PROJECT Gateway blog - SEPTEMBER 2026
FINAL GATEWAY BLOG - THE END IS IN SIGHT
Welcome to what should be our final Gateway Blog! We are nearing the end of a journey that started over 10 years ago, when the first plans for renovating and updating Christ Church building began taking shape. We officially “broke ground” on the Gateway Project in January 2025. The building then closed for full building work to begin in March 2025, and we’ve been gradually re-occupying the building as work completed since December 2025 (for the café and bookshop), March 2026 (for Sunday services), and now the full work is scheduled to be completed early in October. So here is your final update ….
Final Work on the Youth & Community Centre and Back Office Area
The Youth and Community Centre is nearly finished!! The extension walls, windows and roof have been completed, and the internal layout, stairs, toilets, kitchen, and upstairs rooms have had their “first fix”. And you’ll have seen the hoardings have now been removed from the dais/stage area. Over the next three weeks the internal structure for the YCC will be finished, then the final fixtures and fittings of the YCC and ground floor rooms will be completed.
Building Reorganisation and Move Round will continue into November
Once the completed building has been handed over to us, we will need some time to ensure the new areas of the building are operational, and we will be relocating the youth room and some offices when all the rooms have been completed. So, do bear with us as we expect some building disruption to continue for the next few weeks and snagging will continue for the next few months.
Official Grand Reopening Weekend: 9th - 11th October
We are looking forward to an official “Thanksgiving and Rededication Service” on Friday 9th October in the evening where Bishop Paul will recommission us as a church for the next chapter of life at Christ Church. We will then celebrate in all our three services on Sunday 11th October, the completion of the project with a mix of faith, fun and food. Save the date!
Financial Challenges Remain
We are so grateful to God for all he has provided for the project, and that costs have been contained within 2% of the original budget (only around £100k over) and that the project is scheduled to finish largely on time (only behind by a couple of months). We have secured all the money for the project but there remain two large financial challenges:
1/ CASH FLOW – because of when bills need to be paid and when money/gifts/pledges are timed to come in, we are facing a £45k shortfall of cash in December this year. We are praying that a mix of new gifts, lower bills, and slower billing will address this issue.
2/ MORTGAGE – we are only able to afford the full Gateway costs by taking out a £600k mortgage. We’d love this mortgage to be as small as possible once our final bills are paid, so we will be aiming to raise funds to reduce this amount over the coming months.
Thanks so much for your continued prayer support, your generous gifts and pledges, and gracious patience and encouragement as we near the end of the Gateway Project.
Gateway Project Team, September 2026
Find out more
If you want more information about the project, or to find out how you can support it financially, take a look at our Gateway pages on Christ Church’s website, or you can chat to any of the members of the team: Adrian Beavis (Vicar), Steve Roberts (Project Leader), Walter Coxon (Finance), Mike Pearce (Technical), Peter Wichmann (CCW building knowledge and expertise), Rachael Purvis (Project Coordinator). If you’d like to email us with a specific query you can do so at this email address: gateway@ccwoking.org.