Consider King’s Church Centre a beacon. It shines brightly in the heart of London. This church started humbly in 1878 as Catford Hill Baptist Church. A young pastor in his early 20s led it. This church plant was part of Charles Spurgeon’s vision. His vision was to reach London.
In 1985, Catford Hill and Allerford Chapel joined. They became King’s Church Catford. Fast forward to 1995. Steve and Deb Tibbert arrived. They were to lead King’s, a church of about 200 people.
The Alpha course began in 1996. It ran each term since then. Hundreds of lives changed as a result. By 2000, King’s started to grow. King’s Centre 2000 was completed. It was a major extension of the building.
The Jericho Road Project launched in 2001. This project is the church’s mercy ministry. It supports the homeless and disadvantaged. South Lee Christian Church joined King’s that same year.
More than 500 people were attending King’s by 2004. A further extension was completed. It accommodated the surge in growth. From 2005 to 2008, the church continued to grow. It became a church with multiple meetings. A second meeting started in 2005. A third started in 2008.
The Gracism series in 2008 helped build a diverse church. In 2010, King’s purchased a new building in Lee. This housed a new site and offices. By 2011, King’s became a multi-site church. Downham Family Church joined. King’s launched the Lee site. There was now one church. It met on three sites. These were in Catford, Downham, and Lee. Over 1000 people attended each Sunday.
Since it was no longer only in Catford, the name changed in 2012. It became King’s Church London. This reflected its wider vision and reach. The newly refurbished Lee auditorium opened in 2014. It accommodated 500 people.
King’s explored issues around diversity further in 2017. This happened in the Invited series. The offices moved to new facilities on the Lee site. This served the growing team.
King’s gathered over 1500 each Sunday in 2018. Vision 2030 launched. A fourth site opened in Beckenham. The year 2020 started with 21 days of prayer. Hundreds gathered to pray and worship. Sunday services, groups, and prayer meetings went online. This was in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Phil and Sarah Varley moved to the Netherlands in 2021. They had served King’s alongside Steve for 20 years. They planted a church in Rotterdam. King’s started to gather again in person.
King’s continued rebuilding after COVID-19 in 2022. It met back together across its sites. The Undivided series looked at Race, Grace, and Galatians.
King’s Church London is still one church today. It meets across four sites. These sites are in Catford, Downham, Lee, and Beckenham. They all share one vision. They have seven in-person services on Sundays. King’s Church London seeks to reach, restore, and resource people. It serves London, the UK, and the nations. It works toward God’s glory.