The report marks the culmination of a Yorkshire Forward-funded two-year project by the Churches Regional Commission in Yorkshire and the Humber, and Faithworks, a national movement of Christians committed to community service. They studied 19 local ‘presences’ (expressions of Christian work in communities*) to identify what makes an effective presence, and the issues that can help or hinder this kind of work.

The activities delivered by these presences included after-school activities, social housing schemes, drug and alcohol rehabilitation programmes, community cafes, services for the elderly, and even a theatre company.

The research found evidence of a remarkable contribution made by the 19 presences, including a total financial value of £2.9 million being contributed to their communities. There was also an estimated annual footfall figure of up to 280,000.  

The report also highlights seven main findings which demonstrate the components of an effective Christian presence, and point to ways forward for the future:

1.      Partnership or collaborative working is the default position for effectiveness.

2.      Volunteers are crucial. Churches need to better at managing them.

3.   Effectiveness requires three distinct leadership styles working together (team building, entrepreneurial and project/strategic management).

4.      Effectiveness is dependent on more than the church leader! Teams are crucial.

5.      Striving for quality is essential.

6.      Flexible ‘church structures’ can actively encourage effectiveness.

7.      Sustainability is about more than long-term funding: it’s about ‘keeping the fire alive’.

Liz Carnelley, Chief Executive of the Churches Regional Commission for Yorkshire and the Humber said the report’s findings were of national significance when it came to promoting the effectiveness of Christian engagement in local communities:

“We can learn from what has made these presences effective, and there are real lessons here that churches need to hear. Lives are being changed and communities transformed by what Christians are doing across the region.”

Malcolm Duncan, leader of the Faithworks Movement, paid tribute to the work of the projects featured in the research:

"In these 19 presences we see true examples of Christian-motivated community work that are demonstrably making a tangible difference to the lives of all kinds of people. Through this report we hope to highlight these projects, as well as drawing attention to the thousands more who are putting their faith into practical action for the benefit of their communities.”

The report will be launched in a special reception, where Fran Beckett OBE, Chief Executive of the Church Urban Fund, Malcolm Duncan and Liz Carnelley will deliver keynote speeches.

ENDS – notes follow

Notes to editors
Media representatives are warmly welcomed to the launch event, where interviews with Liz Carnelley, Fran Beckett OBE and representatives from the projects featured in the report will be available for interview. Please contact Faithworks Press & Media Officer, Hannah Horton, should you wish to attend or to arrange interviews outside the launch event (Hannah.horton@faithworks.info or 07533 858344).

*Use of the term ‘presence’: this term was chosen by the 19 project participants to encompass the diversity of their community action - including local churches, social enterprises, Christian charities, community projects, arts-based initiatives and much more. 

Projects that participated in the ECPE research:

•           Acorn Centre, Todmorden, West Yorkshire: Started by a group of Christians from several denominations around 1997, this drop-in centre offers an ‘open door’ to all people, responding to their specific needs.

•           Blackley Baptist Church, Blackley, West Yorkshire:  set in a rural context, this Baptist Church of around 50 people was founded in 1789 and began community activities in 1995  The church now runs a conference centre, providing hospitality for a wide variety of people. 

•           Chapel Allerton Youth Project, Leeds, West Yorkshire:  This ecumenical partnership delivers the youth provision for three churches in Chapel Allerton: Chapel Allerton Methodist, Chapel A Baptist and St Matthews C of E.  It exists to provide a focus for young people to meet together, build a sense of togetherness and learn a robust, reasonable and relevant Christian faith. 

•           Fairtrade café and Street Angels, Halifax, West Yorkshire:  Founded by Halifax Churches Together, these two projects have enhanced the city centre presence of the churches.

•           Grewelthorpe Project, Grewelthorpe, North Yorkshire:  This joint Methodist and Anglican initiative provides social housing and a village community facility.

•           Hull Community Church, Hull, East Yorkshire:  This Evangelical church provides a wide variety of services directly, in partnership with other agencies, and by providing space to other organisations.

•           Hull Youth For Christ, Hull, East Yorkshire:  This non-denominational presence serves children, young people and their parents through activities such as after school and breakfast clubs.

•           Healing and Keelby Methodist Church Outreach Project, Keelby, North East Linconshire:  Offering a range of community activities including a coffee shop, this presence encompasses the two village churches “which now see themselves as one church with two buildings”.

•           Leeds Community, Leeds, West Yorkshire:  This emerging church runs Just Fair Laughs stand-up comedy nights to promote fair trade whilst providing good entertainment.

•           Lidget Green New Testament Church of God, Bradford, West Yorkshire:  This Black-majority church runs a range of services to meet the needs of the local community, particularly focussed on young and elderly people.

•           Longhill Link Up, Hull, East Yorkshire:  This Anglican community facility aims to “create confidence and skills in individuals and develop the community by providing many services for children, young people and older people”.

•           Pointed Arrow, Leeds, West Yorkshire:  This is a non-denominational theatre company of five people that tours locally and nationally.

•           St Michael’s Youth Project, Hull, East Yorkshire:  Situated in two challenging estates in outer Hull, this project reaches out to children and young people through after-school activities with a wide range of themes.

•           St Stephen’s Catholic Church and Neighbourhood Centre, Hull, East Yorkshire:  This provides leisure and educational activities for people from the surrounding Greatfield estate, an outer-estate with many needs.

•           The Connection, Nidderdale, North Yorkshire:  This ecumenical group is for young people to meet between the hours of 4 - 6pm in the rural community of Nidderdale.

•           The Olive Branch Trust, Bradford, West Yorkshire:  This Anglican church runs the Caleb Project which seeks to see those addicted to drugs and alcohol come through recovery and stay abstinent.

•           The Terminus Initiative, Sheffield, South Yorkshire:  This partnership-based initiative runs a community café, credit union, youth café, conversation club and other activities in the deprived Lowedges Estate in south Sheffield.

•           Trinity Church, Ossett, West Yorkshire: This Anglican church reaches out to young families, runs after school clubs and is developing as an arts centre.

•           Wakefield Baptist Church, West Yorkshire: This initiative is encountering challenges in moving from ideas to practice, but those challenges are an important part of our findings.