London & South East Premier Construction

A New Centre for Gateway Christian Church

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Written by Roma Publications

Gateway Christian Church is an independent Christian Church affiliated with the Evangelical Alliance. The new gateway centre will be used as a church but also as a hub for the community.

The centre will be the home of the church a well as the venue for the Gateway run toddler groups, youth groups and activity groups. Gateway Christian Church runs activity groups with a number of partners including the local youth centre, charter centre, food bank and the children’s counselling service. The new centre will additionally house a brand new 24hour police office.

Briefly comprising of an auditorium, foyer, three classrooms, offices and toilets, the new Gateway Centre will act mostly as a church run community centre but will be used as a church for service and meetings on Sundays.

The auditorium seats approximately 300 people for a church service and has been specifically designed by architect Saville Jones so that it can be a multi use room. The room incorporates high density stacking chairs which can be stacked up and put away, allowing the auditorium to become a full size sports hall. The large room will not have any traditional church features and will instead be a flexible space with a moveable stage. There will be a cross at the front of the auditorium which is part of the building design and not something which Gateway feel was necessary for the church centre.

The new church centre comes following the demolition of a church owned building and two houses. The council required a landmark building for the community in Eastbourne and Gateway Christian Church took it upon themselves to create a hub for the local residents.

Jason Cottingham, Assistant Minister of Gateway Christian Church, said:

“Before the new build, there wasn’t another community space in our particular patch. We have created a real focus for the area.

“Residents asked for a more prominent police presence, which we have managed to provide with the space for 24 hour police offices.”

The New Gateway Centre is a modern building with an unusual roof structure. The building occupies the majority of the site with parking for four cars outside and a small open area at the front with flower beds and some seating. Upon entry, the centre’s foyer has floor to ceiling glass front with sliding doors so it can open out to the outside space. A large steel cross forms part of the Christian building.

There are new plans to create a modern take on a stained glass window at the end of the auditorium. The building currently holds a large window which Gateway are looking to put coloured films on in an abstract formation. This will create a modern and interesting feature in the run down area and Gateway hope that it will enhance the community.

The project started in September 2014, and is set to complete at the beginning of November this year. The estimated cost is £1.4million and is entirely private funded. For more information about Gateway Christian Church please visit www.gatewaychristianchurch.org.uk.

 

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Roma Publications