Our History

In 1920 the Fisher family moved to Acacia Lodge in North Parade. Mr. & Mrs. Fisher were concerned that the children who lived locally played in the streets on Sundays and were not attending any Sunday School. Armed with a small harmonium and chorus books, they decided to stand on the corner, where 'Corner Newsagents' is now, and attract the children with music and Bible stories. Eventually, with the help of a small boy and his recruits, Mrs. Fisher started a Sunday School in her own home.

In 1921 the minister of Brighton Road Baptist Church, the Rev. R.F. Cross, said he was concerned about several members of his church living in the Trafalgar Road area who were finding the distance across the town too much for them. He voiced his desire for a Mission Hall to be built on the Common. Mr. & Mrs. Fisher's land stretched from North Parade to Trafalgar Road and they were willing to give a plot fronting Trafalgar Road for a building to be erected.

The original Mission Hall was constructed in the form of a wooden-framed, galvanised iron-clad building. It was opened on 1st December 1921 with oil lamps for lighting and Tortoise stoves for heating. 

In 1923 the new Brighton Road Baptist Church opened and a further building, which was no longer needed, became a useful addition to the back of the mission hall. A kitchen and lavatories were added to the side and, later still, a vestry.

For many years the building was used for morning Sunday School, 11 am. to 12 noon, afternoon Sunday School, 3 pm. to 4 pm., and adult evening services at 6.30 pm. Lay preachers conducted the evening services. Anniversaries were observed and special speakers were invited. During the week there was a club for the boys with table tennis, football, and cricket on the field behind the building, followed by cocoa and rock cakes. The girls also had an organisation, the Rope-holders, where they learned about missionaries and enjoyed various activities. There was a weekly prayer meeting and a women's meeting.

Brighton Road Church ministers had oversight of the Mission Hall (known to local people as the 'Tin Chapel') and also presided over the Mission Hall committee.

During the dark days of the 1939-1945 war, despite the men being called up and bombs falling quite close by, the mission remained open and was kept intact. 

As time went by Spurgeon's College supplied us with students to conduct the services and preach. It was under a student pastor, Bob Archer, that in 1955 a church was formed. There were eighteen founder members.
In 1966 we were able to call our first full-time minister, a young man straight from Spurgeon's College, the Rev. Richard Soar.

The Rev. Soar moved on to a church in Ashford and the Rev. Albert Allen became the minister from 1969 to 1981. It was during his pastorate that the original hall was demolished and a larger building erected. 

The Rev. William McIlroy, known as "Pastor Bill," served us faithfully from 1982 to 2001 before moving on to a church in Woodmansterne.
Rev. Brian White joined us in February 2003 and oversaw the previous building, and its many alterations, demolished in 2010 and our present building being opened in the autumn of 2011. He moved on to a church in Wollaston April 2020.
Our part-time minister, Rev. Lisa Rainier, joined the ministry team in September 2011, having been on placement as a student minister over the previous two and a half years. In April 2015, Lisa moved on to a full-time post at St Catherine's Hospice in Crawley but remains a member of our congregation.
Rev. Jon White joined us in September 2022. 

It would be impossible, in this brief history, to mention the many, many people who have faithfully given of their time, energy, and resources to this 'corner of the Lord's vineyard', but as we continue to work and witness and spread the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ, we look back with gratitude for their dedication and commitment.