Vision for the Tove Valley
The Story So Far
The area adjacent to the river Tove consists of village communities, many of which once contained vibrant Christian churches but no longer do so. In the late 1990s we sensed God's calling to try to reverse this. So when Helmdon and Weston Baptist church approached us, seeking our partnership and support, we recognised this as the first step towards fulfilling the vision we already had.
Our combined church consists of two congregations. But it shares a common vision under a common leadership.
Read more about our the Towcester and Weston congregations.
Future Plans
The next steps in this vision for the Tove Valley will not, we think,
involve building new chapels or setting up new congregations. Instead, we
envisage setting up small, home-based groups of Christians in each village
without a live church of its own. These groups will offer a Christian
presence within their community, and will pray for and find creative ways to
share their faith with their neighbours. Members of these groups would also
be members of established Christian congregations, either here or perhaps
elsewhere.
This vision in turn has led us to explore becoming more fully a
"cell"-based church ourselves - not just in the villages but also in
Towcester itself.
Tove Valley Centre
We have a vision to build a new Centre as a focus for the life and work of the church. The "Tove Valley Centre", to be built within the town of Towcester, is designed to be the new home for the Towcester congregation; to serve our town and situate our church at the heart of it; to be a Christian resource for the whole Tove Valley area, and to help us reach its people for Christ.
As a step towards this vision, we sold and moved out of our old premises on Watling Street, in February 2001. The Towcester congregation currently meet in the hall of Nicholas Hawksmoor Primary School until the new Centre can be built.
The elders or pastors can provide information on the Tove Valley Centre project.