Bethel Community Church, Newport, ready to re-open

There were fears the Bethel Community Church building would collapse after it was engulfed by flames in June 2018 along with neighbouring nightclub, Zanzibar.

Despite the familiar look to Stow Hill passers-by, Pastor Andrew Cleverly, 60, promises the inside has been “totally changed” to reflect the church’s contemporary and community values.

There are four floors, including a basement which will take around 100 people, and a lift in the steeple that takes churchgoers from ground level to the main auditorium.

“The ground floor has a new entrance off Stow Hill leading to a lounge area, coffee shop and offices,” Pastor Cleverly said.

There is also a mezzanine floor which overlooks the basement through a glass balustrade.

With construction under way, the congregation have been allowed to use  the nearby Havelock Street Presbyterian Church.

“This building is not our home, but we are grateful for it,” the pastor said. “I think we’ve done really well to stay together, motivated and focused, and now we’re getting a little bit excited because we can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

“We believe we are more of a twenty-first century, contemporary sort of church. We’d like our building to reflect that and I think that’s what is going to happen. Once it’s all done, it’s going to be a fantastic facility.

“I said five years ago when the church building burned down – the church hasn’t burned, the church is not destroyed. The church is the people – we are the church.

“We’ve stayed together and the Christian faith is full of hope and looking forward, and that’s kept us going.”

Pastor Cleverly says the church is planning a “grand opening” in the early months of 2024, where people will be invited to explore the new-look interior and attend an opening service.

“Good things are worth waiting for and that’s part of the Christian message. Sometimes, things don’t happen straight away,” he said.