Kensington Temple is a large Pentecostal Church in the Notting Hill area of London. It is pastored by Reverend Colin Dye, and is the largest church in its denomination, the Elim Pentecostal Church.
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History
The present church building was founded as Horbury Chapel, and used by by the Hornton Street Congregational Church, Notting Hill, in 1849. The building was used from 1935 by the Bible-Pattern Church Fellowship (an Elim Pentecostal Church offshoot founded by George Jeffreys), and also known as the Church of the Foursquare Gospel (not to be confused with the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel), when it became known as Kensington Temple [1]. The use of the building reverted to the Elim Church in the early 1960s, and the church as it is known today was founded in 1965 by the Elim Pentecostal Church minister Rev. Eldin Corsie. Under his ministry in the late 1960s–1970s the congregation grew to 600, and then to several thousand under Rev. Wynne Lewis (later to become the Elim Church's General Superintendent) during the 1980s. Since the 1980s, nicknamed by members of the church as 'K.T.', Kensington Temple has planted well over 150 churches across London . Today, It has around 50 churches in its Kensington Temple London City Church (KTLCC) network. Over the years, many churches K.T. has planted have opted to become independent churches or to have an official status as a self-standing Elim church. In 2000, Kensington Temple began to transition into a cell church, and today it has hundreds of cell groups meeting weekly across London. The same year, K.T. moved its offices from Tabernacle, an ex-BBC warehouse in North Acton, to Monarch House in North Acton. In 2005 the church moved its offices from Monarch House to Summit House, Hanger Lane, London. Congregations continue to grow, as do peripheral services. [2]
KT today
The church continues to hold services at the Notting Hill site. About 5 000 people attend the five services held every Sunday and there is also a live link service at the Notting Hill Coronet acting as an overflow for the busy 11am service. [3]. Among its many ministries, the church has a Bible School, a performing arts school [4], an A-level college [5], a nursery [6], a conference centre [7], rooms to let, a publishing company (Dovewell Communications) [8] and a cinema.[9] Today, KT is an international congregation drawing over 110 nationalities together every week. The worship style is multi-ethnic and contemporary. KT seeks to honour the Bible's teachings and the leading of the Holy Spirit within the life of the church.
Theology & ministry
Kensington Temple's theology is Pentecostal, emphasizing the work of the Holy Spirit in the life of the church and individuals. The emphasis of ministry at KT is to equip all Christians to follow Jesus Christ and to grow both individually and collectively to be like him. Much of this equipping happens through cells, small groups that gather throughout the city. During the week, cell groups provide pastoral care, support and training for church members.
