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Introduction
" The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and
planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all your seeds, yet
when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that
the birds of the air come and perch in its branches."
Matthew 13:31
A parable
The ground was fertile through prayer and desire but the nearest mustard tree
was many miles away. But then, God chose nurserymen to bring in a tiny
seed and plant it in the fertile ground. The seed sprouted and the
gardeners faithfully nurtured and cared for the seedling as it struggled to
survive. Then the seedling established itself and grew strong. The
nurserymen had other seeds and seedlings that needed their care and they left
the established sapling to grow.
God oversaw and cared for his new mustard tree. Soon the sapling became a
tree, branching out and spreading seed for new mustard trees around it.
The tree grew heavily branched and the canopy full and welcoming. Today it
provides shelter, home and food for the birds of the air.
This is about Godalming Baptist Church - God's 100 year old mustard seed…
Planting the Seed (1850's - 1902)
Fertile Ground
God had many different types of churches planted in Surrey last century but
there were few of the Baptist denomination. According to a writer in 1903,
one could travel for many miles through the smaller towns and villages of this
lovely county without coming across one.
The agricultural and industrial revolutions of the 18th and 19th
centuries had dramatically changed the distribution and size of the population
and many cities and towns were growing at an enormous rate. Most of these
burgeoning urban populations were untouched by the gospel and also had desperate
social and physical needs.
The town of Godalming was no exception to this picture. In the late 1800's
it was expanding rapidly and a large portion of the inhabitants did not attend
Divine service regularly. The town had a population of 9,000 which was served by
10 churches - one church for every 900 people. An Alderman of the Borough
at this time pointed out that in contrast there was a public house for every 171
of the population.
Nationwide, concerns for the spiritual and physical welfare of these urban
populations resulted in many missionary attempts to reach out to them.
Perhaps one of the most well known of these was the Salvation Army but there
were many others. One such organisation was the Pioneer Mission and it had
the primary hand in the planting and nurturing of a Baptist mission in
Godalming.
Records of the time also indicate that a number of local people earnestly
desired the presence of a Baptist church in Godalming and they had cultivated
the ground with faithful prayer asking the Lord for the church. The writer of
1903 records the presence of groups of twos and threes praying for the church
over many years. Particularly mention is made of an un-named aged Scotsman
who came to Godalming in the mid 1800's and made "A Baptist church for
Godalming" the desire of his heart for the greater part of his long life.
Seed Planters
When Charles Spurgeon visited Godalming in 1854 this un-named Scotsman had the
pleasure of getting him to preach at the Wesleyan chapel in Farncombe St,
Farncombe. Charles Spurgeon visited Godalming again in 1884 and the
possibility of establishing a Baptist church in the town remained on his mind as
in 1889 he talked over the idea with Rev E.A. Carter, the director of the
Pioneer Mission. He even took steps towards finding more out about the
situation by writing to Rev. Rankine, the pastor of Commercial Road Baptist
Church in Guildford (now Millmead). Charles Spurgeon died before he was
able to assist further but the idea of planting a seed was taken up by the Rev
Carter and the Pioneer Mission.
A group of committed, vision inspired Christians came together in the 1890's
under the direction and guidance of Rev Carter to establish a Baptist Mission in
Godalming. These people included the Rev John Rankine, who acted as a
local treasurer; the Rev Edward Tarbox of Upper Norwood, London who purchased
the original plot of land in Queen St for the church and, Mr Percy Clements, a
student from the Pastors College (now Spurgeons College) and Mr Marnham from the
Home Counties Baptist Association. We owe our existence as a church to
these people. Without their dedication to spreading the Gospel, their
vision and commitment to it, the mustard seed would never have been planted in
Godalming.
Planting the Seed
The seed was finally planted when the Pioneer Mission hired a room in the
Borough Hall for £75.00/ year and began to run public meetings. The first
of these meetings took place in October 1900 which was presided over by Mr
Olney, of the Pioneer Mission. Thereafter, regular services were held by the
Mission on Sundays at 11:00am and 6.30pm in the Borough Hall.
The work was overseen by the Rev Carter and the Rev Rankine acted as treasurer.
