Grace Church began in September 2002 when Nick and Penny Sharp were commissioned to plant a Newfrontiers church in Nottingham. Initially meeting in their home before moving to public venues, the church outgrew the Rose and Crown Pub in Lenton and in turn, the John CarrollLeisure Centre in Radford. When Trent Vineyard Church moved out of Meadow Lane in 2003, its leader John Wright encouraged Sharp to move Grace Church into the venue, which quickly became the new home. Being based at the stadium enabled the church to host the Newfrontiers youth festival, Newday, in 2005, attracting some 6,000 people and enabling a whole host of community projects to take place across the city, planned in conjunction with Nottingham City Council. In November 2009, the church bought the former Ministry of Labour'sEmployment Exchange building on Castle Boulevard and renamed it 'The Ministry'. The story attracted local press attention and local incumbent MP Lilian Greenwood officially opened the building in September 2010. Grace Church has been based there, at 1 Castle Boulevard, ever since.
Social justice
Grace Church is "committed to playing our part in serving those who are most in need in Nottingham, through our own initiatives and supporting other projects in the city." It believes "that the church is to be good news for those in poverty," and wants it "to reflect God’s justice and mercy by providing relief for immediate needs, seeing lives restored and challenging issues of social injustice in our city." It seeks "to do this through developing our own ministries to serve Nottingham and supporting other projects across the city." Grace Church runs a Food Bank for those finding themselves in the difficult situation of being unable to feed themselves and their families, and is also involved in a number of other initiatives in the city including Grace Enterprises, a network of businesses aimed at helping the long term unemployed back into work.
Congregation
Grace Church has a modern feel and comprises over 600 people, including large numbers of families, students and people in their 20s and 30s. The Church is led by an eldership team of 6 people, along with a staff team and trustees. The church is both reformed and charismatic in its theology, giving high priority to expositional bible teaching and contemporary worship in its meetings, seeking to be "led by the Spirit". There are three Sunday services: 9am, 11am and 7pm.
