Hebron Church is an
evangelical
Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide Interdenominationalism, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being "bor ...
church in
Long Ashton
Long Ashton is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England. It falls within the unitary authority of North Somerset and is one of a number of large villages just outside the boundary of city of Bristol urban area. The parish has a population ...
,
North Somerset
North Somerset is a unitary authorities of England, unitary district in Somerset, South West England. Whilst its area covers part of the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Somerset, it is administered independently of the non ...
, near
Bristol
Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...
in England, was first founded in 1934 by Ernest Dyer.
The church arose out of a Sunday school and youth club by Mr Dyer, who cycled weekly from the
Somerdale Factory
Somerdale was a chocolate factory located in Keynsham near Bristol in South-west England, closed by Kraft foods in 2011. It was the home of a Cadbury plc production facility, and was originally built by the Fry family when they expanded through ...
in
Keynsham
Keynsham ( ) is a town and civil parish located between Bristol and Bath in Somerset, England. It has a population of 16,000.
It was listed in the Domesday Book as ''Cainesham'' (as it is pronounced), which is believed to mean the home of Sai ...
to run the clubs.
Mr Dyer lived above the Church until his death in 1967. His sister continued living there until her subsequent death. The church was named “Hebron” because an aim was for it to be a “place of refuge”.
During the 1930s and 1940s, Dr Vernon Charley, who developed the blackcurrant drink
Ribena
Ribena ( ) is a brand of blackcurrant-based soft drink (both uncarbonated and carbonated), and fruit drink concentrate designed to be mixed with water. It is available in bottles, cans and multi-packs. Originally of British origin, it was pro ...
whilst at the
Long Ashton Research Station
Long Ashton Research Station (LARS) was an agricultural and horticultural government-funded research centre located in the village of Long Ashton near Bristol, UK. It was created in 1903 to study and improve the West Country cider industry and be ...
, was the organist and an elder of the church. During the 1950s,
Roger T. Forster
Roger Thomas Forster (born March 1, 1933) is the leader of Ichthus Christian Fellowship, a neocharismatic Evangelical Christian Church that forms part of the British New Church Movement. In 1965 he married Faith Forster (1941- ) and has three chi ...
, founder of
Ichthus Christian Fellowship Ichthus Christian Fellowship is a neocharismatic Christian church movement and Apostolic network based in London, United Kingdom. It is part of the British New Church Movement (BNCM) and has links with other BNCM leaders and movements, especially G ...
was a regular preacher whilst doing
National Service
National service is the system of voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act 1939.
The l ...
with the
RAF
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...
.
The church continues to thrive and membership currently stands at around 30 with an average Sunday morning congregation of around 50. Evening services are smaller with an average of around 15 attendees. Hebron is an exciting mixture of people from varied backgrounds:- Baptist, Methodist, Pentecostal, Salvation Army, Anglican and Roman Catholic. Ages range from the cradle to the 90s. Children's and youth work continues with regular groups for all ages including "God's Gang" and a Friday night kid's club.
As a church we want to grow in our relationship with God and to invite other people to discover Him for themselves. We believe that God revealed Himself in the life of Jesus to make all this possible. We aim to be a church where all people can feel welcome and can know that they 'belong'.
References
{{reflist
External links
Church web site
Churches in Somerset
Churches in North Somerset
Evangelical churches in the United Kingdom