Your church, chapel or meeting house

Your church, chapel and meeting house has the potential to be even more amazing than it already is.

By taking small steps you can use your building to articulate your mission, and offer it as a space for your community and visitors to use, enjoy and learn from. If you decide on a large development project there are examples of best practice across the country, and lots of experience you can call on for inspiration and advice.

Looking pragmatically and practically at what you already have, examining carefully what your congregation wants to do, and consulting openly with your community and other organisations will all help you to make the most of your building.

Most churches, chapels and meeting houses were built to be at the heart of their communities, to be busy and used by all. There are many ways to ensure that this is still the case. There is also a resurgence of interest in local history, and a growing number of people visiting churches to discover their or their community's past. This section contains advice about how to make the most of your building and encourage people to use it, and also how to open your doors and welcome visitors.

LincolnshireKIRKBYONBAINStMary(explorechurches.org)3

Add your church

Your church is unique. We would love to encourage people to visit it. Find out more about adding your church to our website.

AngleseyLLANBADRIGStPatrick(explorechurches.org)10

Welcome visitors

Your church, chapel or meeting house can be a valuable tool for mission, as well as welcoming visitors. Discover how to create the perfect welcome, tell your story and more.

PROJECTLincolnshireWoldsCoastFestival(angelamontague)5

Tourism projects & campaigns

We are always excited to be involved in projects and campaigns to help promote churches to visitors. If you would like us to get involved in your project, get in touch.

Training

Every year we run a range of training sessions and courses, as well as attending those arranged by organisations across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Many of these can be delivered online or in person, and our calendar of training includes both so that you can choose which is best for you and your church.

Our sessions cover a wide range of topics, from maintenance to tourism and from grants to marketing. Here on our website we have some training films, which you can watch and share, helping you to make the most of your amazing spaces. Last year we delivered our training and workshops to thousands of volunteers, clergy and others.

We also manage networking spaces, where you can share best practice or test ideas with others.

Find out more about our training

GwyneddLLANRHYCHWYNStRhychwyn(explorechurches.org)26

Your church, chapel and meeting house has the potential to be even more amazing than it already is.

Training

Let’s stay in touch.