our history

The Open Door Church was birthed as a community-focused charismatic church seeking to reach the lost and bless the city, with Russ Parkes as the founding pastor.

The church was launched in 1989 as part of a church planting vision through Harris Street Baptist Church, Peterborough. It met in Gunthorpe Primary School and sought to serve the north of the city. It became an independent Baptist church in 1992 and a member of the Ground Level Network of churches in 1995.

During 1994 a new hunger for God and desire to reach the lost more effectively began to intensify. This led to the acquisition of the Open Door Centre in Hallfields Lane, Gunthorpe in 1996. The Centre was opened in 1997 and the ground floor was devoted to welcoming and serving the local community. The upper floors provided meeting rooms and an office base.

In 2001 we moved to Paston Ridings School for a time, then on to Hereward Community College in Eastfield in 2004. This was the first time the church was based outside the PE4 area of the city and caused us to broaden our influence to new areas and people groups.

Significantly, in 2005, two further community programmes were birthed caring for the poor and vulnerable in the city. The Resettlement Project helped formerly homeless people acquire basic furnishings and 'starter packs' to put in their new-found accommodation. Project Hosanna opened its doors on Saturdays to feed, clothe and befriend the homeless and needy in the city. This project was readily owned by the whole church and many people played a part in establishing it and causing it to grow and Christians from other churches across the city and region volunteered their help.

Discipleship training became a focus as we sought ways to meet the needs of those with broken lives, many with little or no knowledge of God. A great deal of work was put in to build what we now call the ESTABLISH DOORWAY with Genesis, Discovery, Freedom in Christ and Alpha courses – all designed to build firm foundations of faith as well as church family relationships. Investment was also made in growing leaders through our Aspire course to broaden out and increase our capacity as a church.

A desire to have a building of our own began to grow in 2006 and we began to explore the possibility of lease / purchase of the former Kiddicare building at Mancetter Square and feasibility studies were carried out. As these negotiations came to a standstill, our attention was drawn to the Methodist Publishing House in Werrington. Although neither of these pursuits came through, we gained confidence in the process and developed significant connections with business and city leaders who were willing to help us. We also registered our interest in the John Clare pub on Hallfields Lane as a community facility - a place which has changed hands many times and we are confident of acquiring when the time is right.

In March 2007 we moved to our current venue, a redeveloped Gunthorpe Primary School, in the hope that a permanent home will come through in due course. Towards the end of that year we opened the CAP Centre Peterborough in partnership with Christians against Poverty to help those in debt and to promote good financial stewardship.

In 2008 The Open Door Community Action Trust was set up as a registered charity [No: 1122050] in order to adopt and manage our community projects and give them a financial identity separate from the church. We also worked to improve the quality of our Sunday Celebrations, strengthening the teams involved and delivering teaching series of a depth and breadth that would impact lives.

In 2010 we released the Resettlement Project to Kingsgate Community Church under their Care Zone banner and brought Project Hosanna to a close after 5 years of operation. We turned our attention to investing more fully in strengthening the church family. This also became a year in which Russ was unwell and a broadening out of ministry emerged as people stepped up to new levels of responsibility.

In 2011 new projects were birthed in Rags to Riches, a partnership with Hope into Action, and delivering CAP Money courses. Alongside our community activity we continue to strengthen the church family and our knowing God especially in our Sunday Celebrations - the focal point of our week.