Your first Sunday
What actually happens
Nobody will ask you to stand up, introduce yourself or give anything.
Ninety minutes
Songs, a talk and coffee afterwards. You are free to leave whenever you like.
Parking is free
Behind the building, entrance on Mill Lane. Ten spaces are kept for visitors.
Children are welcome
Creche for under-3s, groups up to Year 6, and nobody minds noise in the service.
Wear whatever you own
You will see suits and you will see trainers. Both are entirely normal.
Service times
When we gather
Come as you are. Every service is signed and the building is step-free.
Sunday 9:30
Traditional service
Hymns, choir and communion in the main hall.
Sunday 11:15
Contemporary service
Band-led worship with children's groups running alongside.
Wednesday 19:00
Midweek prayer
A quiet hour in the chapel. Come and go as you need.
Our story
A hundred and forty years of Tuesdays
The building went up in 1886 for a congregation of mill workers. The mill closed in 1974; the church did not. We have been a school hall, a night shelter and briefly a bicycle repair shop, and on Sundays we have kept doing the same thing the whole time.
There are around two hundred of us now, from about thirty streets, and we would be glad to make it two hundred and one.
Questions
The ones people ask us
I am not religious. Is that a problem?
Not in the least. A good number of people here would say the same thing, some of them for years. You are welcome to come, listen and make your own mind up in your own time.
Will I be asked for money?
No. The offering is taken during the service and visitors are asked, genuinely, not to give to it. Giving is for people who have decided this is their church.
Is the building accessible?
Step-free from the Mill Lane entrance, a hearing loop throughout, and an accessible toilet by the hall. Large-print orders of service are on the table as you come in.
What happens to my children?
They stay with you for the first twenty minutes, then go out to groups by school year. Every leader is DBS-checked. Under-3s can go straight to the creche.
Find us
Mill Lane, and the door is open
Riverside Church, 12 Mill Lane, Chesterfield S40 1RT. The 43 and 44 buses stop at the end of the road; the car park is behind the building.
Office hours
Tuesday to Friday, 9:30–14:30. Ruth is usually in; if the door is locked, ring the bell.
Telephone
01246 555 0114
Send a message
The quickest way to reach us is email — we answer within two working days.