East Ham Baptist Church facts for kids

Quick facts for kids East Ham Baptist Church
EHBC in 2007
51°32′20″N 0°02′41″E / 51.5389°N 0.0447°E / 51.5389; 0.0447
Location	East Ham, London
Country	United Kingdom
Denomination	Baptist
Churchmanship	Evangelical, charismatic
Membership	100
History
Founded	1895 (1895)
Architecture
Architect(s)	Edgar Stones
Completed	1901 (1901)

East Ham Baptist Church (EHBC) is a church located in Plashet Grove, East Ham, a busy part of London, United Kingdom. It's a place where people come together to worship and be part of a community.

History of East Ham Baptist Church

The story of East Ham Baptist Church began in 1895. The London Baptist Association (LBA) started holding church services in East Ham. At that time, East Ham was growing fast as more people moved there.

Early Days and Growth

The first group of worshippers met in a temporary iron building. It was located at the corner of Katherine Road and Victoria Avenue. R. Sloven became the first minister, leading the church from 1896 to 1908.

In 1901, the church moved into a brand new building on Plashet Grove. This building was designed by Edgar Stones. It had a large main hall that could seat 1000 people. There were also many other rooms and halls. By 1903, the church had 972 members. This made it one of the biggest churches in the East Ham area.

In 1908, a group of members from East Ham Baptist Church started a new church. It was called Bonny Downs Baptist Church. Charles Howe led this new church for 53 years.

Challenges and Changes

After the early growth, the church faced some challenges. F. Williams led the church from 1909 to 1919. He returned again from 1925 to 1929. During these years, church attendance started to get smaller. This was partly because many people moved away from the area.

The number of members continued to decline over the years. In 1941, there were 228 members. By 1951, the membership had dropped to just 52 people.

Modern Congregation at EHBC

In 1967, Humphrey Vellacott became the new leader of the church. When he first arrived, only 6 people came to the morning service. Just 14 people attended the evening service.

A New Beginning

Humphrey Vellacott worked hard to help the church grow. When he left, the church had 100 members. The morning service had between 150 and 200 people. The evening service had 70 to 80 people. He also helped to change the church building. He supported young ministers working in other churches in East London.

The area around the church was changing a lot. Many new people moved in, especially from Africa and Asia. Because of this, the church became very diverse. It had people from many different backgrounds. Even with these changes, the church kept a steady membership of about 100 people from the 1980s into the 2000s.

Recent Leaders and Mission

Roy Scarsbrook took over from Humphrey Vellacott in 1983. He stayed until 2000. Roy focused on sharing the church's message with others. He later became a missionary in Poland.

After Roy, Tony Watts from New Zealand became the minister in 2000. He stayed until 2008. He worked with a community that was always changing and had many different faiths and cultures.

The current minister, Jeremiah Dawood, started in May 2009. The church has a clear goal, called its mission statement. It says: "East Ham Baptist Church is a multicultural, mission-focussed church. We seek to build up the body of Christ by encouraging and equipping the members to find and exercise their gifts, and through this to touch the community both at home and abroad with the love of Christ." This means the church wants to help its members grow and use their talents. They also want to share love with people in their local community and around the world.

List of Past Ministers