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A new church and community centre that has been under construction since December 2019 is set to host its very first service next month in Dawlish.

The £1.77m Hope Centre will be the primary venue for Dawlish Christian Fellowship (DCF), soon to be 'replanted' as Hope Church.

It will feature an auditorium, café, and multipurpose rooms, all of which can be hired out for Christian and non-religious activities alike by members of the community.

The service will be held on Sunday 29 May and is open to the public. The building won't be completely finished, but it is hoped to be able to open more formally and starting offering its spaces in the autumn.

What's on offer?

Downstairs, there will be a cafe with indoor and outdoor seating, numerous toilet facilities, and a multipurpose room which may be used as a creche on Sundays. There will also be multimedia screens relaying what's happening in the auditorium, and an adjoining kitchen for newcomers' meals and other activities.

The auditorium will have a stage, large pool for baptism in the floor, and seating in a horseshoe shape. It will be able to seat around 260 people with 50 more cinema-style seats up on the balcony.

Upstairs there will be a prayer room, church office, kitchenette, and more multipurpose rooms. A lift will also be installed soon.

Serving the community

Hope Church's primary goal will be to serve the community with its new centre, by offering its space to local groups and helping provide meals and financial support to people living in poverty and supporting people with mental health issues.

Guy Huggins of the church's senior leadership team said: "The primary goal is to serve the community. It isn't about us, it's about our love for Dawlish as a town.

"Community is absolutely the centre of this. If this facility can be used to help people ... that's fantastic."

How much is it costing?

It was originally estimated to cost in excess of £1.9m - but thanks to John German, a member of the congregation and builder by trade who has been managing the project, it was brought down to £1.77m.

The church had raised £1.53m at the end of January, still £240k short of its target. It raised the money from the sale of its old venue in Old Town Street in 2017, individual contributions from members, and external grants.

It only needs to raise roughly a third of the £240k sum to be able to have its service next month, however.

Guy Huggins added: "We're praying that ... we'll substantially get that amount enough to move in at the end of May. 

"We will look for the remainder over the next year or so, as people continue to give, and then we'll get it completely finished."

The church also managed to raise over £4k recently for people fleeing the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Where is it?

The Hope Centre can be found near Sainsbury's next to the roundabout on Exeter Road, and here on Google Maps. 

DCF is currently meeting at Dawlish College. Click here to find out more on its website.

The new website for Hope Church can be found here when it launches.