“So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts to wisdom.” Psalm 90:12
Calvary Chapel Maidstone began on 8thJuly 2018 when the Lord brought three families together with a burden to begin a new work in Maidstone.
“Matt and Abby Hobbs were instrumental in having the vision for the church, and in bringing about its formation. Matt has now left the church, but we acknowledge with thanks the key role that he and Abby have played in in the church.
Jonny & Hannah’s Story
Hannah and Jonny Bourne have been inspired through the teaching of Calvary Chapel.
Having been mentored by the leadership of Shoreline Calvary in London, they sought to find a like-minded church in Maidstone in which they could use their gifting in music to lead others in worship and praise.
As such, Hannah contacted Calvary Chapel UK to ask if they had any plans to start a church in Maidstone. They were told that such a church was in the process of being started, so they arranged to meet Matt and Abby Hobbs, who were involved in starting this church.
They immediately sensed that God was involved in leading them together.
Ian & Frances’ Story
In the meantime, Ian and Frances Fox (Hannah’s parents) were involved in another local church, but they had long enjoyed the teaching from various Calvary Chapel pastors.
Having heard about the meeting that Hannah and Jonny had with Matt and Abby, they too arranged to meet them. They discovered that they had much in common with Matt and Abby. All four had benefitted from Roger Price’s Bible teaching in the past and had a very similar vision for Bible teaching, coupled with a biblically based openness to the work of the Holy Spirit.
Matt and Abby had been praying for someone to share the Bible teaching load that Matt was carrying, and Ian was keen to help with that following his extensive biblical knowledge, theological training and experience in delivering sermons and Bible study with a number of different fellowships.
Over the ensuing weeks it became clear that God was leading Hannah, Jonny, Ian and Frances to join Matt and Abby in helping to form Calvary Chapel Maidstone, and it was a joy for them to be sent out from their previous church with the blessing and prayers of the leadership there, to go and help start this new work.
It has been a blessing to see the young church develop since then and God is clearly at work in the lives of the people who attend.