A Brief History

A radical start

There is almost a complete set of minute books and records for Willingham Tabernacle Baptist Church. Amongst these is the first minute book of the "Christian Communion and Evangelistic Baptist Church, Willingham". It is recorded that "on the Lord's Day March 23rd 1873, the Rev W Jackson closed his Ministry in the old Baptist Chapel Willingham in order to carry on evangelistic operations unhampered by doctrinal and practical antinomianism" 1. Events moved on swiftly and in the same year a church was formed on Thursday July 3rd when the Rev Jackson baptised 15 people in the Old West River. It was soon decided that a chapel should be built, donations flowed quickly in, and the foundation stone was laid on 26th May 1874. The Rev. C H Spurgeon preached to several thousand people at an open air service that afternoon, followed by a tea at which nearly 900 people sat down! Another open air service followed in the evening. The new chapel was opened exactly twelve months later. It was described as a magnificent building that could hold 550 people plus another 150 in the adjacent school room. The accounts show that the cost of the land, the chapel and the manse amounted to £4022!

Sustained growth into the 20th Century

The church continued to grow, and the first half of the twentieth century is characterised by the long service of a number of people. Ingle Few Thoday (Junior) is one such person. He served the church and his Lord in numerous ways but chiefly as church secretary for some twenty five years in the early part of the century. The Rev. EP Blackaby provided stability in the middle of the century, becoming the minister in 1926 and retiring in 1949. The third strand of stability is the service of the Barton family. George Barton was one of those baptised in 1873 and he died in 1939, aged 101. His son Charles, born in 1869 was baptised in 1892, became a deacon in 1916, and died in 1964. Miriam, daughter of Charles, was born in 1900 and served the church faithfully in many ways, including as deacon and Sunday School teacher. She died on 31st December 1999.

The wilderness years

The records show that membership, which stood at almost 200 towards the end of the nineteenth century, first dropped below 100 in 1968. The decline continued, and by 1986 the membership stood at just 20. The building, which was designed for 700, was deteriorating and funds for repair were very limited. The decision was made to demolish the old Tabernacle and build a smaller building on the same site. Land at the rear was sold to help finance the project, and the new Tabernacle, designed by Mr Keith Hodkinson, was officially opened in January 1990.

New growth

The children's Sunday School initially met at the back of the new church building, but within a few years space was short and it was decided to build a new Sunday School room at the rear of the church. God has blessed the church over recent years and this space is now inadequate for the number of children we now have attending. Under the leadership of Rev. Jonathon Daniel, from 1999 to 2007, church membership has increased to nearly 60, and many more join regularly in our various activities throughout the week.