We are a network of churches. We believe that community churches are powerful agents of change. These are small(ish) churches where people share life, food, fun, God’s word, joy, sorrow, prayer, and love for our neighbours. When a church becomes too big to be a true community, we start another one.
Our network is there to support, encourage and help our churches to keep growing to be more like Jesus. We are part of the Church of England Diocese of Manchester.
We plant churches. Our primary task is to find and encourage leaders and teams for church planting. We train them in their task, help them grow in character, and make sure that the churches grow in a healthy way after they have launched. We also provide the financial, legal and accountability structure for these churches.
We are always on the look out for people called to lead these churches. They’re not usually paid by the network and they’re not ordained ministers. We work with them to find the right place for the new congregation, and we help them develop in skills and character. We help them find a team, establish patterns of prayer and Bible Study, find the right place, and meet the right people in the area they are going to serve. We help them as they start the church, spread God’s word in their area, through training, coaching and a mentoring system. As the congregation grows, we look to plant again.
Why do we do it?
There are lots of churches in Manchester. And lots of good churches. So why plant new ones? There are three basic reasons: The first is that you can't be a true community and keep growing. Beyond a certain size, you have to start a new one. That's our call. The second is that starting a new community makes us open up our lives and relationships up to new people, often people new to church who might otherwise feel excluded. The third is that new communities need new leaders, and we want to grow new leaders. So we believe that in these small communities it's easier to share our lives and Jesus with one another and with our neighbours. In short, it's our way of making disciples of Jesus.
More information on why networks such as ours believe in planting multiple smallish churches can be found at the top of our Resources section of our website, as below: www.antiochnetwork.org.uk/useful-resources
Where we plant: deprived neighbourhoods.
The Antioch Network has two strands: one side of the network plants churches in highly diverse communities, the other side into social housing estates.
On the diverse side of the network we are planning, with our local friends and partners, to plant churches in several areas across the diocese in the next three years, including central Rochdale. Discussions are ongoing, and please contact us should you want to know more, to join a Core Team or to support us in prayer or practical ways.
On the estate side of the network we and our friends are planning on planting three churches in the next two years;
The Syke social housing estate in Rochdale.
A social housing estate in North Manchester (Watch this space on specific location)
The Top O’th Brow estate in Bolton.
If you are interested in being involved or getting more information on these church plants please get in touch www.antiochnetwork.org.uk/contact
If you are planting church in a socially deprived neighbourhood, Antioch can help support and walk alongside you as a training and relational network. Please get in touch.
