Kensington Temple
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Kensington Temple is a large Pentecostal Church in the Notting Hill area of London. It is pastored by Reverend Colin Dye, and is the largest church in its denomination, the Elim Pentecostal Church.
Contents |
[edit] History
The church was founded in 1965 by the Elim Pentecostal Church minister Reverend Eldin Corsie in Horbury Chapel, originally by the Hornton Street Congregational Church in 1849. The building had been used for some years by the Bible-Pattern Church Fellowship (itself an Elim offshoot founded by George Jeffreys) until its use reverted to Elim in the early 1960s and it became known as Kensington Temple.
Under the ministry of Rev. Corsie in the late 1960s–1970s the congregation grew to 600, and then to several thousand under Rev. Wynne Lewis (later to become Elim's General Superintendent) during the 1980s.
Since 1980s, KT has planted well over 150 churches across London[citation needed] . Today, It has around 50 churches[citation needed] in its Kensington Temple London city Church (KTLCC) network. Over the years, many churches KT has planted have opted to become independent churches or to have an official status as a self-standing Elim church.
In 2000, Kensinton Temple began to transition into a cell church, and today it has hundreds of cell groups meeting weekly across London. The same year, KT moved its offices from Tabernacle, an ex-BBC warehouse in North Acton to Monarch House in North Acton.
In 2005 the church moved its offices from Monarch House to Summit House, Hanger Lane, London. Congregations continue to grow as do peripheral services. [1]
[edit] KT today
The church continues to hold services at the Notting Hill site. There are five services on Sunday, with a live link service at the Notting Hill Coronet acting as an overflow for the busy 11am service. [2]. Among its many ministries, the church has a Bible School, a performing arts school [3], an A-level college [4], a nursery [5], a conference centre [6], rooms to let, a publishing company (Dovewell Communications) [7] and a cinema.[8]
Today, KT is an international congregation drawing over 110 nationalities together every week. The worship style is multi-ethnic and contemporary. KT seeks to honour the Bible's teachings and the leading of the Holy Spirit within the life of the church.
[edit] Theology & ministry
Kensington Temple's theology is Pentecostal, emphasizing the work of the Holy Spirit in the life of the church and individuals.
The emphasis of ministry at KT is to equip all Christians to follow Jesus Christ and to grow both individually and collectively to be like him. Much of this equipping happens through cells, small groups that gather throughout the city. During the week, cell groups provide pastoral care, support and training for church members.
