A Century of MFC
A brief history of how we came to be
In the beginning...
The church that was to become Maidstone Family Church began on the evening of Wednesday 29th January 1936, when five men and two women met in a house on Poplar Grove to discuss the setting up of an Open Brethren assembly in Maidstone. Within three weeks they had identified two possible venues, the winner being the Mechanics Room in the Corn Exchange, at a day’s rental price of 10 shillings (50p!). They agreed to call themselves the Maidstone Assembly of Christian Brethren. On the morning of Sunday 1st March they held their first official gathering, attended by thirteen members, and continued that way on a weekly basis, with the establishing of an evening Gospel Service beginning on the first Sunday in April, followed by a weeknight prayer and Bible study, and in 1937, the establishing of a Sunday School.
Our permanent meeting place
As numbers rose the fellowship began to discuss finding a suitable building for purchase, but when war broke out in 1939, they had to move location to the Rechabite Hall on Brewer Street, and the idea was put on hold until the war ended. In 1951, almost fifteen years after their very first meeting, they became aware of a plot of land for sale, on the corner of Boxley Road and Salisbury Hall. The church voted unanimously to purchase the plot without planning permission, as its size and affordable price (£160) was exactly what they had been praying for. During 1953 planning permission was obtained and the tender from a Christian building firm was accepted. Work commenced in late Autumn and was completed in February 1954, at a cost of £3,300, of which £1,000 was provided by members, £1,000 was a gift from a trust, and £1,300 was a mortgage from Abbey National, for a ten-year term which was paid off in seven years. The building, which was named Salisbury Hall, was officially opened on 27th February 1954, with a thanksgiving conference attended by people from all over Kent.
God continued to bless the congregation and by 1967 the premises were deemed too small to accommodate the church’s many activities. In 1968 an extension was added to the rear of the hall, and further improvements, including re-siting the kitchen, improving the lobby, and installation of central heating, were made to the interior. In 1975 the fellowship opted, as many brethren assemblies did at the time, to rebrand itself, and so the name Boxley Road Evangelical Church was adopted, a reflection of its Gospel focus and high view of Scripture.
Appointment of paid Pastors
The church continued to grow and by 1990 was able to afford its first paid leader, Simon Edser, who served full-time until 1997, when God led him to ministry elsewhere. Simon’s pioneering work paved the way for the church’s next full-timer, Tom Smith, who in 2000 accepted the role of Lead Elder. By 2002 Tom felt it right to take early retirement, in anticipation of a younger leader, and so, in 2005, Steve and Kellie Edney were appointed, as Pastor-Teacher and Church Administrator respectively, and, with a new leadership team composed of both men and women, have led the church ever since. A refurbishment of the entire building in Autumn 2007, and the introduction of new children’s activities, led to further growth, particularly in young families, and a subsequent shift in the church’s age-demographic. In response to a decreasing understanding of the word ‘evangelical’, and in recognition of the church they were now becoming, in September 2011 the Leadership Team felt led to change its name again – this time, to MFC, or Maidstone Family Church. At the same time, it became a registered charity.
Continuing to make history
God continued to bless the church, through good times and challenging ones, including the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic. But in the past ten years it has also seen another significant shift – this time, in its ethnic demographic. In fulfilment of a prophetic word given at a church awayday in 2010, and as a reflection of the cultural changes in the town as a whole, in 2016 MFC began to attract people of various nationalities and ethnicities, to the point where it is now a vibrant community of individuals and families from across the world, a transformation which can be seen in its outreach activities, its congregation, and its leadership.
Proud of Jesus and His word, excited about the church He is making us, and passionate about sharing that with others, we anticipate with excitement what God will do next!