Jubilee International Church London was a

Pentecostal Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a movement within the broader Evangelical wing of Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes direct personal experience of God in Christianity, God through Baptism with the Holy Spirit#Cl ...

church in Grove Park, London SE12. The church was a member of

Assemblies of God The World Assemblies of God Fellowship (WAGF), commonly known as the Assemblies of God (AG), is a global cooperative body or communion of over 170 Pentecostal denominations that was established on August 15, 1989. The WAGF was created to provi ...

History

When the Grove Park Estate was first built in the 1920s, Lewisham Council determined that it should also include a church. Mr Frederick E Pinkess who had been running a successful ‘mobile’ Sunday school in the community decided to apply for permission to get a church built. He could clearly see that the area had potential for a thriving parish. With the help of the Shaftesbury Society, which was affiliated to the

Baptist Church Baptists are a denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers ( believer's baptism) and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches generally subscribe to the doctrines of ...

, Mr Pinkess raised enough money to build a church which was completed in May 1935. It was a non-denominational place of worship called Grove Park Mission and served as a mercy ministry to the poor. In the 1930s and 1940s, the church had a very popular and effective outreach programme in the community especially amongst the children, which led to a thriving Sunday school. Outreaches included opening-air singing and playing hymns along the local residential streets while carrying around the heavy church organ for music. There were regular open air outreaches every Sunday afternoon and evening for many years. In 1947, the work was connected with the Free Church movement which was of the

Plymouth Brethren The Plymouth Brethren or Assemblies of Brethren are a low church and Nonconformist (Protestantism), Nonconformist Christian movement whose history can be traced back to Dublin, Ireland, in the mid to late 1820s, where it originated from Anglica ...

movement. Then from 1961, Pastor Gordon Thomson who was connected to Honor Oak Christian Fellowship became the long-term pastor of the congregation now called The Christian Fellowship. A local branch of

Operation Mobilisation Operation Mobilisation (OM) is a Christian missionary organisation founded by George Verwer to mobilise young people to live and share the Gospel of Jesus. OM started in Mexico and had spread to Europe and India by 1963. OM currently has 6,800 ...

was also instrumental in helping with this work. In 1987, Book Aid began to lease space in the building from The Christian Fellowship, and then in August 2005 the building was sold to Jubilee International Church who had migrated from the

Clapham Clapham () is a district in south London, south west London, England, lying mostly within the London Borough of Lambeth, but with some areas (including Clapham Common) extending into the neighbouring London Borough of Wandsworth. History Ea ...

area. Pastor Thomson expressed the fact that they were thankful to see the church building in the hands of a new thriving congregation. He and his wife both died within a month of each other in 2007.

Opposition

The new church came into the media spotlight in the summer of 2006 following serious controversy with local residents in Grove Park and heated dialogues with the local council,

London Borough of Lewisham Lewisham ( ) is a London boroughs, London borough in south-east London, England. It forms part of Inner London. The principal settlement of the borough is Lewisham. The local authority is Lewisham London Borough Council, based in Catford. The ...

regarding

planning consent Planning permission or building permit refers to the approval needed for construction or expansion (including significant renovation), and sometimes for demolition, in some jurisdictions. House building permits, for example, are subject to buil ...

. Following a favourable decision by the council regarding planning usage, this issue eventually culminated in

racist Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one Race (human categorization), race or ethnicity over another. It may also me ...

arson Arson is the act of willfully and deliberately setting fire to or charring property. Although the act of arson typically involves buildings, the term can also refer to the intentional burning of other things, such as motor vehicles, watercr ...

attacks against the church and continuing minor attacks and opposition for almost two years. The proverbial dust settled after about 18 months.

References

External links

JC website

Anger at Council's U-turn on church. ''News Shopper''. 20 June 2006

Church prayer answered. ''News Shopper''. 18 July 2006

Church damaged in racist arson attack. This is Local London. 16 August 2006

Church damaged in racist arson attack. ''Wandsworth Guardian''. 16 August 2006
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