About Us
Our Church
Queen Street Baptist Church is based within a small town centre. We are a friendly, welcoming church family that love the word of God and who put a big emphasis on prayer. We are a diverse fellowship and at one point had a worshipping congregation of 12 different nationalities. We are also a multigenerational fellowship with ages ranging from under 2’s to the over 80’s with all ages in-between. We want to move forward in the love of Jesus; not only for our church family but also for the community we serve.
Our Early History
Although founded in 1875 the first church building was not erected until 1877 where it housed a rapidly growing membership. Due to this the building was soon outgrown and so a new chapel was erected in 1897 with the original one becoming the school hall (and still is today).
An extension to the church was built after WW1 to commemorate the many men who served in the forces. This housed the men’s & ladies Bible classes on Sundays and youth club activities during the week.
Queen Street has always been a friendly, outgoing community and laid claim to many sports teams including football, tennis and cricket. More land was bought in Queen Street to accommodate these activities and it included tennis courts, a billiard hall and rooms for meetings. The council’s plans for redevelopment in the 1960s, however, meant much of the church grounds were compulsorily purchased, leaving us with the current premises.
Our More Recent Story
Like most churches our numbers have fluctuated over the past few decades but more recently we have seen our congregation grow to a church family of 75(?) members with an average of 100(?) for Sunday morning services.
In general the most recent growth in the church has come from families that have moved to the town and have chosen to worship at Queen Street. This has enabled us to grow our children’s work from one child to a large Sunday School of 4 classes plus a crèche, which we thank God for and we have seen many of our young people baptised in recent years.
Our Church’s Vision & Purpose
As a church our purpose is to worship and work to make Disciples of Christ. We currently hold a Community Covenant, a copy of which is given to each new church member. This describes and guides us in our three main commitments as a fellowship:
Our relationship with God – as individuals and as a church we must worship, glorify and listen to God so that we may live in accordance to his will and increasingly reflect Christ in the world around us.
Our relationship with each other– to gather together as God’s family to build a community of genuine Godly relationships so we can nurture & encourage others in their faith and care for each person in their times of need.
Our relationship with our neighbours – be representatives of God here in Erith, to make God known in Erith and around the world by serving our community in practical ways and sharing the good news of our Lord.
Our Leadership & Ministry Team
We currently have 9 deacons, six men and 3 women, each of whom take responsibility for different aspects of church life. Although we have a good core of people who are willing to take on tasks, we are a growing church.