Church History
The seeds of our church were sown when in the 1880s, five men, Ben and William Earnshaw, Jesse Baxendale, John Poulter and Mark Richardson walked the five miles from the village of Midgley to Kexbrough to bring the Gospel of Jesus Christ to Kexbrough. They made this journey after a hard days work and held outdoor meetings. When the weather deteriorated as winter approached the Club room of the White Bear was hired for the weekly meetings. After much prayer asking the Lord for a place of their own the Lord of The Manor gifted a narrow strip of land at the fork of what is now known as Churchfield Lane and Bence Lane. This was in 1886. A building was soon built on this plot. The entrance of the church was on Bence Lane which was at a lower level than the back of the building which faced Churchfield Lane. In 1896 a Sunday School was added.
In the years between the wars the population of Kexbrough expanded making the building unsuitable and in 1936 a decision was made to erect a more suitable place of worship and on September 19th the foundation stones were laid and on Saturday 9th April 1938 the building was opened. The cost other than the organ was estimated at £4,000. The organ was a gift from Mr. & Mrs. H M Walker.
The building has been altered both internally and externally over the years. A major extension was built in 1982. A new meeting room was built over a very useful storage space at the back of the building and at the same time the room at the side of the stage was extended and a tiled roof to replace the flat one. It was at this time that the external emergency exit was installed from the kitchen. In 1999 it was decided to alter the main entrance to the building to comply with the DDA legislation, giving flat access to most of the building. A new vestry and office space was built with a large vestibule with access to the church and hall. New toilets were made out of the old vestry including an accessible toilet. These were opened in 2000.
In 2015 we gave the church a complete overhaul. The room was perfect for Sunday worship, but not helpful when room was needed for other activities. The pews were removed and replaced with chairs and the front of the room completely redesigned. the pulpit was taken out along with the different levels. a new raised area was built right across the front with disabled access leaving a room which is now useful for all kinds of activities. A new sound resistant screen makes it possible for the church and the hall to be used for different activities at the same time.