Help us Build an ARC

Build an ARC Talents Challenge

The GoodWill project is part of our church's "Talents Challenge" based on the parable that Jesus told about the servants and the talents (see Matthew 25:14-30). It is a fundraising approach for the new building - the Alumwell Resource Centre (ARC) - which will serve as an Apostolic Resource Centre for the local community, the region and the nations, with partnerships in sectors such as health, education, care and of course church and theology.

There are a number of projects and initiatives that the church has sown into - such as GOODWILL - investing in the people and ideas that hopefully create a return. For GOODWILL the trustees invested in some additional music recording / production equipment and software that allowed us to develop the songs we were writing and music we were making so that they were professional sounding and ready to be shared.

To find out more about the building project and see a fly through of the design please visit https://www.junction10.com/building-project/.

The Church at Junction 10

J10 (as we affectionately call our church) started out as the Walsall Evangelical Centre: a church plant in 1978 and part of the Assemblies of God denomination. Initially worshipping in a school on the Alumwell Estate in Walsall, a site was acquired (on the site of the M6 Junction 10 hence its current name) as its popularity grew and an initial church building constructed. Over the decades with further growth the church building was extended several times. The founding Pastor had a vision of a church for 1,000 people and so a long journey - spanning over a decade - saw attempts to gain planning permission, fund raise for the new building and overcome a number of 'red flag' issues with the land / site that the church occupied. Senior leadership of the church was transitioned in 2007/8 and over the coming five years the new Core Leadership team managed to finally secure planning permission and overcome the remaining 'red flag' site issues.

However, by that stage the building was in a degree of disrepair which would take an extensive investment to put right and the estimated cost for a new building was several millions and the leaders were not prepared to mortgage the next generation to that degree.

If you would like to join us for worship on Sunday at 10:30am we are at Grace Academy Dalston school on Herberts Park Road WS10 8QJ

But why demolish a Building?

The J10 Story of the Church that Knocked its Building Down

Demolishing a building when you don't have the financial wherewithal to build a new one seems crazy. Indeed, it was an extremely difficult and challenging decision. However, it was an act of obedience and a trust in God's prophetic / rhema word to the core team.

In 2013 the Core team held a retreat weekend to seek God's will on a way forward. A 'building task force' had been working hard over the preceding year(s) to develop a costed options appraisal with three main options: to refurbish the existing building and bring it up to modern standards; to renovate / completely gut and renovate the existing building or to build a new building. Two questions were forefront of the Core team's prayers: what do we do about the building, which of these three options should we choose? And how do we build "oikos" (the family / household)?

Typical of the wonderful and surprising way that God sometimes works and testament to the fact that our logic and rationality is rarely a match for his wisdom, the answer was not what any of us expected and was not one of the three options we had offered Him in prayer.

Rather, after a very powerful time of worship, one of the team had a strong prophetic word that they felt God was asking us to demolish the building, to not worry about building a new building (He would provide one if / when one was needed) and to focus on building community with Jesus at the centre. A number of us had confirmations of this word. I myself (Will) that morning had been led to a number of scriptures that resonated with demolishing (for example Jeremiah 1:10) and a number of 'words' that I had sensed in the run up to the retreat suddenly made sense. Other members of the team had similar experiences and a number of us had had the same scripture verses. This word was carefully weighed and brought back to the buildings task force and a number of the other key leadership groups, then shared with the church and the difficult job of making the transition from having a dedicated building to finding somewhere to worship began. Since then we have seen some of the amazing ways God has provided for us and what he has been doing in the process.

Making sense of the radical act to demolish a building becomes a little easier when you can look back and see the pilgrim journey God has led you on. Demolishing the building and for a season 'abandoning' the desire for a new building was likened a little to the Israelites Exodus, of leaving Egypt, having to drink the bitter waters in an attempt to 'get Egypt out of them'. There was a sense that the vision of a new large building to house 1,000 people had possibly at times obscured our vision of God. Certainly our reliance on and trust in God for basic things like a place to worship was being built. Now it is decade after the word from God and we can see the way he has led us on a pilgrimage - not only the places He has provided for us to worship but also the focus on community with Jesus at the centre, rediscovering our 'first love'.

Making Sense: The Pilgrim Journey

Contact

www.junction10.com

thechurch@junction10.com

01922 474436

Office Address

The church at Junction 10
c/o Anochrome, Reservoir Place
Walsall, West Midlands, WS2 9RZ

Worship Service

Sunday 10:30
Grace Academy Darlaston
Herberts Park Road
Wednesbury, WS10 8QJ