‘Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.’ – Margaret Mead. This is something that the elders of Gatley URC know only too well as they lead the way in looking outwards from the church building into the life and needs of the surrounding community.

Following a bequeath of £500,000, it was clear that something had to be done to encourage more people to become involved with the church, and so a community space was built, making full use of the building’s long, bright corridors and hall spaces to create a warm, welcoming environment for everyone to enjoy.

Changing your building and opening it up to different people in the community can be risky. The congregation was initially quite sceptical of all the changes which were being brought in, wondering what it would mean for them and everything that they held dear. As time has gone on, however, they have seen these efforts, led by the elders, doing wonders for the local area and are slowly increasing their support for this important work.

With a high demand for breakfast clubs, one was set up in the church which welcomes so many children in need of it that it has ended up making around £100 profit each week, which can be directly re-invested to benefit the community even more. Around 140 women came to a ladies’ night in the church. Armchair keep fit is also very popular with older people in the community and it’s clear that it would also be good to develop some support for people with dementia.

One of the most important elements of drawing people together in these times is good coffee, which caused one of the elders to hire a fancy coffee machine, at her own expense, to make sure that everyone using the building can have access to high quality refreshments.

This elder is also able to offer her entrepreneurial and business skills from the workplace to help the church find other sources of funding, training, volunteers and other support. Through this, the elders are able to take a lead on implementing necessary changes, demonstrate the success and impact of these changes and garner further support from the wider congregation to keep things moving and expanding.

Through the vision of a small group of people, Gatley URC has been able to transform its buildings into a resource for the whole community. Could a small Vision 2020 grant from the URC’s webpage on community funding help your church make a step in a similar direction?