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About our church

We are passionate about being a church filled to overflowing with the love of God in Christ Jesus.
A church that encounters God together in our worship, lives in authentic community and overflows to the world with love and good deeds.

We accept wholeheartedly the Christian faith as set out in the New Testament
and as helpfully summarised in the historic creeds of the Christian Church:

The sovereignty of God in creation, providence, revelation, redemption and final judgement.
The divine inspiration and entire trustworthiness of Holy Scripture and its supremacy in all matters of faith and conduct.
The sinfulness and separation of all men and women from God.
The substitutionary sacrifice of Jesus Christ, the incarnate Son of God for the salvation of mankind.
The grace of God and the response of faith which makes salvation personally effective.
The work of the Holy Spirit of God in the hearts of men and women transforming, gifting,
empowering for the Christian life and the corporate life of the Church.
The personal return of the Lord Jesus Christ in triumph.

Turners Hill Free Church has been in Turners Hill for over 300 years.  Originally a baptist congregation, it was revived in 1824 as Bethel Chapel by members of Zion Chapel in East Grinstead. This church plant was a result of the great Evangelical Revival of the 18th Century.  THFC was part of a large group of Calvinistic Methodist churches founded by the Countess of Huntingdon who had come to faith under the ministry of George Whitefield.  She used her wealth and influence to train ministers in the new Methodist style of ministry and plant churches throughout England.

Today our heritage still informs our church life.  We are Reformed and Charismatic in our theology, emphasising personal faith in Christ, living experience of the work of the Holy Spirit and the preaching of God’s Word as foundational for the Christian life.  Moreover, we are actively involved in training men and women to preach the Gospel and start new churches in unreached parts of the world.

But, as much as we have roots in the past, that doesn’t mean we are stuck there.  Immense cultural changes present an unprecedented challenge to today’s Church in the UK.  With this in mind we are committed to reforming the church today, prayerfully before God, in accordance with Scripture and in humble submission to orthodox doctrine and wider Church tradition.  Our confident hope is that as churches deepen their understanding of the faith and what it means to be Christ’s Church, God will bring another revival to our nation.

Meet the Elders

Peter

Peter James
Peter is the pastor of Turners Hill Free Church.
He is married to Sarah, and they have three children Alyssa, Alexander and Joel.
He studied Christian Theology at Moorlands College, Dorset.

Mark Taylor
Mark has been an elder at THFC since 2018. He is also the church safeguarding lead. He is married to Hannah, and has three children – Grace & (twins) Thea and Isaac.

Matt Lake
Matt has been an elder at THFC since 2018. He is married to Lisa, and has three children – Isobel, Clara and Lois (and Stanley the dog).

Andy Sweetman
Andy has been an elder at THFC since 2010. He is married to Lucy, and has three children – Sam, Ben and Hannah.

Murray Hatton
Murray has been an elder at THFC since 2018. He is married to Kate and has a daughter – Kezia (and Huxley the dog).

Elder testimonies

Overseas Missions

Turners Hill Free Church missions fundraises for community and church projects in
Gilgal and Sierra Leone

You can give to Gilgal in one of the following ways:

Bank Transfer Bank Name: HSBC Acc Name: Turners Hill Free Church Sort Code: 40 18 22 Acc Number : 02415194

You can make one-off or regular payments to Gilgal directly into the church account with the details above via telephone or internet banking. Please use “Gilgal” and your initials and surname as the payment reference; e.g. if your name is Mr A. B. Smith then the reference would be: Gilgal ABSmith. You can use these same details to setup a regular payment through your bank (you can usually do this through your banking website, mobile app or in person at the bank).

Cash or Cheque
Cash or Cheques made payable to Turners Hill Free Church should be posted in the collection boxes in the church entrance or church hall and clearly marked for “Gilgal”. If you give by cash and you have completed a gift aid form please place the cash in an envelope marked with your name. Alternatively cheques can be posted to the church, care of the treasurer, at the our main address: The Treasurer, Turners Hill Free Church, North Street Turners Hill,RH10 4NS

Please Use Gift Aid!
Gift Aid means that for every £1 you give we will receive an extra 25p from the Government.  This means that a £100 Gift Aid donation is worth £125 to the church – and it doesn’t cost you anything extra. If you are a tax payer please fill out a gift aid form (if you have not already done so) to enable us to claim back this money wherever possible. You can download a gift aid form here (Download Gift Aid Form) or get a pre-printed one in the entrance of the church.

Safeguarding

At Turners Hill Free Church we are committed to doing all we can to keep our children, young people and vulnerable adults safe.
Our Policy and Practice are reviewed annually and based on the latest guidelines from thirtyone:eight.
If you have any concerns about the safety or welfare of any under 18, or vulnerable adult in our church, please contact us as soon as possible via any of the following:

Please view our Leadership Safeguarding Statement, and our full Safeguarding Policy is available on request.