Straight to the Heart

When Queens Road Church ran a billboard campaign before Christmas claiming that “God Still Loves Southwest London”, we really meant it. But God meant it even more.

Even as we paid the price to proclaim the good news about Jesus to Wimbledon, God was busy behind the scenes to open up a door for us to proclaim it wider.

Several months ago, I spent an hour with the man who has masterminded Holy Trinity Brompton’s strategy of planting churches in the defunct buildings of dead Anglican churches. I left the seminar and went to Starbucks for a prearranged meeting with the pastor of Kingston Baptist Church. When he shared with me that his church was in terminal decline and about to close its doors for good, I urged him not to surrender the fight so easily. I encouraged him to remember his church’s history, and to use the blessings of the past to spur him on to fight for its future.

And what a past Kingston Baptist Church has. Planted in 1662 out of the Dissenter revival which gripped London after the English Civil War, God used it in amazing ways to transform seventeenth-century Kingston. When problems set in and the church entered a spiral of decline, it was replanted through a fresh revival when John Wesley came to Kingston in 1790. The church was very fruitful but hit internal problems and decline once again, so Charles Spurgeon replanted the church in 1864. “Fight for the church,” I urged the pastor, but he was weary. He said he had no fight left in him and was leaving in a few weeks’ time, but he urged me to step up and fight for the church in his stead. He asked me to email the church members offering help if Kingston Baptist Church were ever about to close its doors.

I sent the email but several months went by without an answer, so the rest of the Queens Road elders and I focused on God’s mission to Wimbledon and the surrounding area. Then suddenly, out of the blue, I was contacted by the Baptist Moderator who wanted to talk urgently about KBC. They had voted to close their Sunday services in December and to give the keys to Queens Road Church so that we could launch a fresh new chapter of fruitfulness. This triggered three months of meetings and discussions with lawyers, accountants, builders and prophets so that we could weigh up whether this was a distraction or a call from God.

God was really good to us in this period and gave us compelling direction whilst we analysed the detail. He arrested me one morning in my daily Bible readings by Jesus’ statement in Mark 1:38: “Let us go on to surrounding towns too, so that I can preach there also - that is the reason I have come.” He also spoke to us through a prophetic picture from Guy Miller (CityGate Church, Bournemouth) of two wells of living water. One well represented Queens Road Church and was pumping life-giving water to the area surrounding Wimbledon. The other well represented Kingston Baptist Church, but it was so full of rocks and mud and muck that it looked as if it had no water. Guy prophesied that it was an artesian well, and that we would find the same living water flowing under the muck if we simply rolled up our sleeves and started digging. We came to the conclusion as elders that God was behind this opportunity, and that he wanted to use us to reopen this disused well in Kingston.

Finally, following a series of miracles, we met with what was left of Kingston Baptist Church on Sunday 15th January. We told the church that we were willing to help them so long as they accepted the Queens Road elders as the new leaders of KBC, brought us into membership and then resigned themselves. They needed to give us the authority we needed to lead the church into all that God has for it in this fresh season. Remarkably, they voted us in as the new elders and membership of KBC before standing down en masse as members themselves. This remarkable remnant of one of Kingston’s oldest and most influential churches decided to sacrifice their present so that the future of KBC could be as glorious as its past.

There are many practical questions which are raised by this wonderful, God-given opportunity. You can find some answers by coming to our Pray For This City event from 6:30-8:00pm on Sunday 5th February at Queens Road Church, and from 6:30-8:00pm on Sunday 4th March at the Kingston Baptist Church building. There will be a tour of the building and a chance to celebrate its past as we lay hold of God in prayer for its magnificent future.

In the meantime, you can find some immediate answers by reading the Q&A sheet below. We have tried to keep it to two pages for the sake of brevity, but if your question isn’t included then any of the Queens Road leaders would be happy to give more in depth answers.

God still loves Southwest London. When you hear the rest of the amazing story of how he has entrusted us with Kingston Baptist Church, you’ll believe it even more than ever!

SOME ANSWERS TO YOUR QUESTIONS REGARDING KINGSTON BAPTIST CHURCH

Written by Phil Moore (QRC, Wimbledon) and Simon Virgo (King’s Church, Kingston)

Kingston Baptist Church has been declining in size for quite some time. At the request of its outgoing lead pastor, the elders of Queens Road Church began to offer help to the few people who were left. KBC decided to close its Sunday service in December and have made a historic decision with regards to their future.

1. What was agreed at the KBC Special Church Meeting on Sunday 15^th January?

The members of Kingston Baptist Church voted to close this chapter of their history and to open a new one with the help of Queens Road Church. The existing members all resigned their membership, and before they did so, they voted Phil Moore in as their lead pastor, the other QRC elders in as their assistant pastors and deacons, and the six QRC elders and their wives in as the new church membership.

2. So what will this mean for the future of KBC?

The QRC elders have committed to replanting a Sunday worship service in the KBC building as soon as possible. Given the current state of the church building, this will need to be after renovation works are completed, which probably means early in 2013.

There is no viable KBC congregation, so QRC will initially establish a new QRC service in Kingston. QRC currently has two Sunday morning services in Wimbledon and will move to having three Sunday morning services: two at Queens Road in Wimbledon and one at Kingston Baptist Church.

The long-term aim is for Kingston Baptist Church to stand on its own two feet again. However, this replant is such a large project that QRC has committed not to cut the church loose before it is ready. We want to build towards strength rather than weakness, and this may mean being linked together for quite some time.

