‘Enlarge the place of your tent, stretch your tent curtains wide, do not hold back; lengthen your cords, strengthen your stakes.  For you will spread out to the right and to the left; your descendants will dispossess nations and settle in their desolate cities.’ Isaiah 54 v 2-3

The Stretch 21 project is an act of dynamic obedience. We believe that God has given us a vision for the transformation of Hammersmith. We believe that God is calling us to play our part in that transformation by becoming a minster church. We are called to be a strong mission resource centre which acts as an academy of life for urban Christians and an incubator for new expressions of church. Every area of our life is growing: our congregations, our children’s work, our youth work, our community initiatives, our provision of pastoral care. We believe God has called us to stretch out and to extend our reach. We have a big vision. Now we need an adequate building. This we believe is God's plan. If we did not there would be no point.

This is not a sudden decision. Our vision has been consistent - we are a city church with a calling to the city. For four years we have been exploring different options, an extension between the flyover and the church. A church hall complex on another site. Another church building in central Hammersmith. Ways of doing and being church that are not tied to particular buildings. One by one these have fallen away and what has emerged to universal approval is the Stretch 21 project.

Our vision is for a building which is prophetic, declaring to the wider community and all who pass by the life of God in his people. We want the building to be contemporary but historically rooted. We want the building to be excellent but not extravagant. We want the building to be flexible and functional. We want the building to be environmentally sound and efficient. We want the building to be beautiful and God glorifying. We want the building to be welcoming and inviting. This is a space which reaches out and invites in. This is sanctuary.

It will take our very best to realise this vision. We will need to be prayerful. Our faith is going to be stretched. But I am convinced that we will do it and that God will be much glorified. We dare to believe, the development of our building will create a platform for an enduring mission to the Hammersmith and the city.

Lets go.