Background
The first church was built on the present site in 1897 and, from the very beginning, the members of the congregation were committed to serving the local community. In addition to normal Sunday services, weekly social/discussion groups were established for men and for women from the church and the local community. A Sunday school was set up for young people and, soon after, Boys' and Girls' Brigade companies were founded. These were later followed by youth clubs, football and cricket teams, playgroups and mothers and toddlers groups. In more recent times, special projects and community days have been arranged by church members both within the church premises and at other venues. These have included the offer of practical assistance to those who are infirm or otherwise unable to help themselves, and social events for all ages.
The church has been outward looking and socially active from its inception and this strong tradition has continued down throughout the years, underpinning the current church's mission of service to the community. This mission has also been projected beyond the confines of Horsham to the wider community, with significant continuing contributions being made to causes at home and overseas including charities, relief agencies and missionary societies, and the support of individuals from the church as they go out into the world to offer their services to those in need. The church has strong links with communities throughout the world including: Kenya, Romania, Nepal and Brazil, supporting charities and churches with funding and people.
It was our desire to see the church as a resource to the local and wider community that lay behind our decision to redevelop the whole site, which started in the late 1990's. The original church, together with a school room, was built in 1897 and the sanctuary was rebuilt in 1923 to accommodate a substantial growth in the congregation. The 'New Hall' was built in two stages in 1968 and 1973, completing the suite of buildings. This 'hotch potch' of buildings served former generations well, but had reached the end of their useful and economic lives, both physically and practically, and needed to be replaced. Not only did the buildings not meet the needs of the future, they hindered many of the activities we planned for the future.
After many years of planning and fund raising we finally moved out of the building in Brighton Road and moved into The Royal British Legion Hall in Chichester Terrace in January 2007. During the next 18 months the buildings on the site were demolished and our new building was erected. We moved back into the new building in June 2008. Sadly during the rebuilding our Senior Minister David Richardson, who had been with us for 25 years, & our Church Secretary Chris Bird both died.
Whoever you are, we believe that there is something for you at Brighton Road Baptist Church, so why not come along and meet us. We assure you of a very warm welcome.