St Michael le Belfrey

What St Michael le Belfrey does

St Michael le Belfrey (commonly "The Belfrey") is a Grade I listed Church of England parish church located at 11 Minster Yard adjacent to York Minster in York, England, operating as a registered charity (No. 1130866) and holding "Resource Church" status within the Diocese of York. Its ministry serves a wide demographic — university students, youth, children and families, young adults, seniors, and vulnerable people facing hardship — through three Sunday services (9am, 11am, 6pm), a Wednesday 12:30pm lunchtime service, midweek "Belfrey Groups" meeting in homes across York, and demographic-specific ministries (Student, Youth, Children & Families, Seniors, and a Social Transformation suite). Services and most programmes are free to attend and supported by a primarily donation-based revenue model that includes recurring giving, Gift Aid, internship fees for the Discipleship and Leadership Year programmes (c. £1,575 per participant), unit-priced reclaimed-wood merchandise sold through furniture partner Stewart Long Interiors, an easyfundraising affiliate scheme, and grant income from bodies such as Benefact Trust (£130k), Yorkshire Historic Churches Trust (£15k) and ChurchCare (£9k).

The organisation's core technology is conventional, off-the-shelf church operations software (ChurchSuite for membership, events, giving and forms; Mailchimp for newsletters; Google Suite for productivity; YouTube for livestream and on-demand video); there is no proprietary platform, app, or API, and the organisation distributes primarily through direct attendance at physical sites plus online livestream. Behind the operational layer, Belfrey operates multi-channel community engagement via its website, organic social (Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp), Alpha courses as a faith-exploration funnel, small-group and pastoral-led word-of-mouth, and partnership channels with external charities (Christians Against Poverty, Wellspring, Safe Families, York Foodbank, Welcome Churches) for counselling, debt advice, food distribution and refugee support.

The most material strategic initiative is the £8.5m–£10.8m "Impact" building project, the first major repair and reordering of the medieval church in 150+ years, with principal contractor Simpson York Limited on site since August 2024 and target completion in early Summer 2027. Funding has been anchored by a single anonymous donor (up to £5.9m plus a later £1.2m shortfall cover), supplemented by trust grants and ~25 recurring givers at £2,150/month. During construction the congregation has been operating from The De Grey Rooms in St Leonard's Place, with no disclosed annual revenue figure. Leadership comprises a Senior Leadership Team led by Priest in Charge Andy Baker, with operations, finance, facilities, and project management covering 13 staff.

Name

St Michael le Belfrey

Legal name

The Parochial Church Council (PCC) of St Michael le Belfrey, York

Website

https://belfrey.org

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

St Michael le Belfrey is a Church of England resource parish church in York delivering worship, age-specific ministries, social services, and leadership development programmes to c. 600 weekly attendees and the wider Yorkshire region, and is currently undertaking an £8.5m+ restoration of its Grade I listed medieval building.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Religious / Parish Church Services

NAICS

Religious Organizations (8131), Community Food and Housing, and Emergency and Other Relief Services (6242)

akta.pro primary industry

Local Congregations & Worship Communities (Churches, Mosques, Temples, Synagogues) (BPAGAJAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Faith-Based Humanitarian Aid & Relief Ministries (BPAGAJAF), Faith-Based & Mission Service Programs (EDAIAGAI), Campus Spiritual & Religious Life (EDALAHAI)

Keywords

• Anglican worship services
• Faith formation programmes
• Community pastoral care
• Social transformation services
• Christian youth ministry

