Building a New Future

The Gate is vibrant church community that was founded in 2006 by the amalgamation of Tilehurst Free Church and Grovelands Christian Fellowship to share the good news of Jesus and to be a beacon of hope and love in Reading and the surrounding areas.

Our vision is to build a church where everyone is welcome, where people can experience God’s love and grace in action through participation in a wide range of Christian and community activities.

Today there are over 340 people who worship together at the Gate and many more who benefit from our ministries including our TLG Education Centre, Acorns Nursery School and youth and children’s projects.

Our main building on The Meadway in Tilehurst is over 50 years old, tired, impractical & inflexible for the growing needs of our multi-generational and multi-cultural community.

‘The new multi-purpose church centre in Tilehurst is going to give much needed space for people to come together creatively round skills such as art, dance and music. To explore projects that help create community cohesion and alleviate serious issues society faces such as food poverty and mental health on a local level, and of course for the church community to come together In worship and prayer in ways we haven’t been able to due to the restrictions of space’ – Yinka Oyekan (Senior Minister)

That is why in 2015 we decided to step forward in faith and build a new home for our church, for the community and the international ministries we serve. Please watch the video below about the vision we have.

Key landmarks on our re-building project

• In 2018 we consulted across the church community to find out what kind of facilities people thought we would need in a new Church Building
• In early 2019 the architects created initial drawings that were approved in the summer and were given full planning approval in November of the same year.
• Also, in 2019 we were able to sell the old Grovelands Christian Centre building and adjacent land raising £750,000
• In June 2021 the church community pledged £246,000 with the hope that work would begin on site in late 2021
• The demolition of the old building began In March 2022 – We are meeting for worship in a local school and our ministries are using other spaces. The new building is hoped to be complete in early 2023
• Currently we are actively working with the architects and contractors on getting the best value out of the build process. Church members are fundraising through activities such as cycling from Lands End to John o’ Groats, a collective walk, cycle or run of the distance between Reading and the Nursery project we support In Zimbabwe (7012 miles) and rowing a hand built canoe down the Thames.

Thank you for your generosity and kindness