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An Invitation

The Diocese of Southwell and Nottingham secured funding to start a rural resourcing church. With a view to her potentially leading it, Alison Jones was invited to “Come and see, there’s a harvest field!” Alison came to visit and found, to her surprise, her imagination sparked. ”

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A God Given Name

A year later, when it was agreed that Alison would start this new church, she attended a Fresh Expressions Conference at which God gave her the name for the church, “The Potting Shed”.

This name was confirmed for Alison when, at another retreat day, the leader of the retreat, not knowing this new name, said “oh Alison, why don’t you use the potting shed?” Alison went and found herself looking out at the beautiful garden and thriving vegetable patch from inside the peaceful and much used potting shed, and saw how this humble shed enabled the thriving of the whole garden.


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A Move to a New Home

Alison and her family moved to Norwell Woodhouse, to begin the new adventure. ”

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Commissioning Service

At the first gathering, Bishop Paul commissioned the Potting Shed to partner with and be a resource to other rural churches; seeking to be a blessing and to ‘give itself away.’ He also called the church to be pioneering, sharing the good news of Jesus with a fresh, creative approach that reaches out to all generations.

With this bold vision ringing in their ears, those gathered worshipped together; and then with a hog roast for all to enjoy together afterwards, the Potting Shed Church was born!

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Pitch a Tent

Over the next few months the Potting Shed kept the feeling of celebration; putting up a big marquee in Alison’s garden for one off gatherings, inviting neighbours and people from local rural churches to come and have a look.

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Forming a Community

By February, as well as the big events, a core community had formed and were meeting weekly to worship together in Alison’s sitting room.”

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Move to the Barn

We were generously offered a barn to meet in, this allowed us to meet weekly to worship, with a sign up at the end of the drive, advertising more publicly for the first time. In this season we began to establish our DNA: creativity, all age worship, hospitality and Alpha.


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Fresh Expressions Conference

At the conference we were given some prophetic words that resonated with us and challenged us:
“Potting Shed Church, you were initiated from above but you are growing grass roots up.”
“Small in the rural is sustainable.”
“Challenge to give yourselves away in non-identical ways with a family likeness.””

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A New Thing?

There was a growing sense of God doing a new thing! We began to wonder about the idea of a new, permanent venue. One of our congregation, after a barn dance, left a prophetic word for us, using coded language from the second world war, “Send reinforcements, we’re going to advance!”

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Navigating Covid

As the nation locked down and face-to-face interactions were stopped, we pivoted online and explored a new way to be church. In this time we enjoyed the Alpha course, a worship course, a new prayer group and partnerships with local churches. We also launched Rise and Shine, a weekly Zoom based act of worship in local primary schools: with hundreds of children connecting into half an hour of fun, games, Bible stories and songs.
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Back to the Barn

We emerged from lockdown, with a new worship team, formed online through the Worship Course, as well as a thriving new online schools ministry, and a community that had deepened both in faith and relationship through our whole church Alpha course.

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Three Baptisms and Eight Confirmations

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Worship For Everyone

The team spent time reading Worship for Everyone and having focus groups with the congregation to establish a renewed vision for our All age worship. The result was All-In! Come as you are; Come and join in; Come expectant”

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Time of Noticing

During the summer we paused to reflect. We noticed a sense that we were becoming more confident in our identity as a resource church and that by giving our selves away, we found ourselves feeling built up.

It was while our team were in this time of reflection that we were sent a card, reminding us of a prophetic word that was first given just before Covid, God wanted to remind us of a promise that had seemed unfulfilled! “Send reinforcements we’re going to advance!”


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Launched Life Groups

For the first time we launched several evening life groups, hosted in people’s homes throughout the wider area. These groups, though each different, carry something of the culture of what it means to be the Potting Shed.
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Move to Norwell Village Hall

After discovering that our Barn heater needed replacing, and several days of heavy rain which tested our Barn roof and guttering in ways we’d not seen before, it became clear that we needed a new venue. So, with a real sense of God ‘making a way’ for us, Norwell Village Hall became our new ‘shelter.’ During this time we remembered a prophetic word that we were given in the early days of the Potting Shed: “Remember, the early church met in spaces that became available to them! Maintain the spirit of adventure!”

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Consolidating and Growing

Over 2023 we continued to grow: Rise and Shine expanded into more primary schools, All-In! services went on tour in the local villages, behind the scenes we continued to explore possibilities for a long term venue, and so much more. ”