Headquarters

HQ city

York

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Member Donations and Tithes: Primary revenue from church members through regular giving, one-time gifts, and standing orders. Gift Aid declarations allow 25p reclaim per £1 donated from UK government.
2. Building Project Donations (Impact): Specific fundraising campaign for the £8.5m Impact building project. Includes one-off gifts, regular pledges, and community fundraising events.
3. Trust and Foundation Grants: Grants received from organizations including Benefact Trust (£130k), Yorkshire Historic Churches Trust (£15k), ChurchCare/ Pilgrim and Radcliffe Trusts (£9k), and an anonymous donor (£5.9m).
4. Discipleship Year and Leadership Year Fees: Fees from internship programs: Discipleship Year costs £1575 covering teaching, training, and residential trips. Leadership Year costs £1575 plus £500 placement contribution.
5. Furniture and Merchandise Sales: Sale of reclaimed wood furniture items (pews, benches, tables) through Stewart Long Interiors. Smaller items sold directly (bench/shoe rack £100, chopping board £40, holding cross £10, floor tiles £5-20).
6. Easyfundraising Affiliate: Percentage of online purchases donated when shoppers use easyfundraising.org.uk app or browser extension, with over 7000 retailers participating.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels7 records

Marketing channels12 records

Core offering

St Michael le Belfrey is an Anglican parish church and registered charity that delivers weekly worship services (three Sunday services plus a Wednesday Lunchtime Service), age-segmented ministry programmes for children, youth, students, and adults, faith formation courses (Alpha, Discipleship Year, Leadership Year), pastoral care and professional counselling (via Wellspring), Community Parish Nursing, and a Social Transformation suite addressing debt, food insecurity, family crisis, and refugee support. It is currently undertaking an £8.5m restoration of its Grade I listed medieval building, with all ministry and services continuing from temporary premises at The De Grey Rooms during construction (2024-2027).

Product overview

St Michael le Belfrey (The Belfrey) is an Anglican resource church in York offering a unified portfolio of spiritual formation and community service programs. The core offerings include Sunday worship services (9am, 11am, 6pm) and midweek gatherings (Wednesday Lunchtime Service), supplemented by age-specific ministries (Children & Families, Youth, Students), small group fellowship (Belfrey Groups), and formation programs (Alpha, New Wine Discipleship Year, Leadership Year). Social Transformation programs provide practical support through partnerships including Wellspring Counselling, Community Parish Nursing, CAP Debt Centre, Foodbank, and Safe Families. The Impact Building Project represents a major capital initiative to restore and transform the historic church building.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Sunday Worship Services

Quantifiable outcome

• Nearly £200,000 of debt freed through Christians Against Poverty programme
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Partnerships

16 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Simpson York LimitedcoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 1 January 2024York-based construction company with expertise in restoration and conservation appointed as main contractor for Impact building project. Started on site August 5, 2024. Experience includes Salford Cathedral and York Minster's Centre of Excellence.
• Wellspring Therapy and TrainingcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Partnership for professional, affordable counselling services available to adults 18+ in York area. Wellspring is a Christian charity established in 2003 supporting vulnerable people with counselling. Services open to all regardless of background or faith.
• LDN ArchitectscoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 1 January 2019Edinburgh-based architectural firm selected through RIBA competition to lead design team. Won competition June 2019. Also assumes role of Principal Designer and Contract Administrator for Impact project.
• Nicholson & CominorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 1 January 2019Organ builders who dismantled Denman pipe organ August 2019 for restoration in Malvern workshop. Organ relocated to St Lawrence church in York.
• York Christians Against Poverty (CAP)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to offer free debt support through home visits. Belfrey CAP team has helped people become debt-free from nearly £200,000 of debt. Anyone can call 0800 328 0006 or visit capuk.org for appointments.
• Safe FamiliescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUK charity supporting children and families through difficult times by connecting them with local befrienders who offer friendship and practical help. Main contact at Belfrey is Jessie Hendry Gooding.
• York Foodbank / Trussell NetworkcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership serving as Saturday morning foodbank distribution point at The De Grey Rooms. Part of the Trussell Trust network supporting those facing food insecurity.
• Welcome ChurchesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBelfrey is a Welcome Church, part of network linking asylum seekers and refugees to local churches for support during traumatic and uncertain times. Main contact is Rosie Holmes.
• Stewart Long InteriorsminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorFamily furniture business in Lincolnshire creating pieces from reclaimed church wood. Handles custom furniture orders and standard items like pews. 50% of proceeds go to Impact, 50% to Stewart Long.
• Pinnacle ConservationminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerConservation contractor that carefully removed wooden pews, Narthex screen, and gallery from church building in Winter 2023. Wood shipped to Stewart Long Interiors for furniture creation.
• Barley StudiosminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerStained glass studio repairing and conserving church's medieval stained glass windows. Windows being reinstalled in clerestory. Also designing new West window.
• ADS ScaffoldingminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerScaffolding contractor designed intricate internal and external scaffold system protecting floor and underground vaults. No scaffold attached directly to Grade I listed building fabric.
• Mono MasonryminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerStonework contractor carrying out repairs and installing new stone to internal and external areas including intricate window arches and traceries.
• New WinecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational Christian organisation running Discipleship Year and Leadership Year programmes. Belfrey hosts York Hub for these programmes. Includes residential trips and serving at New Wine United conference.
• Diocese of YorkcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBelfrey is designated resource church for Diocese of York with responsibilities for leadership development, church planting, and revitalizing existing churches across the North.
• easyfundraising.org.ukminorGTM or Marketing PartnerAffiliate marketing platform enabling supporters to raise donations when shopping online through 7,000+ retailers. Impact receives percentage of purchases at no cost to shopper.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Others

