East Barnet Baptist Church
Come from all nations to Celebrate and Worship God
History
East Barnet Baptist Church was founded in May 1910, and met together in a small hut, familiarly known as the 'tin tabernacle',in East Barnet Road.
In 1930 the foundation stone was laid at the present site on the corner of East Barnet and Crescent Roads, on which was built a traditional baptist church building. It was completed in 1931. The adjoining halls and additional rooms were added in 1938.
In the early hours of 14th April 1980 the main church building burnt down, leaving the hall standing. The church continued to meet in the hall during the rebuilding work. They took the opportunity to drastically redesign the building so that the church was more flexible and could be used for many functions. The disaster of the fire brought with it the excitement of designing a new building, not only to blend with the remains of the old, but to meet the needs of the local community - still known as East Barnet Village. Crucial to that design was a combination of simplicity and flexibility. To Read more details of the fire and the aftermath click here
The new building was not as tall as the old (far less expensive to heat!), nevertheless inside there is brightness and light from the clerestory windows which form a band of light encircling the worship area. This, together with the splendid pine laminated portal frames, meeting centrally above, symbolises the light and knowledge of God's love surrounding his people as they reach out to him in praise and worship.
Around the walls are five collages by Margaret Bacon, portraying the central aspects of the life and worship of the church. They depict the people of God at worship, work and leisure, serving the community, the world church and the church triumphant. They are a source of inspiration to all who meditate upon them.
The open baptistry includes a mosaic design based on one of Annie Vallotton's line drawings, reproduced by kind permission of the Bible Society, reminding us of the power of God's Holy Spirit by which we as a believing community seek to love and serve God.
Pews were replaced by chairs, resulting in far greater flexibility of worship, and also flexibility of use during the week. There are several rooms of different sizes, a comfortable lounge, excellent facilities for disabled peopled, and a well-equipped kitchen - all of which add to the practical use of the premises in service to the community.
The new entrance lobby took up the idea of the light and the arched portal frames of the main worship area, to convey a sense of invitation to people to come and share in worship.
The Friend in Need Community Centre began in February 1981, opening initially one day a week on Thursdays. By the time the new building was opened this had extending to cater for up to 25 elderly and housebound folk on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and was planning to extend on further days.
The Revd. V. Frederick George came to be the minister in 1969, straight from Spurgeon's college. He has been the minister of the church ever since.
The church has never been very large in numbers but through its outreach work at Friend-in-Need has had a tremendous impact on the local community
In 1996 EBBC bought the house next door, 231 Crescent Road, with the intention of extending the church premises. To read more about this look under Rebuilding.
Collages in the inside the Church and explainations
The painting in the foyer by one of the church members, Paul Tivey, depicts how he felt before and after coming to Christ
Our Church | Community Centre | The Bible | Prayer | Resources
Office Address:
East Barnet Baptist Church
Crescent Road
East Barnet
Hertfordshire
EN4 8PS