Church for teenagers opens at historic Walsall chapel
A new church for teenagers is now open for worship at an historic Walsall chapel that has been given a facelift.
Bloxwich Youth Church was launched last month in the town's St James church building in a change in fortunes.
When the 100-year-old site stopped holding traditional services in August 2014 due to dwindling attendance, parish leaders decided not to sell up, but to take a leap of faith and set up a new worship centre aimed at teenagers and young adults.
It has re-opened with a focus on the 13s to 25s age group after ministers spotted a gap in provision.
The site, in Old Lane, was given a facelift and a specialist youth team lead services.
Team Rector the Rev Roger Williams said: "It has gone really well. The building looks brilliant inside, with a whole new room added. We have a group of about twenty people in their 20s getting involved.
"There is a mixture of live music and DJ, plus dance, discussion, prayer."
Services which start at 7pm on Sundays.
Up and coming activities will include lessons in playing the guitar and drums, plus dance workshops. There are also plans to run a Youth Alpha course which is an introductory meeting about Christian beliefs featuring discussions and a meal.
said there is a large population of young people in the town and the vision was to find new ways of serving them.
Parish staff based at All Saints' Church in nearby High Street already work with schools and families in the area, and the existing informal ReNew afternoon service there attracts younger worshippers.
St James' first threw open its doors in Victorian times as the Old Lane Mission outreach chapel for All Saints'.
More details about the new venture are on social media sites Facebook, Twitter and the website bloxwichyouthchurch.com