• New Wine: A national Christian network and strategic partner of St Michael le Belfrey that runs the Discipleship Year and Leadership Year programmes the church hosts. Not a direct competitor but a key enabling ecosystem partner for the Belfrey's internship and leadership development strategy.

Direct peers

• Holy Trinity Brompton (HTB): The flagship resource church of the Church of England and the originating home of the Alpha course. HTB operates a similar model of multiple Sunday services, midweek groups, Alpha-driven outreach, internship programmes, and a central London catchment. It is the closest direct peer to St Michael le Belfrey in terms of institutional position and programmatic structure.
• Christ Church Lowestoft: A Church of England resource church with a similar portfolio of Alpha, youth work, small groups, and church planting ambitions in a smaller town setting. Comparable in resource church designation and programmatic structure, though at a smaller scale.
• St Aldates Church Oxford: An Anglican resource church in the Diocese of Oxford operating a similar city-centre model with strong student ministry (Oxford University), Alpha courses, leadership development programmes, and church planting initiatives. It is a comparable peer in scale, demographic focus, and resource church designation.
• All Souls Langham Place: An Anglican evangelical church in central London with multiple Sunday services, professional demographic, Langham Partnership international ministry, and a comparable approach to Sunday services plus midweek groups and pastoral care. Comparable in urban central location and professional congregant base.
• Christ Church Woking: An Anglican resource church in Surrey that operates Alpha, church planting, leadership development, and New Wine-aligned programmes. It is part of the same Church of England resource church network and shares programmatic DNA with the Belfrey.
• St Helen's Church Bishopsgate: An Anglican evangelical church in the City of London known for Bible teaching, professional/young adult demographic, and strong teaching ministry. Comparable in evangelical Anglican identity, professional demographic focus, and commitment to expository preaching.
• Holy Trinity Cambridge: An evangelical Anglican resource church in Cambridge with strong student ministry ties to the university, multiple weekly services, small groups, Alpha, and internship programmes. It mirrors the Belfrey's university-town, student-pipeline approach to congregational growth.

Emerging players

• Soul Survivor Watford: A New Wine-aligned network focused on youth ministry, summer festivals, and leadership development for young Christians. Comparable as a New Wine partner organisation with overlapping youth, internship, and discipleship programmes, though operating more as a movement than a single congregation.

Regional players

• Holy Trinity Leeds (formerly Christ Church Leeds): A resource church in Leeds within the same Yorkshire region as St Michael le Belfrey, with similar evangelical Anglican identity, Alpha programmes, and church planting vision. Operates as a regional peer rather than a direct competitor given geographic separation within Yorkshire.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@StMichaelleBelfreyYork/streams
• Facebookfacebook.com/belfreyyouth
• Instagraminstagram.com/belfreystudents
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/st-michael-le-belfrey

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles20 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about St Michael le Belfrey