Our church is a home, a hospital and a hatchery!

What happens when God calls a life-long church member to plant a new congregation in another community? Chris Rolfe has been finding out

Lin Nicholls had happily attended Plymouth Christian Centre her whole life. At 60, she wasn’t expecting God to nudge her to leave it. Even less was she expecting him to call her to plant a church.

Yet this is how one of Elim’s newest churches, Rediscover Church Plympton, has come into being.

“I loved Plymouth but then post-Covid I just felt like God was shaking me, so I started attending Rediscover in Exeter instead,” she says.

“A year or so later I then realised the Lord was talking to me about the Church Planting Academy. I felt like something was stirring in my spirit and realised that’s why God had moved me out of the church I’d attended my whole life; he separated me so he could get my ear.”

Lin joined the Academy and was thoroughly enjoying it, yet she still felt unsure of her calling.

“I went to the Scriptures and started finding so many women in the New Testament who’d been used by God.

“So I said, ‘Lord, if you want to use me that’s fine. I live in Plympton and if you want me to plant there I will.’”

Whirlwind

The birth of Rediscover Plympton was something of a whirlwind, she laughs.

“You know when you’ve been mulling something over, then suddenly you decide ‘if I don’t do this now I’ll never do it’? That was me, so I started looking at properties to rent in the area.”

A community centre in the Chaddlewood area of Plympton (on the outskirts of Plymouth) responded, and if anything was a confirmation from God it was this visit, says Lin.

“As soon as I arrived two non-church people there told me they’d been longing and waiting for a church to come because they wanted one in this community centre.

“I don’t think you can get a stronger word from God than that!

“I signed there and then. I booked Friday nights for a whole year and said, ‘This is up to you now, Lord, because I don’t know what I’m doing!’”

Lin may not have had a five-year plan to follow, but God has provided opportunity after opportunity which she and her leadership team have seized as local needs have become evident.

“Our wish from the start was that we wanted to be a home, a hospital and a hatchery,” she says. “A home for believers, a hospital for those who’ve been bumped and bruised and a hatchery for new life in Christ.”

Community

The first step towards a hatchery had to be building trust with the community. They chose to break with tradition and hold services on Friday evenings – an ideal night since the community centre is located near a pub, Co-op, pizza place and Chinese restaurant, which bustles with people at the weekends.

Lin and the team didn’t want to begin telling people about Jesus without first showing them his love, so they’ve also launched a raft of community-focused activities, many suggested by church members to respond to various needs.

“There’s a strong demographic of young families here so it seemed sensible to start by offering something for them,” says Lin. “Carol-Ann, who heads up our children’s work, has a background in teaching, so she was behind us starting our Tiny Stars parent and toddlers group.”

There was a queue down the street for it on the first day and since then, at least 300 families have enjoyed the mix of play, Bible stories, Bible songs, prayer box and the fruit, snacks, coffee and cake included in its nominal fee.

Men from the church have been connecting with dads there, while older people have chatted with grandparents.

“This was our first try at reaching out and saying we’re here and we can be trusted.”

Kinsugi

Other new groups quickly followed. Church members Steve and Trudy Warren, a retired GP and practice nurse, had existing links with wellbeing charity Kintsugi Hope, so they started a group in Plympton. “They’re both very much into helping people via social prescribing and have introduced a Christian charity, Begin Well, that provides free antenatal classes, too. We’ve had around 30 couples come through that.

“All these groups are helping us show that whether you believe in God or not, we’re a church you can have a relationship with and we’re doing what we’re doing because we love Jesus and are loved by him.”

A dementia café, a support group for parents and carers of neurodiverse children and a monthly men’s group have also been started, while the community was treated to a day of free family teas, crafts and sports over the summer. The church also took time out to clean, paint and repair the community centre.

“We’re a small group of around 30-35 with a real heart to put our hands to the plough and show Jesus’ love,” Lin says. “We’re looking at how the Acts 2 church did things – they shared with each other, showed love, praised Jesus, broke bread together and looked after the people around them. That’s what we want to do too.”

The past few years have shown Lin why God called her out of the church that had been home for nearly 60 years.

“I’d never have done this if I’d stayed in Plymouth,” she says. “Now I can look back and say I can see exactly why Jesus moved me!”

This article first appeared in Direction Magazine. For further details, please click here.