AS each new family walks through the door, they are welcome with a bag of goodies that says: “Welcome! We are so glad you are here!”

There’s a play area for toddlers and an activity table for children nearby, plus a whole team waiting to say hello and offer refreshments. This is the brand new Boorley Community Church, which has started to meet every Sunday in the local community centre.

Dozens of people from the newly-built homes around Boorley Green have joined the team on a Sunday morning for worship, which includes lively songs and a short talk. And welcome has been high on the agenda.

Jack and Sarah Whybrow walked into the church without knowing anyone, on the Sunday it launched in September. They’ve enjoyed the informality that allows their four-year-old daughter to feel part of things.

“Sarah went to church as a child, but then stopped going as she grew up and I didn’t have that background,” said Jack. “Since our daughter came along, we wanted to explore Christianity in a bit more detail.

“We’d been attending other churches, but didn’t feel we quite fitted in. But we live in Boorley Green, where there is a massive community focus anyway – people get together to do litter-picking or have barbecues together. So when we saw there was a church in the community centre, we decided to come along. We just turned up.

“We enjoy the informality of it. Our four-year-old can get really involved. And I’ve met up with various people from the church since we started. It’s a community that we are committed to, and we want to help them in any way.”

Sharon Griffiths, who is mum to Louisa, aged 10, and Abigail, 7, also felt as though she belonged immediately. She said: “It is a lovely community, and I’ve made so many friends. I felt supported when my husband left us. I used to go to Sunday School as a kid, but I hadn’t been again until recently. The people here come into the local school where I work.”

The new congregation is led by Jamie and Jeena Harding, who live on the brand new estate. The 2,200-home development has sprung up just north of Botley, with plenty of young families moving in over the past few years.

Weekly services began in September at Boorley Green Community Centre, where a small team sets out chairs, tables and refreshments from early each Sunday morning. And Jamie was commissioned as a ‘lay planter’ by our Lead for Lay Ministry, the Rev Matthew Grove, on the second Sunday of the church’s existence.