Christ Church, Southport Parish Profile Lord Street, Southport PR8 1AA
Introduction For 200 years, the people of Christ Church have declared God s heart and purposes in the centre of our town. Radically rebuilt and reordered in 1995, the church adopted the vision, Not just for Sundays. Our doors are open seven days a week and a wide variety of ministries are undertaken every day. We believe the Holy Spirit is alive in us and with Him, we hope to present Jesus Christ to our community today. We are gently charismatic with an evangelical stance, and are informal in our worship. We want to develop further our links with other churches, Christians and the unchurched. Our desire is to be Jesus witnesses in word and action, through our café, welcome activities, outreach initiatives and social programmes. We seek to present God s love to all.
Our Vicar We pray for a Vicar who, Wants all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. (1Tim 2:4) We pray for someone: Whose heart is to build God s Kingdom at Christ Church and the surrounding area, desiring to further our engagement with other churches and denominations wherever possible. Who is Spirit-filled and seeks spiritual depth by prayer and the renewal of the gifts and fruit of the Holy Spirit. Who will challenge us through God s Word, sound leadership, and through personal example, to follow Christ more closely and deepen our God-given gifts and ministries. Who has a pastoral heart and will address difficult situations. Who will manage and envision a diverse team of volunteers and paid staff. Our Vicar will be sensitive to the diversity of the church membership, while upholding a biblically-based perspective on social issues. Our Vicar will actively support our mission partners and the church s commitment to overseas and home mission.
The Parish Southport is a seaside town with a resident population of 90,000. It is easily accessible from all over the North West and is a popular choice for days out, short breaks and seaside holidays. Christ Church is nestled in the heart of Southport in a key location next to the Town Hall. We are located on Lord Street, which is an attractive tree-lined boulevard said to be the inspiration for the Champs Elysees. Founded as the town grew in the 1820s, Christ Church has played a key part in its life. We have a small eastern European population in our community. Our town centre parish contains a high percentage of bed-sits and retirement homes. The town has little manufacturing and most residents work in retail, agricultural and other service sectors or commute to Liverpool, Preston or Manchester.
Our People As a town centre church, Christ Church has a gathered congregation with few members living within the parish boundaries; most live within a three-mile radius, many of whom have non-anglican or non-churched backgrounds. Sunday attendance is about 220 adults and 30 children/youth. We have 14 small groups that meet midweek for fellowship and study and a 30-week discipleship course runs once a year. In addition to having licensed clergy and a Reader within our congregation, many members are active in different ministries. We have welcome teams, prayer ministry teams and communion administrators, and also those on worship, audio/visual, children, youth, reading, prayer and speakers rotas. Our church office is open and staffed 9am-5pm, Monday-Friday. A focus of our work is children and young people, but this is an area which needs strengthening. The under-eleven group which meets on a Sunday morning is growing; our young people meet three times a week, including an outreach-style youth café on a Friday night.
Church Services Sunday services take place at 9:30am, 11am and 6:30pm. Vestments are not normally worn at our Sunday services. The 9:30am service is more traditional in style, featuring familiar hymns and a light liturgical touch. Our 11am service is more informal and includes the use of multi-media, complemented by current praise and worship music. Children and youth programmes are held during the 11am service. A similar sermon is delivered at both. At 6:30pm, our service is held in Vivesco Café and is a relaxed, more intimate and interactive celebration. Café Church often follows the theme of the morning services. On the first Sunday of the month we offer a joint invitational service at 10:30am with an in-house catered lunch in Vivesco. There is a weekly daytime communion service and occasional weddings and funerals. In addition to infant baptism, we offer full immersion baptism and reaffirmation of baptismal vows.
Community Engagement Our most visible ministry is Vivesco Café, where paid staff and volunteers serve food, drinks and offer hospitality six days a week. Tuesdays are especially for older people with communion followed by Tuesday at Two - a successful pastoral and outreach ministry. Wednesdays feature Midweek Music and Thursdays welcome small children and carers to Family Day, many of whom are Eastern European. The Souper Kitchen runs on Thursday evenings for up to 50 vulnerable people who come to the church for a meal, support and a glimpse of Jesus love. Study courses run throughout the year, including Alpha, A Life Worth Living and Big Questions. Other activities through which newcomers come into fellowship include a bereavement group, a diners club and other interest groups. Christ Church serves as the base for Southport Street Pastors, representing multiple churches across the town, who are active on Friday and Saturday nights between 11pm-3am.
Our Building Built in 1821, Christ Church has been reordered over the years. In 1991 structural failings led to the demolition and rebuilding of everything except the front façade of the Church. After long and careful prayer, the congregation not only raised the entire cost, but an additional 10% for mission. In 2005, a full-immersion baptistry was installed. At the same time, the dais at the front of the church was raised and extended to provide a larger platform for worship; the congregation funded this work. In 2015, 40,000 was invested to renew some of the flat roofs over the halls. The modern open worship area is ideal for contemporary worship and is used for a variety of Church and non-church uses. There are halls, meeting rooms and offices, as well as Vivesco Café which overlooks the grounds. There is limited car parking at the Church. Opportunities exist to expand the use of the buildings for outreach and outside lets. The Vicar has a large office/meeting room on the first floor of the Church overlooking the grounds at the front of the building. The Vicarage is located in Birkdale, approximately one mile south of the church. It is a four-bedroom detached family home with a large garden, which has been used to host church events.
The Big Picture Our desire is to be Christ-centered and Spirit-filled. We are open for our new Vicar to help us review all that we are and do, both individually and collectively, to enable us to focus on a fresh vision of God. We have built a strong, inter-denominational partnership with other local churches. We pray together every Tuesday and serve the community at a variety of events, including the annual Southport Flower Show. The Southport area and its environs constitute the North Meols Deanery, within the Diocese of Liverpool. Christ Church is perceived by the Diocese as having a responsible and influential ministry in the Deanery. There are 14 parishes and ultimately nine clergy will serve these parishes. We accept that falling clergy numbers mean that vicars will have to act more collegiately.