Diocese of Portsmouth
The Church of England

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    Family-friendly Barn Church is launched

    Category
    Vision and Strategy
    Date
    6 Oct. 2025
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    DOZENS of worshippers have launched a new style of church serving the Meon Valley – it’s called Barn Church.

    It starts with coffee and pastries and the hour-long service includes worship, discussion, prayer and family-friendly activities. There’s no formal sermon – the idea is that children and adults of each generation can discuss what they're learning together.

    They meet in Soberton and Newtown Guide Hut, next to Soberton Recreation Ground, although so many people came to the first Barn Church that the congregation spilled outside too.

    The idea comes from the Rev Emma Andersen, who was licensed as associate priest across the parishes of the Meon Valley – Swanmore, Hambledon, Newtown and Soberton, the Meon Bridge benefice, with a brief to create this new format. She gathered together a team over the summer and ran an Alpha Course as a way of launching a new congregation.

    Among those on that Alpha Course was Simon Rolison, who lives in Horndean, and comes with his children Hudson, aged 7, and Zane, 4. He said: “It was my cousin Emma who suggested that I come – she is a friend of Emma Andersen. I’ve always been to church at Christmas and Easter, but this is a great place to bring my boys regularly on Sundays.

    “It does feel as though they can do their own thing here, and make noise, which you might not be able to do in a more traditional church. It’s definitely a good way to start off Sunday mornings.”

    Coffee and pastries outside the Soberton and Newtown guide hut ahead of the service
    Coffee and pastries outside the Soberton and Newtown guide hut ahead of the service
    Chatting in the sunshine outside before the service begins
    Chatting in the sunshine outside before the service begins
    Worship in Barn Church
    Worship in Barn Church

    The idea of holding worship in a ‘barn’ or a secular venue, was to provide somewhere neutral that wasn’t necessarily a church building. The worship is designed to be contemporary, but stripped back – just one person with a keyboard or guitar.

    The main teaching comes from relaxed discussion with others, which includes adults and children talking together. It’s based on the Bible, but no prior knowledge of the Bible or the Christian faith is assumed. And members of the team are available to pray with individuals afterwards, if they would like it.

    Anuschka Perold, who brings her 15-year-old daughter to the church from Hambledon, said: “We’d been praying for a long time as a family for something like this, which meets all our family’s needs. Finding one place that my husband, my daughter and I can all come closer to Jesus wasn’t easy, so we’ve visited churches in Chichester and Portsmouth before.

    “But I love the huge community element to things here. It’s great that it can meet our spiritual needs and also help to nurture the local community. Because we live around here, we want to be part of a local church here.”

    Children, parents and grandparents can all worship together at Barn Church
    Children, parents and grandparents can all worship together at Barn Church
    The Rev Emma Andersen leads the worship and guides the discussion
    The Rev Emma Andersen leads the worship and guides the discussion
    Children take part in Barn Church alongside the adults
    Children take part in Barn Church alongside the adults

    And Sam Holstead, 27, from Portchester, discovered Barn Church after looking online and coming across its Instagram feed. She had been catching a train to join worshippers in Harbour Church, Portsmouth, but prefers driving 10 minutes down the road to Barn Church now.

    “It’s only been going for three weeks so far, but I think it’s amazing,” she said. “There are definitely loads of people of different ages. I like being with younger people, but the wisdom of older people is also really valuable. I’ve joined the team, which means I might be doing prayer one week, or the cafe another week.”

    Barn Church is founded on how the early Church met to eat together, share worship and learn from the Bible, and aims to make Jesus known across the Meon Valley. It is holding regular Alpha Courses, bring-and-share brunches, as well as a Light Party at the end of October.

    The Rev Emma Andersen, who lives in Swanmore, was ordained in 2022 and served for three years as curate at Harbour Church, Portsmouth. Before that, she was part of St Peter’s Church, Bishop’s Waltham, where she created a Sunday afternoon worship event for 11 to 14-year-olds.

    You can find out more about Barn Church on their website here: barnchurch.uk

    Children and Young People

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