Where to Start a Church in Burnley?

Regular readers will know that Salem Chapel is seeking to plant a new congregation in the Lancashire mill town of Burnley. We are, of course, unqualified for this task, being poor, undermanned, unskilled and generally inadequate. Yet these are the attributes God seems to seek when He employs His staff. I feel unable to successfully lead one church, never mind assisting at Hetton or starting afresh at a third.

The issue of premises is on my mind. Until we know where we shall gather, we cannot determine times of meeting:

• Do we seek to buy somewhere? We have little money and the liabilities are greater.
• Do we seek to rent a community hall? We can be turfed out at will or might suffer from inconvenient, double-bookings.
• Do we seek to share space with an existing church? This might be confusing to non-church people, and we might not wish to be overly associated with some existing religious groups.
• Do we meet in a home? Cheaper and more comfortable, but possibly not big enough and overly beholden to one family or individual.

We then have the issue of central vs suburban:

• If we go to the centre of town, the transport links are better but the parking might be expensive or sparse. The town’s drunkards may cause grief and the rents and rates are likely to be higher. No-one in the town is likely to resent travelling to the centre, however.
• If we chose a suburb or residential district, we have families on our doorsteps, but people from other areas might feel it burdensome (e.g. Cliviger to Padiham, Briercliffe to Rosegrove). The rents are likely to be cheaper but the available premises fewer.

Where do we go?

Thankfully, if God is in this, He will both provide the means and indicate the direction. Like teenagers on an orienteering expedition, or children walking to Grandma’s for the first time without an adult, it seems scary and daunting, yet thrilling and rewarding. Nevertheless, we crave your prayers. People have tried churches in Burnley before, and failed. Others have talked loudly about this plan and that ambition, but nothing ever came of it. Pray to God we are not just another entry on that desultory record of failure and loss.

So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase. 1 Corinthians 3:7