Chatteris – planting a new church

Originally published in the Grace Magazine January issue by Stan Evers.

Planting a church in Chatteris, a Fenland town in Cambridgeshire, began in January 2010.

Church Planting in Chatteris

A couple contacted Robert Reed, who had just moved from a  pastorate in Chingford in east London, and asked him to lead some Bible studies and prayer meetings. It was from these meetings in Robert and Jackie’s home that the Chatteris Community Church emerged, encouraged by Barry King, pastor at Wood Green and leader of the Grace Baptist Partnership.

The church, which meets at the Meadows Community Centre, was formerly constituted as a church, and inducted Robert to the pastorate, on Saturday 1 December. Barry King led the Act of Induction and preached from 2 Peter 2:15-16 – an unusual text for an induction. He spoke about the right motivation for service: love to Christ, and the wrong motivation, serving for gain, like Balaam. The refreshments afterwards were not the usual chapel tea; there were several tasty curry dishes besides food for non-curry eaters!

By Stan Evers