Kingsway International Christian Centre facts for kids

Quick facts for kids KICC
Kingsway International Christian Centre
KICC's current church in Kent, named "Prayer City"
Location	Maidstone Rd, Chatham ME5 9QG, Kent
Country	England
Denomination	Pentecostal
History
Founded	1992
Founder(s)	Matthew Ashimolowo

The Kingsway International Christian Centre (KICC) is a large church based in Kent, England. It was started in 1992 by Matthew Ashimolowo. When it first began, there were about 200 adults and 100 children. Today, thousands of people attend the main church every Sunday. Matthew Ashimolowo is still the senior pastor of KICC.

The Story of KICC

How KICC Began

In 1992, Matthew Ashimolowo started the Kingsway International Christian Centre. The first meetings were held at Holloway Boys' School in North London. Just one year later, the church bought a three-story building. This new place was big enough for about 1,000 people. During this time, KICC became very popular.

Growing Bigger

By 1995, around 3,000 people were members of the church. They even had three services every day! In 1996, KICC began opening other church locations. They also started broadcasting their services on GOD TV and other television channels. This helped their message reach even more people.

New Locations and Events

By 1997, KICC was holding four Sunday services at their main location. They also held services at other large venues in Hackney, London. These included the Hackney Empire and York Hall. Their membership grew to over 4,000 people. Because of this growth, they bought a large piece of land in Hackney Wick. It cost 2.7 million pounds.

In just twelve weeks, they built a huge hall on this land. It could seat 4,000 people! This new hall opened in August 1998. KICC used this location for nine years. They held many important events there. These included the International Gathering of Champions (IGOC) conference. They also held "Winning Women," a conference for women, and "Watchnight," a special event to celebrate the start of a new year.

Moving to New Homes

Leaving Hackney

Most of the people who attend KICC are under 50 years old. Many come from West Africa, but the church says its members come from 46 different countries. For nine years, KICC was located on a large site in Hackney, London. This area was close to where the 2012 London Olympics Village was planned.

KICC had to move from this site to make way for the Olympic developments. They were supposed to leave by November 2006, but they moved in late 2007. The last big event held at the Hackney site was the International Gathering of Champions in 2007. Many international guest speakers, like Bill Winston, attended.

Finding Prayer City

After leaving Hackney, the church moved to Hoe Street in Walthamstow. They hoped to build a very large new church in Rainham. However, the government did not approve their building plans there.

Eventually, KICC bought and moved into its current, even larger location. This new home is called Prayer City and is in Chatham, Kent. KICC still uses the Walthamstow site as well. Since 2013, KICC has been holding many of its main events and programs at Prayer City.

Crystal Palace Site

KICC bought a building in Crystal Palace that used to be a bingo hall. They wanted to use it as a church for their South West London branch, which is based in Wimbledon. However, they have not received official permission to use the building as a church.

In August 2012, KICC held a business seminar at the Crystal Palace site. They had applied for permission to change the building's use in 2009. But this request was turned down. The local council said that using it as a church would mean losing an important local entertainment spot. They also worried that many cars coming to the church would cause traffic and parking problems.

Even without full permission, KICC did some renovation work inside the building. It opened in August 2012. In 2013, many complaints were made to the local council about a New Year's Eve event called "Watchnight" planned for the venue. Council officials visited the event. They decided that because the event was religious, it did not need a special entertainment license.

The council continued to monitor the building's use. In February 2014, the council decided that KICC needed to submit a new application. This application would ask for permission to use the building for both entertainment (like a bingo hall) and religious events. If KICC did not submit the new application, they could face legal action.

Images for kids

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  KICC's current church in Kent, named "Prayer City"