Church History

The History of Glendale Church

Glendale church grew out of a Bible Study group of about ten people, who met early in the 1980's, hungry to hear God speak from His Word.From the beginning the group was conscious of a Divine Momentum that was later to lead to Glendale being formed. There was an openness to the possibility of becoming a Church, but this was not the immediate purpose. There were different issues for each member of the group, but there was also a growing unity of spirit.

Right from the beginning, though the group was small and unsupported by any established church, it received frequent encouragement from respected Christian leaders. Early in 1983 the group could no longer ignore the urging of the Spirit and about twenty met on a Saturday to fast and pray.

Great effort was taken to be sensitive in dealing with the established churches in town and this was partly why the first public meeting place was on the edge of town at Wash Common Community Centre. The developing Church took a lot of trouble to explain itself to the residents of Wash Common and the leaders of Newbury churches.

In June 1983 in the Committee Room at Wash Common Community Centre, about ten adults and five children met and, after agonising, a freedom dawned, and it seemed like a taste of Heaven. Decima Reeve squeezed into a corner with a funny little keyboard, and Andy How spoke on Psalm 98 - Sing to the Lord a new song - and it seemed that God had written it just for this occasion.

Mr Theodore Bendor-Samuel - a well respected Christian leader who was living in Reading at the time - came and commissioned Cliff Reeve, Gordon Patterson and Andy How as Elders.

The vision that God gave for a strong, Bible teaching Church, reaching out with the Gospel to Newbury and the outlying area, never faded, but there were years to follow in which growth in numbers was slow. Growth in many other ways was rich: it seemed that God wanted the Church to establish a firm foundation on which to build.

The name Glendale Church was derived from Glendale Avenue where the Community Centre is situated; it was a name that could easily be taken when the Church outgrew the Centre. Neither did the name link the Church with a particular denomination, so when people asked, "What sort of church is this?" the answer was "Come and see. And remember, it will be different if you join us!" There has always been an openness to God. What does He want the Church to be like? It is His Church after all! 'Unity in diversity' has been a long-held principle, the Church being an honest reflection of the people who are its members.

Straight away there was busy activity. There has always been a strong focus on young people and Holiday clubs, Sunday School and other events for children and teenagers were soon off the ground. Monthly evangelistic suppers were held long before Alpha was heard of. The focus was on Bible teaching, Prayer and Evangelism in Newbury and beyond. There has always been a strong missionary focus. For such a small church there was an amazing number of well-known and respected Christian leaders coming and affirming the work: "Just keep going with what you're doing, it's what God wants!" George Verwer came and was pleased to encourage 20 instead of the 1000s he was used to. And so did people like John Blanchard and Leith Samuel.

People came to know the Lord and there were baptisms and growing groups of young people, many of whom became Christians and have gone on in the faith, serveral becoming leaders. Friday Club began in 1983 and "Bas" developed from that.

In 1990 God sent Jim & Doreen Tootill. Jim said that when he heard about Glendale, bells rang in his heart and he'd learnt in his life not to ignore that! They came to Newbury and carried on being missionaries. They built up the pastoral work and blessed the Church with their servant hearts, their courage, their wide experience, their wisdom, Jim's Bible teaching and their sheer ability to trust God through any circumstance. By 1998, again feeling in need of a full-time worker. Following much prayer but without advertising, God sent Jonny Woods. There was significant growth in numbers during the next five years and the move to Park House School took place, especially in order to accomodate the children and young people.

The vision is being realised, but there is still much to do; Newbury and its neighbourhood are as much in need of the Gospel as ever. In order to serve God effectively, the local Church needs to be a living body, reflecting its membership with God's Word in its mind and His Holy Spirit in its heart.

And so the song goes on....let us continue to 'Sing to the Lord a new song'....proclaiming His salvation day after day.