3. Why didn’t KBC simply give their building to King’s Church Kingston?

Like most Baptist churches, the KBC building is held in trust by the Baptist Union. They were unable to give their building to King’s Church because it is not a Baptist church, but they were attracted to help from QRC because it is a Baptist-Newfrontiers church, which King’s Church is not. (Meanwhile, King’s Church has been in pursuit of a different building, which they feel God has been leading them towards.)

4. Isn’t it a bit strange to have two Newfrontiers churches in Kingston Borough?

Not at all. King’s Church currently gathers 0.1% of the borough on a Sunday morning, and KBC currently gathers 0.01% of the borough! Kingston borough is home to almost 200,000 people – more than double the size of Bedford where there are currently 4 Newfrontiers churches!

Given how unchurched most people who live in Kingston borough are, the strange thing to have done would have been to have said no to KBC and let a church with great potential die.

5. To what degree have the leaders of Queens Road Church and King’s Church worked together in this decision?

Phil Moore met with the King’s Church elders within a week of the members of KBC asking for help. Phil and Simon Virgo have been in regular meetings and phone contact throughout this decision.

The elders of both churches met together for a whole evening at the start of January in order to weigh this opportunity together. The meeting ended with the leaders of both churches feeling positive and beginning to talk about how we might reach Kingston Borough as two churches with a common goal.

6. How important will working together with King’s Church Kingston be for QRC & KBC?

Queens Road has a fantastic relationship with King’s Church. King’s was planted out of Queens Road 20 years ago and there are many deep friendships across the two churches which go back decades. Both churches are also firmly committed to the vision of Newfrontiers. Working together is therefore crucially important.

King’s Church has some fantastic momentum of its own, with a major building project likely and with Terry & Wendy Virgo having recently moved to become part of the church. The QRC elders want to reach Kingston for Christ alongside King’s Church without hanging onto the King’s Church coat-tails in an unhelpful way! 

7. What is the history and background of Kingston Baptist Church?

KBC’s history dates back to the 1660s, when a church was planted by faith in reaction to King Charles II’s Act of Uniformity in 1662 which threatened to limit the spread of the Gospel. After many fruitful decades, it fell into decline and was replanted in 1790 by those who had been transformed by John Wesley’s revival. It met from 1790 onwards in a barn on the site of the current Kingston Baptist Church. After more fruitful decades, the church once more fell into decline and was replanted by one of Charles Spurgeon’s students in 1864. This student was friends with Charles Ingrem who planted Queens Road Church a few years later. It was this historic link which made the members of KBC want to turn to the leaders of QRC for help.

8. How will this development affect people at Queens Road Church?

Finance Although the membership of KBC was very small, the church has considerable assets. It already has a third of the estimated costs of refurbishment in the bank. The church has a claim to the remainder of the money from another charity, which we will pursue. If that is unsuccessful, then the Baptist Union has agreed to loan any outstanding funds to KBC at a discounted interest rate.

Staff Workload Like any of the church plants which Queens Road has been involved with over the years, this is going to require hard work from the Staff Team. However, there is money within KBC to pay for a six-month project manager to oversee this project for the elders. Talks are in progress – watch this space.

Vision Queens Road Church has had a vision from the time it was planted in 1872 to plant new churches across Southwest London. Charles Spurgeon instructed the first QRC pastor, Charles Ingrem, in 1880 that “Near to you at Wimbledon you will find [other places] all needing Gospel work. As soon as you have got your own little church in working order, start something at each of these places. I’ll help you – go and blaze away.” The elders of Queens Road are very excited that this is not a distraction from the church’s vision, but a chance to recommit to it.

9. If I am part of Queens Road Church but live in a KT postcode, will I be expected to become part of the third service at Kingston Baptist Church?

Not at all. The QRC elders let people choose whether to come to the 9:30am or 11:30am services in Wimbledon, and they will also let people choose whether or not they wish to become part of the service in Kingston.

As launch day approaches, there will be an opportunity for people to sign up to become part of the core team which will start the new service. The QRC elders expect there to be Kingston people who choose to remain at Queens Road, and Wimbledon people who choose to travel to Kingston for a pioneering adventure. Some may even choose to support the launch for the first year before returning to a service back at Queens Road.

10. Will Queens Road Church be looking for members of King’s Church Kingston to join, to help establish the new plant?

No. As QRC sets out to re-establish KBC, the ambition is not to re-distribute the Christians in Kingston, but to establish a work which will reach out to those who as yet don’t know Jesus. QRC is replanting KBC in order to build the Kingdom of God, not a Queens Road empire! The goal is to do the same thing in Kingston as in Wimbledon: helping unbelievers to come to salvation so that they can love Jesus and live his mission with us.

11. How can I find out more details about this development?

QRC will be hosting an event, called “Pray For This City”, where there will be news and an opportunity to pray into this development. This will be held from 6:30-8:00pm on Sunday 5^th February at Queens Road Church, and from 6:30-8:00pm on Sunday 4^th March at the Kingston Baptist Church building on Union Street.

12. Who can I talk to if I have questions in the meantime?

If you are part of Queens Road Church, then talk to one of the QRC elders. If you are part of King’s Church, then talk to one of the King’s elders. The leaders of either church will be very happy to answer your questions as best they can at this stage.

God is good and he has great plans for Southwest London. Thanks for partnering with us in Jesus’ mission!

Phil Moore & Simon Virgo

Lead Pastors, Queens Road Church & King’s Church