The Church
Great Ayton Methodist Church
is part of the Methodist Church within the UK. The church is a part of the Stokesley ‘circuit’ of churches which is in turn a part of the Darlington district. This circuit of six churches is led by two ministers, one based in Stokesley and other in Great Ayton. The church is also an active member of Churches Together in Great Ayton, an association of the village’s Christian Churches.
The Methodist Church in Great Britain
separated from the Anglican Church in 1784. Our church on the High Street opened in 1914 but Methodists were meeting and worshipping in the village for many years before that. The calling of the Methodist Church in the United Kingdom is to respond to the gospel of God’s love in Christ and to live out its discipleship in worship and mission It does this through:
Worship
The Church exists to increase awareness of God’s presence and to celebrate God’s love
Learning and Caring
The Church exists to help people to grow and learn as Christians, through mutual support and care
Service
The Church exists to be a good neighbour to people in need and to challenge injustice
Evangelism
The Church exists to make more followers of Jesus Christ.
You can find out more about what this means for us in Great Ayton in the various pages of this website.
Our Beliefs
What we believe About God
God is the loving Creator of all that exists, both seen and unseen. God is eternal and completely good. He knows all things and has all power and majesty. God exists as Trinity – in three persons, yet one God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. God passionately desires an individual relationship with us and toward this end he continually invites us into a relationship of faith, friendship, learning and service.
Genesis 1:1 | Matthew 28:19 | John 14:6-9, 15-17 | 2 Corinthians 13:14 | John 16:7-15 | 1 John 4:9-10
What we believe About God
God is the loving Creator of all that exists, both seen and unseen. God is eternal and completely good. He knows all things and has all power and majesty. God exists as Trinity – in three persons, yet one God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. God passionately desires an individual relationship with us and toward this end he continually invites us into a relationship of faith, friendship, learning and service.
Genesis 1:1 | Matthew 28:19 | John 14:6-9, 15-17 | 2 Corinthians 13:14 | John 16:7-15 | 1 John 4:9-10
About Jesus Christ
God expressed himself in human form through Jesus Christ, the Son of God who was born of the Virgin Mary. He lived a sinless life, preaching and performing miracles but was crucified for the sins of us all. He was buried but rose again from the dead and ascended to heaven.
Colossians 1:13-23 | John 14:1-3 | Colossians 2:8-14 | Hebrews 1:1-3 | 1 Corinthians 15:3-8 | Acts 10:42-43 | Matthew 22:36-40 | 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17
About the Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit is sent from God to live inside all who believe in Jesus Christ. The Spirit teaches, comforts and empowers us, giving each of us different gifts to use for God’s glory, fostering unity, Christ-like character and love among Christians and for other people.
Romans 5:5 | Ephesians 4:3-4 | Romans 8 | Ephesians 5:18 | 1 Corinthians 12:14 | John 14:26 | Galatians 5:16-25 | John 16:7-14 | Ephesians 3:16
About the Bible
God speaks to us in the Bible. It is our privilege to seek to understand God’s message and apply it responsibly and faithfully to our lives. The Bible is our standard and guide in all we say and do. We believe the Bible addresses real life today and that God’s unchangeable message can and should be presented in fresh, relevant and timely ways. We seek to read and respond to its message with a disciplined imagination, openness and humility. We do not reduce the Bible into a modern manual or answer-book, but respect it as a trustworthy witness to God’s character and God’s purposes through Jesus Christ.
Psalm 19:7-11 | 2 Timothy 2:15 | Psalm 119:9-16 | 2 Timothy 3:14-17 | Joshua 1:7-8 Hebrews 4:12 | Matthew 5:17-19 2 Peter 1:16-21 | Acts 17:11 | 2 Peter 3:14-18
About Salvation
All people are created with dignity and value in the image of God, to live in a close and personal relationship with God. However, through our sin (failing to live by God’s moral standards), we break our intended relationship with God. Because of this we experience the destructive consequences of that broken relationship, spiritually and socially, in this life and beyond. However, God sent his Son, Jesus Christ, to rescue us from those consequences and to restore our broken relationship with God and others. He did this through Christ’s death on the cross, which is a perfect act of redemption for each of us. Salvation comes to people on the basis of God’s grace through faith in Jesus alone. They receive the free gift of forgiveness, eternal life with God and are spiritually reborn through believing in Jesus Christ. Good works and a holy life are the natural product of repentant, believing people but alone are totally unable to save anyone without our acceptance of God’s grace.
1 Peter 2:24 | John 3:16 | 1 Peter 3:18 | John 5:24 | Romans 3:9-28 | Ephesians 2:1-10 | Romans 6:23 | Titus 3:3-8 | Romans 10:9-10 | James 2:14-26
Our Vision
In early 2017 we recognised that we did not have a vision for Great Ayton Methodist Church that all members identified with and felt able to commit to. We undertook a survey of members and, from this a mission & vision plan for the Church was born. Meetings of members and Council have been undertaken through out the process to both seek views and guide the development of the plan.
This work identified the following key areas on which the church should focus.
Being:
• vibrant in worship and being
• ecumenical
• prayerful
• attractive to the community
• community integrated
• growth in Spirit and in member numbers
• being a place for all
From this the Leadership team
put forward a detailed action plan which was agreed by church council and church members. The seven key areas set out in the vision have been split into 35 sections with nearly 100 individual actions. These include some developments to the church premises, activities, work in the community, mission activities and so on.
The Implementation Plan is a clearly thought out strategy to transform Great Ayton Methodist Church to:
• ensure that the church is sustainable in the long term
• keep Methodist values at its heart and the focus is on worship and prayer
• be community based
• be a place for all.
