A House Renovation for the Gospel

The small, historic, Buckinghamshire market town of Winslow is growing.

Access to a new mainline railway linking Oxford and Cambridge means more young professionals and families are considering the town as a place to live and commute from. To meet the growing need, a new train station and more housing estates are being built, which will increase the current population of around 5,000.

With new people come new opportunities to share the gospel. And a greater need for gospel outreach in the town.

Gospel presence in Winslow

Winslow Christian Fellowship has been meeting there since 1989. Like the town, it is a smaller church - with around 30 people gathering on a Sunday. It is made up mostly of older people but, like the town, there is an increasing number of young families and children in the church too.

Their vision is to glorify God by serving Winslow in practical ways and by sharing the gospel. A wonderful vision to live by.

They don’t own a building to meet in, hiring Winslow Public Hall for their services, which brings frustration and limitations (alongside advantages!) when it comes to reaching the local community. Being without a physical building can bring a lack of presence and awareness, and gives limitations in terms of putting on activities.

However, they do own a house on the High Street. It was the home of pastor Colin Poyntz, his wife Louise, and their four children, but is now the focus of the church’s outreach to the growing town.

A gospel house renovation

“This whole project became a realistic possibility when a gospel hearted couple bought a house in Winslow as an investment,” Colin told me. “Rather than rent it out to maximise their profits, they made it available to the church for free. It is a lovely house that has become our new home.”

So, some great gospel generosity freed up number 92 on Winslow High Street for the church to use.

Colin explained, “During the first lockdown of 2020 we started a daily, online prayer meeting. We have prayed for all sorts of issues in the meeting but always asked God to bless the church and use us in his service. I’m convinced this is where it all started, before we ever thought of it.”

The limitations of not owning a building fostered the idea of demolishing the house and constructing a church from scratch. But this is expensive, hard to get planning permission, and there isn't really enough space anyway.

But what if the house was renovated to become a ministry hub for the church to serve the town throughout the week?

“This was a cost we could justify” Colin said, “and would be a clear message to the local community that we were doing something for the people of Winslow rather than building a church for ourselves.”

The plans for 92

The ambition for the new ministry hub is that it would become a busy community space where people socialise, access community groups, receive help, and ultimately come to understand the gospel.

The front rooms of the house will become a naturally lit café to serve passers-by. The back rooms will become a ministry space for after-school clubs, toddler groups, CAP courses and more. The rooms upstairs will become office spaces for the church and hopefully will be available for other organisations in Winslow.

The church are looking to their own pockets to meet the funding cost for this project, as well as grants.

It would also be a great opportunity for a larger church elsewhere to partner financially with Winslow Christian Fellowship. Get in touch with Colin if this is something the Lord is calling you to.

“As well as help with funding, if anyone with relevant professional experience can offer their insights into the project, we would be really grateful,” Colin said.

“Apart from those practical things, we would really appreciate prayer.”

Join me in praying for Winslow Christian Fellowship as they reach out with the gospel to the growing town through this exciting and creative project.