This Is My Church

I have recently taken over responsibility for our church website. I just thought you might like to check it out to find out a bit more about the church that I’m involved in.


The first think that you’ll notice is that it’s got plenty of photos of us. A key to understanding Church Alive is to realise that it is based on relationships. We are in essence a group of friends who gather together in various places and ways both to enjoy each other’s company and to enjoy God.

There are also some sections on what we believe. But this is not dry doctrine. We believe that what we learn from the Bible has practical application to our workplaces, family life and neighbourhoods. And we outwork that in our relationships with each other.

An essential part of what we believe that church means people and not a building. But we do have a small building - the Ledbury Centre - situated centrally to Ladywood in Birmingham - the main urban area which we wish to reach. But most of the time we meet either in the adjacent community centre (most Sundays) or in each other’s homes (most weeks). Though we meet in the Ledbury Centre on occasions we mainly use it as a Drop In Centre one day a week.

On the website you can read about the Drop In Centre and the Ministry to the Homeless And you read about Kids Alive our weekly kids club that Nettes help run. You can follow through the link to a local charity Karis Neighbour Scheme, with which we have a long standing relationship. Through Karis we have developed relationships with people in the area including a number of asylum seekers and refugees.

Perhaps one of our main challenges comes from us being mainly (although not exclusively) white professionals living some distance from Ladywood, which is much more ethnically diverse area with a lot people of a lower socio-economic status. Yet we are finding opportunities to serve our community – particularly the people on the margins - and be like Jesus to them.

We all live very busy lives and don’t always find it easy to find time to do the things we would like to do as a church. Nevertheless I am always amazed how people give generously both of money and time volunteering.

This is my church and I am proud of it.