New Places for New People

New Places for New People

God is calling ordinary people to begin new forms of church, and we’re investing millions of pounds over the next seven years to make that a reality. All churches are invited to start NPNPs as part of their ministry. These new communities may not need funding, or may be funded in different ways through district, circuit or connexional funds – The Methodist Church website.

Please find below examples of Sheffield Circuit's New Places for New People (NPNP) projects and also examples of new ways to worship.

Broomhill Centre

Broomhill Methodist Centre is being reimagined as a vibrant and inclusive space where faith, community and creativity can come together in new ways. Rather than focusing only on traditional Sunday worship, the Centre is developing three new communities under one roof:

• Climbing Church - Using the Centre’s new climbing wall, Climbing Church will create space for physical challenge, community and faith exploration.

• Families Church - A playful and interactive space for children and parents to explore faith together, building on learning from Sheffield Circuit’s Sam’s Space soft play centre.

• Student Church - A community shaped around students and young adults, offering a fresh and relevant way to explore faith during university life.

Together, these communities aim to create authentic relationships and accessible spaces where people can encounter faith in ways that feel natural, creative and meaningful.

The project is also intended to model a sustainable approach to mission and property. Alongside its worshipping communities, the Centre will develop partnerships and income-generating activity that support the long-term life of the building and its mission.

Broomhill Methodist Centre is part of the Methodist Church’s New Places for New People programme, helping the Church connect with new people in new ways.

• Mini Broomhill website, a creative, play space
• Mini Broomhill Facebook page

Manor Church and Community Project

Manor Church and Community Project (MCCP) founded in 2011, is a partnership between the Methodist Church, United Reformed Church and the Anglican Church (Manor Parish). Interestingly I was at a URC meeting in Sheffield when initial ideas of this partnership were being discussed – An exciting new way of using an unused church building to develop activities and opportunities to meet new people and engage in different ways to what had happened in the past. A huge amount of development work was undertaken by the previous Church Related Community Worker, the trustees and local partners and the building was redesigned, and tenants found to bring in much needed income. Manor After School Kids Klubs, our main tenant, were instrumental in helping me to meet with local families, carry out consultation and to do creative work with the children.

Fast forward to January 2023, I was appointed the new ‘Community Cohesion and Outreach Worker’. Having worked in church-based community work since 1997 and trained in the URC as a Church Related Community Worker, I knew the challenges churches sometimes face when trying to engage with new people and starting at Manor Church and Community Project was no different. I was a new face; activities had stopped due to the pandemic and so I had a blank canvas to work with.

My first attempt at getting people through the doors were the weekly coffee mornings. With little attendance I changed the time slot and offered ‘light lunch’ (soup and roll) but sadly this didn’t attract many people either. So, I investigated starting a Warm Space, with the support of Neil Harland and New Places for New People funding and the URC Mission Fund I was able to get started.

Having heard of the lunch club which used to run and having experience of lunch clubs in my previous role I began contacting old members and volunteers and we began the new William Temple Lunch Club in May 2023. We attracted new volunteers and new lunch club members and we began to grow. The lunch club serves local people with a hot meal, company, bingo and lots of chatter.

Just last year I started a Toddler Group with the support of Philippa Dand (Circuit CYP officer), the trustees and East LAC community funding and this year, together with Manor and Castle Development Trust, Temple Park Centre runs a Dementia Friendly Café. Both groups are well attended and offer support and friendships for those who attend.

You might ask where sharing the word of God and the stories of Jesus fits into all this busyness. We do have weekly prayers, led by Manor Parish. We celebrate all the usual Christian festivals even having a nativity at the Lunch Club. Community members still relate to this building being a church and many call it ‘Temple’. For me sharing kindness, the love of God through action, listening to what people want and need, creating space for people to talk, share joys and concerns and letting them know they are loved by God is central to my faith and my call to serve the people of The Manor. I’m not a great preacher but I am good at walking alongside people, being there for people, allowing them to feel valued, develop skills and confidence and give people a chance.

• MCCP website
• MCCP Facebook page

Metal Methodist

Metal Methodist emerged during the COVID -19 lockdowns. It began as a response to the perception that a love of the dark, the different, the gothic, and the unsettling was somehow incompatible with the ‘light’ of Christian faith. Drawing inspiration from Psalm 139 with its image of a universal divine creative force in whom darkness and light are one, regular livestreams began. The online gatherings used original words and music as well as lyrics from secular songs as a way for people to share the stuff that gives us hope, to lament and lay down the stuff that is heavy (and not in a cool metal way) as well as seeking guidance and inspiration from The Metal Bible (so metal it’s made of paper) and making our offering to The All Parent of our hopes and concerns for others and for the world.

