Ep. 2 Finding a Fit in a Global City & The Dilemma of Church Spaces
w/ Brian Clark, church planter in London, England
Church planting involves people, prayer, and the teaching of God’s word—but sooner or later—every church planter runs headlong into a very practical question: where do we actually gather?
In a city like London, that question isn’t a footnote—it’s a weekly dilemma.
Do you invite strangers into your home, or relegate meetings to public spaces until trust is built?
When does a Bible study become a church family, and what kind of space helps that happen?
And what do you do when historic church buildings are closing, but you’ve been priced out?
Today’s conversation is about that tension: staying faithful to evangelism and discipleship while navigating a city where “space” is scarce, expensive, but important .
Our guest is Brian Clark, an experienced church planter who previously planted a church in London in the Chislehurst area—and by God’s grace, that work is now healthy and autonomous. Brian and his family are now stepping out to plant a second church, but even with experience and a deep knowledge of the city, he’s facing fresh uncertainties: how to build fellowship, how to move from street evangelism to intimate community, and how to think creatively about meeting spaces when traditional options feel out of reach.
“The Dilemma of Church Spaces” series explores one of the most underexamined—and most formative—realities of church planting: space. Beginning with the early church’s patterns of gathering and the historic instincts that shaped Baptist meeting spaces, the series traces how theology, mission, and context have always informed where and how God’s people meet. Through conversations with pastors planting in vastly different settings, these episodes examine how meeting places shape discipleship, stewardship, leadership, and public witness. From homes and borrowed rooms to inherited buildings, to outgrowing cherished spaces, to navigating expensive global cities where traditional church buildings are increasingly inaccessible, the series surfaces both the benefits and burdens of buildings without offering simplistic answers. At its heart, the series asks a pastoral and theological question: how can churches steward space as a servant of the mission—without allowing it to become the mission itself?
If this episode challenged or equipped you, consider sharing it with a friend, pastor, or fellow student of the Word. For more resources and biblical training, visit LFBI.org.