Evangelical Presbyterian Church in England and Wales


The Evangelical Presbyterian Church in England and Wales is a reformed and conservative evangelical denomination in both England and Wales with churches in Germany and Sweden. Founded in 1996, the denomination is small but growing.

History

In 1986, a Presbyterian conference was held in a Free Church of Scotland chapel in London, where a vision of a new Presbyterian denomination in England was proposed, which was to be faithful to Scripture and adhere to the Westminster Confession. As a consequence, the Presbyterian Association in England was formed in 1987 from several small Christian groups and existing congregations with efforts at church planting following. In 1991, an interim Presbytery was formed with congregations in Blackburn, Cambridge, Chelmsford, Durham and Hull to work towards the establishment of the new denomination. This came to fruition in 1996, taking the name, Evangelical Presbyterian Church in England and Wales.

Church Planting

In 2000, two congregations in Cardiff, Immanuel and Bethel, were accepted into communion. The EPCEW has grown significantly since its founding with a number of congregations joining the EPCEW and others being planted by existing churches. The denomination recently planted a church in the Salford/Manchester area and is working to establish church plants in Oxford, Lincoln, and Sunderland. They are actively looking to plant churches throughout England and Wales.
Denominational growth has been steady:
YearNumber of congregationsNotes
20006
200510
201015Includes two congregations in Sweden.
201517Includes one congregation in Sweden and one congregation in Germany.
202021There are 19 established churches with a congregation in Sweden and another in Germany.

Congregations

As of 2018, the denomination has twenty congregations at:

England

Wales

Several were instrumental in the recent founding of in Gateshead, UK. WPTS aims to equip men to hold fast to God’s faithful Word, with a particular focus on preparation for planting churches in the UK and continental Europe. The school is committed to the Westminster Standards, experiential Calvinism, Presbyterian Church government, ordinary means of grace ministry, and the regulative principle of worship. The seminary offers a range of courses accredited through Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary, including the Master of Divinity.

Publications

The denomination publishes The Presbyterian Network in Spring and Autumn with theological and pastoral articles and news from its congregations.

International Organisations

Along with the Free Church of Scotland and the Free Church of Scotland, the denomination is one of the three members of the International Conference of Reformed Churches from Great Britain, and one of seven European Christian denominations who founded the European Conference of Reformed Churches. The denomination has a co-operative agreement with the Presbyterian Church in America.