Members of Living Hope church gave or pledged £450,000 in a single day towards a new place of worship in Douglas.
Living Hope Community Church Ltd has applied for planning consent (23/01200/B) to convert a former music shop on Finch Road into a new base for its ‘Douglas AM’ congregation.
According to a newsletter sent out to members of the church, a gift day was held recently when a staggering £150,000 was given and £300,000 pledged towards the project.
And church leaders are now hoping to reach a target of £500,000 for the new place of worship.
The newsletter reads: ‘We’re very encouraged by the progress in the planning application for the new Douglas AM building right in the heart of the city.
‘Recently we held a gift day and an amazing £450k-plus was given or pledged in a single day!
'Praise the Lord. We’re trusting for £500k by the time we take ownership.’
It added: ‘If you haven’t been able to participate yet you can do so most effectively through a bank transfer to the Living Hope account.’
Lead pastor Jonathan Stanfield told the Examiner: ‘We are just so encouraged by the goodness of God and the generosity of the church.’
It’s not the first time that Living Hope’s congregation has displayed such generosity.
In 2016 we reported how they contributed £66,000 to help lead pastor Mr Stanfield buy a new home in Douglas.
Letters were sent out offering members of the church the opportunity to ‘bless’ the pastor by making a donation to help him buy the £625,000 five-bedroom Holly Cottage.
This was to be his family home and also serve as a manse.
Church elders said at the time that Mr Stanfield had a funding gap of £150,000 and that they would love the church family to raise as much of this as they could through gifts. Tithes and offerings are the principal source of income for the church, and the majority is paid directly to its bank accounts by standing order.
Income from tithes, offerings and donations totally £954,825 in the year up to the end of August 2021. Directors’ pay that year totalled more than £215,000 with Mr Stanfield, as lead pastor and chief executive, being the highest paid, receiving £66,339.
Living Hope has eight congregations spread across the island but only one church - at Port St Mary - is owned by the charity while another building is on long-term lease,
The congregation that meets in central Douglas, known as ‘Douglas AM’, has been without a permanent site or home since it was established in 2008 and currently meets on a Sunday morning in the Palace Cinema.
The average weekly attendance is about 250.
Living Hope says Removals House will become the new Douglas AM, providing an open-to-all place of worship.
The building has had many different uses over the last 40 years including a furniture shop, lighting shop, gym and more recently a music shop but is currently in a dilapidated state.