Mostyn Road Methodist Church
Corner Mostyn Road & St. Lawrence Way
London SW9 6PH
Pastoral Oversight: Rev. Kristin Markay
Sunday Worship: 11:00 a.m.
On Bus Route: 3, 59, 133, 159, 415
Direction: See map below...
Mostyn Road Methodist Church has a very significant and unique history dating back from 1809. It used to be
the headquarters of the Old South London Mission covering from Camberwell to Stockwell. Boundary changes meant the loss of its title as the headquarters.
During the 2nd World War the church suffered a serious bombing raid by the Germans which left it dangerously defective. Worship on Sundays became impossible, especially after a heavy rainfall and constant vandalism to the stained-glass windows.
Between the seventies and the eighties, the whole community in which the church stood fell into abject dereliction. In the events which followed, Lambeth council initiated a regenerative programme which affected the church. A hostile confrontation ensued with Lambeth council for the compulsory purchase order it placed on the church. To cut the story short, the council relented in the end and here we are still standing.
In the year 2012 (Brixton & Streatham Circuit merged) we were not in a very healthy situation financially and spiritually then and there were so much needed work in the building as well. Rev. Ali came to help revive our church family through weekly bible study and we sincerely thank her for all the hard work she’s done to turn Mostyn Road around with the help of Rev. Dart. In 2013 the Circuit Leadership meeting, gave us a big boost in supporting our undertakings for the building upgrade and for that we were very thankful, first to God and the circuit.
In September 2013 came our new minister Rev. David Musgrave, his messages were so inspiring and passionate about social justice, love and harmony for humankind. This was also the year we received our first newsletter and got to know what’s going on around our own circuit. To have this means of information sharing somehow made us feel united with our brothers and sisters in our circuit. We maybe few in numbers but we thrived to build our sense of purpose and be more visible in the community around us. Under the able leadership of our minister and his outreach work, the year 2017 was a blessed one for us. We managed to have the full use of our church building by different user groups every week, and on top of all these, the South London Jazz Orchestra started using our building regularly for rehearsals. With all of God’s blessings and provisions we manage to do small improvements, our car park was cleared and improved which is now regularly used by the Jazz Band and we spruce up the outside of the church.
Having had all these blessings not everything was a ‘bed of roses’ for us. Two years ago, we were confronted by a challenging issue of closure because we are a small congregation, but we fought to stay open and members got together, stepped up in their roles so here we are again - still standing. We continue to make small improvements to our church building, and we continue to serve the Lord, grow in our faith and share the gospel in the community. Our capacity maybe limited but the love of God has no limit that strengthen us to do His work.