Digital New Places for New People funding from the Methodist Church has increased the capacity of Metal Methodist capacity enabling the growth of the online community at www.facebook.com/metalmethodist with daily posts, conversations, and holding each others hopes and concerns before The All Parent. This is alongside the regular livestreams, monthly in-person meets within the Sheffield Circuit, Longest Night (winter solstice) and Darkest Night (Holy Saturday) collaborations with St Paul’s Norton-Lees, gothic choral collaborations with Sheffield Steel City Choristers,  plus the occasional World Tour to elsewhere in the Sheffield District, Bristol and the national Methodist children and young people gathering at 3Generate in Birmingham NEC.

We are very grateful for and excited about the recent additional funding Metal Methodist has received as a full New Place for New People initiative within Sheffield Circuit and Sheffield District. We are continuing our journey of listening, discerning and having a go at things as we discover what it means for us to be a New Place for New People at a local level.  What we do know is that we’d love to connect with you and journey together sharing songs and stories of welcome, inclusion, justice and hope as well as loud laments. Whoever you are, however you are, you are welcome here.

Oasis 

This city centre outreach began by the Victoria Hall Lay Worker in the early 2010's as a refreshed evening service to attract students and asylum seekers. The sharing of food before the act of worship was an important aspect of hospitality to attract people.

The focus became creating an Oasis where people passing through are refreshed in body, mind and spirit. By 2018 worship and food was provided by the Victoria Hall presbyter minister, a local preacher and the Anglican Church Army City Centre evangelist who caught the vision.

Ecumenical engagement grew – the Salvation Army Men’s Hostel Chaplain got involved as it was one of the few services truly welcoming of his hostel residents. More people attending now are homeless, with often complex life issues and challenging behaviours. There is now a group of around 12 people from other Sheffield churches who have a heart for ministry to homeless people who attend and help.

The worship team is from five traditions. The theology is varied, the worship informal, with worship songs, sometimes including interactive and creative prayer. Some people who first came through the door as people of no faith, looking for food and warmth have become followers of Jesus, attending Victoria Hall or welcoming churches where they now live.

Oasis website - A community for everyone who is in search of healing, growth and recovery 

We Who Worship

We Who Worship: A Story of Welcome, Rebuilding, and Going Further

We Who Worship was born from a moment of painful exclusion—when a group of worship leaders were told they could no longer serve because of who they were or who they loved. But rather than walk away from faith, we walked toward something new. Led by the Spirit, we re-gathered with a radical conviction: that everyone belongs, and no-one is disqualified from leading or receiving worship.

Today, we are a community built around three simple pillars: Spirit-led music, shared food, and honest conversation. We are an Inclusive Church community with a specific heart for the LGBTQ+ community—not just as a statement of policy, but as a lived reality. When we gather, you don't have to pretend. You don't have to hide. You are free to be exactly who God made you to be.

Where we are now: We currently call St Peters Church, Ellesmere, our home on the 4th Saturday of each month, and we are blessed to lead worship at Open Communion at St Marks, Broomhill (2nd Sundays).

How we are growing: But our story doesn't stop there. We are actively stepping into new spaces, accepting invitations to lead worship in churches across Sheffield and beyond. Our mission is to bring this spirit-led welcome to people who have been hurt, rejected, or silenced by other church settings. We want to be a bridge—helping churches rediscover the joy of worship that celebrates every identity.

Looking ahead: As We Who Worship continues to develop, our vision is to keep expanding our reach—building more partnerships, hosting more gatherings, and ensuring that wherever there is a person longing for a spiritual home, they know there is a place waiting for them here. We are not just a monthly meeting; we are a movement of radical welcome.

Get in touch: If you would like to invite us to lead worship, come along to our gatherings, or just want to know more about who we are, connect with us on Facebook (@WeWhoWorship) or reach out to  Steph Toone (07885577750); or Sophie Peel-Yates (07443630571)

https://www.facebook.com/WeWhoWorship/

Further information and resources

• Sheffield Methodist District – new Christian communities
• An invaluable resource is available on The Methodist Church site – New People New Places connexional funding including related
• The Methodist Church New Places for New People resources
• The Methodist Church YouTube channel including NPNP projects