Church Profile: Exchange Church Norwich 

Continuing our series of features which highlight churches from across our region, we find out more about newly formed Exchange Church in Norwich. Helen Baldry reports. 

Name of Church: Exchange Church 
Location: The Chapel, Wessex Street, Norwich, NR2 2TJ 
Denomination:  Elim Pentecostal church.  
Leader: Sam Mooney 
Contact information: hello@exchangechurch.org.uk 07464 244 463 

https://exchangechurch.org.uk/ 
 
 

What is Exchange Church like during a main weekly meeting? 

We meet Sundays at The Chapel, Wessex Street, 10am for a 10:30am start. Our meetings are informal starting with a chat and good coffee. Our Sunday gathering is a time for us to worship together, learn from Scripture, pray for one another and to encounter the Holy Spirit. Everyone is welcome!  

What else do you have going on during the week? 

Exchange Church is newly established – the first meeting was on 2nd June 2024 - so momentum is building for what church life looks like. Next on the agenda is to get around the table – not a boardroom style table – a dining table. Leader Sam Mooney said, “When we have a meal together – break bread together – we get to know each other and get deeply involved in each others’ lives.”  

How did the vision for Exchange Church come about? 

Exchange Church is an Elim church plant. Led by Sam and is wife Dree, who moved to Norfolk in 1996, having met at Bible college in 1992. After some time in Hereford and Wales, the couple returned to Norfolk in 2019 with the sense of ‘unfinished business’. Sam said, “We couldn’t shake why we came to Norfolk”. He feels now is the time to pioneer a church and take action on his and others’ passion for reaching into areas of brokenness, in particular those living in the throes of addiction. The name of the church comes from Isaiah 61:3 as indicated by the total transformation/exchange of the old life for a new life found in Christ. 

What is the main thing you would like someone who has never been to Exchange Church to know? 

“We keep it simple”, said Sam, “I’m done with complicated”. The church is currently focusing on Acts 2:42  looking at Jesus-centred teaching, fellowship, breaking bread and to prayer, taking inspiration from how the early church was formed.  

Sam also says that the church is open to anyone, acknowledging that there are a lot of hurting people – those that are believers, and those who are not. His desire is to see people exchange their brokenness for wholeness.  

What are your hopes for the future of Exchange Church? 

Exchange Church is grateful for their current base at the Chapel, which belongs to St Stephen’s church, and they have many links with other fellowships in the city. They have their eyes on another building in the city to be ‘in the middle of all the chaos’. Once they get up and running, their plan is to reach out to people caught up in addiction and prostitution, and to offer a 24/7 place of refuge. Sam has previously worked with rehab organisation Teen Challenge and his hope is for people to find Christ and to enter into rehab programmes whilst being supported by their church family. He said, “We want people to come to faith, be restored and find a place in society.” 
 
To find out more, visit https://exchangechurch.org.uk/ and Instagram https://www.instagram.com/exchangechurchnorwich/ and Facebook https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100079713709878