Modern face of iconic Black Country church
Huge glass windows and eye-catching architecture – this picture shows the modern face of an iconic building in the Black Country.
Champions Church, in Netherton, will soon be opening its doors to welcome worshippers in the New Year.
Sweeping white walls curve around the outside of the 850-seat amphitheatre-style church building and community centre.
Glass panels reflect the Netherton townscape back to residents as they walk past the site covering two acres.
The £2.5 million complex, in Cinder Bank, will be officially unveiled as part of a four day festival on January 14.
Pastor Mark Burchell said he wanted the building to become "an iconic building for the Black Country".
"The last thing I wanted was for the building to be just a square box with a cross on the top," he said.
"I had been walking around the Waterfront in the 90s when we first began thinking of ideas for the building. And the complex was impressive." The 48-year-old enlisted the design skills of Level Seven Architects, in Sutton Coldfield, who had been behind the transformation of the Waterfront.
"It was an aim to create a building that the whole community would be proud of and I think that we have done that," said Mr Burchell.
Work to create meeting rooms, a coffee bar and bookshop will follow, costing £500,000. The renovation is expected to be complete within three years but the new church, complete with temporary cafe and bookshop facilities, will be in use from January 14.
The church is based in the former Baptist Church, in St Giles Street, while workers put the finishing touches to the building's interiors.