We are currently working to review and renew our church vision. We have undertaken a wide consultation with our members and friends leadership team have produced a draft plan based on these responses and our overall aims. This will be presented to the church family at an open meeting then, following any amendments will be passed to church council for agreement ready for implementation in Spring 2024. We are doing this to make sure that we are remaining true to God’s word and focusing on the right things in our lives of worship and service to the community.
The Church Building
Situated centrally in Great Ayton on the High Street the church is close to the centre of the village and has stunning views over the River Leven, the village’s sports fields and the Cleveland Hills.
As well as the worship area the church has a number of rooms of differing sizes that are used for church events and activities and that are also available to hire. There is a large hall, split over two levels and the church has smaller spaces for meetings. A fully equipped kitchen allows the preparation of meals for the community as well as for church events.
The church is accessible to all. It has an easily accessible wheelchair and pushchair friendly ramp to the front door, a lift giving access to the main floor and an accessible toilet and baby change area. You can find out more on our ‘Facilities and room hire‘ page.
In September 2024, following a period of discussion and consultation, Easby Methodist Chapel joined with Great Ayton to become one church on two sites. The small chapel at Easby holds a family service every month on a Sunday morning, a monthly mid-week service and ‘guild’ meetings throughout the year.
Potted History of the church and building
Opened over one hundred years ago the church has seen many developments over the years. In the 1960s the ‘youth hall’ was built providing the church with facilities for events, activities, meetings and catering. At this time the original church benches were replaced by individual chairs. More recently the kitchen was improved to allow the preparation of full meals and later still a great deal of work was done to modernise and improve access to the building. This included the installation of lifts and the creation of a ramp to allow access for people with mobility difficulties. As ever, further work is planned and you will see some taking place over the next few months.
In September 2024, Easby Methodist Chapel and Great Ayton Methodist Church formally became one church on two sites under minister Rev Rob Weir. We’re delighted to join the two church families under one leadership and being able to share the various church management functions under a combined church council.
Eco Church
Great Ayton Methodist Church holds the silver ‘Eco Church’ award and is working towards the gold award. The Methodist Church has set a large for its churches to be carbon-neutral by 2030. We have a solar and barely system and air source heat pumps to heat and power the church. With the 100% renewable electricity contract we use we’re delighted to say that we’re as close to carbon neutral as we can be at this time.
Church Leadership
The minister is assisted in the leadership of the church by a team of people, appointed as stewards in line with the Methodist Church’s procedural rules, who represent the key aspects of the church’s work
- the church’s four key mission areas, worship, church in the community, children and young people and pastoral
- the senior steward, whose role is to ensure that all church services run smoothly and to support the minister or preacher taking the services
- the leaders of the property; IT, communications and administration; and the finance functions of the church.
These people usually meet formally on a monthly basis and are appointed at the general church meeting. This is open to all church members and reviews the previous year and appoints church leaders and representatives to the church council. As the church is a registered charity this meeting services as the Annual General Meeting.
The church council meets three times per year and is the formal decision making body in the church. Its membership includes church leaders, elected members of the congregation and representatives of all aspects of Church life. The council makes major decisions affecting the church, the leadership team ensure that these decisions are carried out and undertakes the day-to-day leadership of the church.
You can find out more about who the church leaders and other key contact points are here.
Property, administration, IT and communications and finance
We do not view these functions as part of the key aims of the church. Rather, they are vital supports that enable the church to fulfil its mission. They ensure that the church runs effectively, efficiently and safely in line with all current legislation, safety requirements and financial requirements.
Property and administration
The purpose of the Property and Administration work is to care for the premises and provide administrative arrangements that support the life of the Church, glorify God and welcome and witness to all people in the community. This area of work covers the maintenance and care of the property, grounds and equipment and the administrative arrangements of the church, including:
- management of the church secretary and cleaners
- managing all church, office and safety equipment
- ensuring that property repairs, maintenance and improvements take place, arranging insurance and planning for the building’s continued suitability
- property bookings
- the church’s office and administration arrangements including, communication, newsletters and notices, directory, website and liaison with the press.
IT and communication
This area of the church’s mission looks after areas of technology and communication that support the life of the church and its pastoral and mission work. The area of IT has become increasingly important and has grown significantly during the coronavirus pandemic. This church mission covers the church’s inline and social media work as well as looking to ensure that communication within the church is effective. This includes:
- purchase, maintenance and care of the church’s increasingly large IT and technology estate
- managing the appropriate and safe use of our technology
- maintaining the church’s website and online presence via it’s social media accounts
- managing the church’s online services whether they be livestream or pre-recorded and the equipment, technology and knowledge to support this.
Finance
The purpose of the finance work is to support the church in the faithful use of our finances. We view the good stewardship of money as a way to prosper God’s work in Great Ayton and beyond rather than as an end in itself. The church relies on the regular giving of the congregation to provide sufficient income to enable us to develop the church’s mission, maintain and heat the church buildings. The church also contributes to the cost of the circuit (which includes paying our ministers, the upkeep of the manses and the mission and administration Methodist Church nationally and in the Stokesley circuit). You can find out more about ways to give to the church here.
In addition to keeping track of the church’s money and producing suitable accounts, the finance team supports the church leadership by helping to agree realistic budgets; ensuring that church money is used wisely in accordance with church council policy; that the church and all groups accounts are in order; and devising methods for funding major projects.
Did you know?
The illuminated window in the church is a celebration of the local area and comprises over 20 ‘icons’ or subjects that are particular or typical of the area; some from Great Ayton itself, others from further afield.
As the picture took shape the path became a dominant feature. The path can be interpreted in a number of different ways – perhaps as a ‘path of life’ involving many twists and turns with obstacles in the way but with the means to overcome them through God’s grace.
The picture was developed stylistically using several digital photographs enhancing the outlines and adding colour
It was installed in March 2010.
