We are a group of Christians who come together to praise God and learn from His word, the Bible. But our church is more than meetings. We support one another in our daily lives and seek to show Christ’s love in all our relationships.
We live in various parts of the local area around Caversham, Emmer Green and Sonning Common. We meet together in homes as well as the church building in Grove Road, Sonning Common.
History of the church
The Church was founded in November 1990, when a group of like-minded families wanted to start a new evangelical witness for Christ in Caversham. The church was established with the advice and support of elders and pastors from other similar churches. The founding members adopted a constitution in March 1992, in which the teaching and practice of the church were set out. The church became a part of the Grace Baptist fellowship of churches, and continues to be listed in the Grace Directory.
Throughout the early years the church prayed that God would provide a man to fulfil the role of pastor and teacher within the fellowship. Bruce Jenkins responded to such a call in 1994, and has been supported by the church as its teaching elder since 1995.
We have sought throughout our existence as a church to evangelise the local community in a variety of ways, including distributing newsletters, evangelistic meetings for adults and children, and personal witness. We pursued these activities from our base in Caversham whilst meeting in a hired hall on Sundays. In 2013 we were given the opportunity to take on responsibility for a small church in Sonning Common and to engage in replanting it in what is a neighbouring community.
In 2021 we changed our name from Caversham Evangelical Church, to Chiltern Evangelical Church to reflect the area and communities we represent.
The opportunity to run toddler and young mums groups alongside youth activities has seen a number of people come to profess faith, for which we thank God.
At present about 50 people meet on Sundays for worship.