CHRISTIANS are joining forces to create a new church in the heart of Bordon to welcome the influx of new residents to the town.

Church worshippers said they want to support the newcomers who will move into the 3,350 new homes planned as part of the town’s regeneration.

Whitehill and Bordon is set to see a significant population increase over the next 15 years as former military land is redevelopment with new houses, a new school, a new town centre and the new relief road.

And “right in the heart of that regeneration” will be this group of churchgoers, who have already started meeting and “praying regularly for their new neighbours”.

The new group call themselves Beacon and aim to be ready “to offer help as the first new families move in from this summer”.

Beacon will be hosting social events and family activities so new residents can get to know each other.

The Rev Dom Clarke, vicar of Blackmoor, Whitehill and Greatham, has been seconded to work for one day a week to lead this fledgling group.

“The area is largely wasteland at the moment,” he said. “But by 2019-2020, the first phase of housing and the town centre will be finished.

“We wanted to be ready for that moment, and so a group of us are meeting fortnightly, worshipping and working out how best to serve this new community.

“We’re really fortunate to be meeting in Mustangs, which is the old Army social club. It’s right next to what will be the new town centre, and the building is being redeveloped, so we can be ready for whatever is built around it.

“We are calling ourselves Beacon because we want to be a beacon at the centre of the new town, offering light to the local community.

“We want it to be something different from the churches that are already in Bordon, serving those who’ll be working in the new town centre or going to the new schools and youth hub which will be across the road from us. So a cafe-style ministry seems like one likely avenue.”

The influx of new residents is also a prime opportunity to recruit further people for the cause, particularly if they are young.

“We suspect that the new families are likely to be younger, on average, than the existing population, so we want to appeal to that age group,” Mr Clarke said.

“It’s a dream for a vicar to be able to create a brand new church in a new community, and I know I’m going to enjoy it.”

The town is in the parish of St Mark’s Church, Bordon, in Guildford diocese.

Because Mr Clarke was already studying for a masters in pioneer ministry, it made sense for him to take the lead in inventing new ways to offer “mission and ministry”.

It has meant co-operation between the Church of England dioceses of Portsmouth and Guildford, as Mr Clarke’s existing parishes fall in Portsmouth diocese.

Mr Clarke is leading “a church-planting group” of around 15, which includes people from Anglican churches in Liphook, Bordon and Blackmoor, as well as some Methodists, Presbyterians, and some people from the nearby Acorn Christian Healing Centre.