A NEW church will launch in York on Sunday.

Hope City Church is launching its newest congregation in York's Novotel, where a weekly meeting will be held each Sunday to help increase access to the church.

York will become the twelfth location for the church, and Pastor Chris Denham said he hoped it would become a permanent feature of the faith landscape in the city.

Pastor Denham said: "We are all really excited to get started in York. It’s been in the planning for some time now and we’ve had such a great response from people who live in the city that the timing seems really right."

Hope City started almost 25 years ago when Senior Pastors Dave and Jenny Gilpin emigrated from Australia to start the church in a small youth centre on the edge of Sheffield.

Now, the church has about 3000 members who meet weekly in 11 locations across 3 continents, and has recently received a blessing from the Archbishop of York, John Sentamu.

The Archbishop wrote to Pastor Denham and said: "This is a fantastic city in which to live and minister and so I do pray that you settle in quickly."

All are welcome to the church, which will meet in the Novotel in Fishergate on Sunday at 5pm. For more information go to hopecitychurch.tv/york