On March 31st 2023 we completed on our building swap with Horfield Baptist Church. They moved into our building at 160a Gloucester Road and we moved into their building, 279 Gloucester Road, the new home of B&A.

 
 
 

279

We are so excited to have moved to a building that has plenty of room for all of us on a Sunday morning and our growing Little Church activities during the week in an amazing location on the Gloucester Road. 279 has a worship space that seats over 400, 2 large halls, lots of break-out rooms of different sizes, a catering kitchen and loads of toilets!

The Story so far…

For a number of years we were praying about the problem of being split across two sites and dreaming of a space where we could host our Sunday Gatherings and our Little Churches under one roof. We didn’t know it but at the same time, Horfield Baptist Church had been looking for a solution to their building dilemma, needing a smaller space to meet but not wanting to give up their building to developers or relocate away from the Gloucester Road. Through a series of extraordinary conversations, we spent 2022 figuring out if a buildings swap could be the solution that would ensure the long-term thriving of both church families, enabling both to be based in the heart of the community we serve.

Our Little Church activities including our Ukraine Welcome Hub, free weekly Soul Food Meal for anyone, hot meals for Warm Spaces, 61 Hub for ex-offenders, Piglets toddler group, midweek communion & lunch, Hong Kong welcome group and our staff offices relocated to 279 when we moved. In September we moved Sunday Gatherings from B&A St Andrew’s Park. For the first time we have been able to bring together all we do in the week with our Sunday Gatherings.

We are about to undertake extensive repair and decorative work to the Gathering space and hireable rooms. Once completed, these works will enable us to expand our own activities as well as offer venue hire to the local community.

FAQs

  • 279 will gives us a space right on the Gloucester Road in which we can gather up to 400 people with break out rooms for 150 children and youth for Gatherings on Sundays. It provides multiple rooms for our Little Churches to meet in during the week and enough space for us to start new Little Churches without clashes. It is a space for mission and Gatherings to happen under one roof and make it easier to welcome guests of our Little Churches to come to Gatherings and other church-wide events.

  • We asked Revd Sarah Phillpot the Minister of Horfield Baptist Church to answer this question. She said:

    For many years the dramatic building occupied by Horfield Baptist Church, known throughout the city as the ‘church with the two towers’ has been the focal point of ministry and mission for the congregation, drawing many to attend, commit and come into membership. As the world has changed and the church is heeding Jesus’ call to ‘go’ rather than attracting people in through the doors, what was once an asset has become a burden for the much smaller congregation that now meets on the premises.

  • We just exchanged 160a (B&A Gloucester Road) with HBC’s building at 279 Gloucester Road. The Park Site / B&A St Andrew’s Park wasn’t part of the agreement and remains B&A’s. However, 279 has the potential to bring together Sunday Gatherings and midweek activities and that does mean long term implications for our use of the Park Site. Once the building swap happened, the PCC began to prayerfully consider how best B&A St Andrew’s Park can be used for worship and community use in the future.

  • A key part in discerning whether or not to move to 279 was planning the finances required to renovate the building where required and to pay for the ongoing costs once we are in. We have a significant amount of savings that we have been able to set aside for the first phases of building work in 279. These works will enable us to fully use 279 for many years to come. We have carefully budgeted for the ongoing running costs of 279 once we are in and these costs are broadly in line with our current costs for two sites. Were we to remain at our previous sites we actually faced substantial works that our savings would not cover, as a result the move to 279 enables us to continue to serve the city and follow Jesus without having to think of significant fundraising efforts for buildings for many years.

  • The halls at 160a Gloucester Road are available for hire through Horfield Baptist Church. If you’re looking to hire 160a please contact Horfield Baptist Church directly at roomhire@horfieldbaptist.net.

  • B&A Church will be undertaking major renovation works to parts of 279 Gloucester Road to make the space safe and suitable for Sunday Church Gatherings and venue hire in the future. We plan to be open and ready for venue hire at 279 Gloucester Road from Spring 2024 and if you’re interested in finding out more we suggest contacting us from Autumn 2023 at bookings@babristol.org when we’ll have more details.

  • Yes! This sort of thing happens more often than we might think. For example, Cotham Parish Church meet in a church that was once a free church building. In the 1990s, before 160a was developed, St Michael’s met in the free church down the road. For this to happen, both denominations followed a clear legal process which resulted in 160a becoming a Baptist Church and 279 becoming an Anglican Church.

  • Parking spaces are available on Gloucester Road and in the streets around 279. There are no restrictions on a Sunday and there are plenty of spaces within a short walking distance of the church. In addition 279 is on a main bus route out of the city centre and more accessible by public transport than the Park Site. There are also three spaces on Brynland Avenue for those with limited mobility.

  • We’d love to hear from you! Please contact us at info@babristol.org.