1 Timothy 6:18) towards our immediate community and society as a whole, lifting them up in tangible ways. The Church Restoration Programme works with willing partner organisations who share this vision. Together, we bring back the sounds of our Lord’s praise to the buildings built to honour Him.
This is not a church-planting operation. Rather, the Church Restoration Programme facilitates the transition of church buildings back to their original sacred intention.
Be a Part of Restoring Church Buildings
We encourage you to seize this opportunity provided by the Lord and become a part of bringing Christian worship back to England’s church buildings. There are several ways you can get involved with the Church Restoration Programme:
-Become a strategic partner and work beside us.
-Spread the word by telling others about this God-facilitated programme.
-Donate what you are able to donate.
We welcome all prospective partner organisations to reach out and connect with us to discuss this exciting opportunity. Those of you who feel moved to share your financial resources in this effort can contribute by completing our donor form. Each donation makes a valuable difference in moving the Church Restoration Programme forward, and we thank you.