Mr Percy Clements was appointed as the pastor and he conducted the services,
travelling down from London to do so. This represented no mean feat in
those days and is a shining example of commitment and dedication to God's work
and the spreading of the Gospel.
Formation of Godalming Baptist Mission
Three months later the meetings were sufficiently well established to consider
setting up a local committee to represent the Pioneer Mission in Godalming. This
meeting took place at the end of January 1901 at 23 Hare Lane and was attended
by Rev & Mrs Carter, Rev Rankine, Mr P Clements and 24 other people.
The meeting resulted in the election of a committee with a mixture of local
Godalming people and representatives of the Pioneer Mission. The committee
consisted of Rev Carter (Chairman), Mr Clements (deputy chairman), Mr F.G.
Barnes (Treasurer) and Mr Blunden (Secretary).
Mr & Mrs Carter and Rev Rankine then left and the local members of the
Godalming Pioneer Mission then held a short prayer meeting and took up a
collection to meet expenses. At the end of this time the Pastor was
commissioned by the meeting to write:
"May the blessing & direction
of God rest upon the Baptist cause in Godalming."
This precious benediction was bestowed on a sprouting seed. One hundred
years later, we stand as a testament to God's blessing and direction on the
Baptist cause in Godalming.
Watering the seed
The Pioneer Mission watered and tended the sprouting seed. They continued
to spread the Gospel and attempted to secure converts to the Baptist cause with
open air work and advertising of services. They provided heavy financial
help and on the management side they poured in continual advice and guidance to
the local committee. As early as 1900, possibly even before, Rev Carter and Rev
Tarbox had began to investigate sites in Godalming on which a Baptist Church
could be built. In 1901, after weighing up several sites in Queen Street,
the Rev Tarbox purchased 3 pieces of land situated on the east side of the road.
They continued the development of their plans to build a church in Queen Street
and by the middle of 1901 had drawn up rough plans for a building with a
temporary end wall for extension.
By the end of August 1901, Mr Clements found the widely separated, and
increasing responsibilities of both the Pastor's College and the Godalming
Pioneer Mission too much and he asked to retire from the position as pastor.
Rev Carter was of the view that a local pastor should be found and he had in
mind a young man who might be suitable. The matter was left in his hands
and by the next month Mr J.R. Glynn arrived as the new pastor.
By the beginning of 1902 a decision was made on architect's drawings for a new
church building and school chapel. A building Fund account was opened at
the London & County Bank, Godalming. Rev Carter was the nominated
President and one of the 3 account signatories.
One of the most
significant tasks of the Mission was to raise money to sustain the work.
Over the first 20 years of the church this proved a very heavy responsibility
and as far back as the beginning of 1901 the Minutes record concerns about the
level of giving. By the middle of 1902 the Committee had decided to form a
roll of the members of the congregation so that they could be approached with
regards to contributions to sustain the work.
Much to the sadness and concern of the Godalming Pioneer Mission, Pastor Glynn
accepted an invitation to attend the Pastors College and left the work in August
1902. Although he was there only a short time he is remembered as working
successfully at Godalming and winning many to King Jesus through his ministry.
Again Rev Carter had the responsibility of finding a new pastor and an
invitation was made to Rev A.A Harmen from Devonport to take charge of the
Baptist mission in Godalming.
Towards the end of 1902 the building fund stood at £350 and Rev Carter
indicated at the November meeting that when the fund reached £450 they could
commence building the church. Five members immediately pledged sums of
money ranging from £5 to 10 guineas. On the whole, the people involved
with the Church were not overly wealthy. One hundred years ago, these amounts
were substantial gifts and represented significant sacrifices and commitments on
behalf of the people concerned.
Anniversary services took place in November and a series of meetings were
planned including one for the children which was based on "the boy who
killed the giant." At a public meeting over 200 people were present.
Formation of the Church
In December 1902 a meeting was held at 23 Hare Lane to form a Baptist Church in
Godalming. A constitution was adopted and one of the resolutions of the
meeting was that:
"The church will carry on the work under the supervision of the
"Baptist Pioneer Mission" until it is strong enough to take upon
itself all its liabilities."
The seed had well and truly sprouted but it was another 20 or so years before it
was strong enough for the nurserymen to leave it to grow on alone
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