About

History

Where we have come from

In 2023 Emmanuel Church Leamington Spa started to meet regularly to pray for the need of more gospel-centred, Bible-teaching churches in South Warwickshire. As time went on in those meetings, it became increasingly clear that there was a need for such a church in Stratford.

We continued to pray that God would lead us in the venture, as well as speaking to other churches in the area to establish connections and to better understand the need. As we prayed, a small group from within Emmanuel began to emerge who were keen to be part of a new work in Stratford.

In January 2026 we started meeting once a month on a Wednesday in Bishopton Community Centre. Another church had recently had to move out of that area of Stratford, and a void was left. These meetings brought others from the surrounding region along, and our small group grew slowly.

Where we are now

In October 2026, we were in a position to increase the frequency of these meetings to weekly. These meetings aim to deepen our friendship, one with another, pray, hear from God’s word, and start to plan for what a regular Sunday service would look like.

We are aiming to start weekly Sunday morning meetings on 10th January 2027. Initially, these will be held at Bishopton Community Centre at 10:30.

At this point, Christ Church Stratford is still part of Emmanuel Church Leamington Spa. Christ Church is not yet a fully constituted church, and therefore does not have a separate membership, elders or deacons.

Because of this, the Lord’s Supper will not be celebrated at Christ Church whilst we are still part of Emmanuel. We would encourage you, particularly if you would like to be part of Christ Church going forward, to make the most of the Lord’s Day and meet with the wider church family in Leamington in the evening. This ensures that you will regularly be celebrating the Lord’s Supper during this time. You can find details of the evening service here.

Where we want to get to

We are very grateful for the sacrificial nature of Emmanuel Church to free up our group to establish a new work in Stratford whilst remaining part of Emmanuel. However, we are aiming to become an independent, fully constituted church in the coming months/years.

When this happens, there will be a membership of Christ Church Stratford who will appoint elders and deacons. At this point, you could enquire about becoming a member at Christ Church. At the same time, we will be able to celebrate the Lord’s Supper in Stratford, baptise new believers and will aim to have an evening service each Sunday as well.

If you have any questions about this, please speak to one of the Leadership Group (link).