Exeter church announces services at the Great Hall

A city church is to start hosting some of its Sunday services at the 1450 seater University of Exeter Great Hall.

Rediscover Church in Northernhay Street already hosts two services on a regular Sunday, and it has announced dates throughout the year when the congregations will come together for a number of special celebration events.

The announcement is a big and ambitious venture for the church which connects weekly with over 500 people through its programmes. They also broadcast live online and attract both a local and international audience.

It's hoped the Great Hall services will attract even more people of all ages from Exeter to attend and re-discover church for themselves, and help people evaluate any out-dated or incorrect impressions they may have as to what church is like.

The church is set to host a number of these special services in the Great Hall, and looking ahead to the end of year will also be organising a special South West Christmas Celebration which is thought to be the first of its kind in the area.

The Great Hall services will feature a welcoming atmosphere, live worship, interviews, and a hope filled and faith-based message. There will also be a special programme available for children.

They say that anyone is welcome to come along including those who have never been to church before and are curious to know what it is like.

Lead Pastor Mark Pugh said,

“This is an exciting step for us as a church.  Each week new people come along to our services and are blown away by the welcome and the overall experience but we keep running out of seats so by hiring the largest venue in the city we are giving many more people the opportunity to find out for themselves.

All too often people have an impression that church is dying and irrelevant but week after week we hear stories of lives being inspired by a very different experience. People who come along often describe the atmosphere as ‘buzzing’ and ‘full of life’ – they refer to getting an outstanding welcome, enjoy the life-filled music and find the talks highly engaging and relevant. It would seem that many find the reality to be completely the opposite to the ‘dying and irrelevant’ impressions they once had.

These special services, the first of which is on Sunday 19th March (11am) will provide even more people with an opportunity to find out for themselves.”

The church say these free Great Hall services will ensure that as many people from Exeter and the surrounding areas will be able to attend and experience church for themselves.

The first church Great Hall event will be on March 19th at 11am, with further dates planned for October 15th and the 2nd & 3rd December.

For more information visit www.rediscoverchurch.com