Our Leadership      Our Mission      Our Basis of Faith      Our History

Our Leadership:

We currently have a leadership team of eight, each of whom head one of our six ministry areas.

Steve is married to Kellie and they have two children, Josh and Abi.
With a degree in theology and a 4-year stint as Youth Minister under his belt he moved to Maidstone in 2005 to become Pastor at BREC. In his spare time he listens to music, watches movies, plays drums, and loves a good curry (though not simultaneously).
Kellie has a degree in Marketing and Communications and worked in industry and as a voluntary Youth Worker, before becoming BREC’s Administrator. She also runs the Parent and Toddler group. She enjoys reading, paper and textile crafts and cookery (but not housework).
Geoff has been a member of the church since he and his wife Pauline married and bought a house in Aylesford in 1972. Geoff trained as a professional engineer but since his last job with British Gas was made redundant in 1995 he has worked for Kenward Trust, a Christian drug and alcohol rehab, as a basic education tutor and personnel manager. He has now retired (Oct. 2006) but finds life is busier than ever. He and Pauline have 2 married daughters and 2 granddaughters.
Awaiting Information.
David is married to Ruth, and they lived in the village of Hunton, where they brought up their family of four. They now have three grandchildren and have recently moved to an apartment in Maidstone. David worked in sales for many years and latterly as an evangelist with Home Evangelism before retiring in 2002. Elisabeth is married to Arthur and has 4 adult children and 10 grandchildren. Having been brought up in Devon she and her husband moved to Maidstone in 1959. She is an accredited counsellor/manager, and works as co-ordinator of a Christian Counselling Service.
Stuart is married to Ruth and they live in Maidstone. He was brought up in Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham and became a Christian while studying chemistry at University in Canterbury, where he also met Ruth while studying for a PhD. He now works as a civil servant in research and development. He likes to get out and about walking and cycling. By necessity he spends a lot of spare time DIY-ing but prefers to be hidden away with a good book.
Chris is married to Sue & they have been members of BREC since 1993. They have been married for 29 years and have 3 grown up children. He’s aware that he doesn’t look old enough! His passions are football, blues music and traditional hymns. He plays keyboard and guitar and generally enjoys taking life easy, which he has turned into an art form. Chris works as a mentor to young people in secure training.
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Our Mission:

We are part of God's family within the Maidstone Christian community which exists to honour the Lord Jesus Christ and to make God known by his Holy Spirit through worship, service, mission, fellowship and discipling.
Worship - Responding to God’s love and proclaiming the name of Jesus in our daily lives and when we come together.
Service - Demonstrating Christ's love and care for the local community by our involvement, practical help and friendship.
Mission - Making known God's plan for the world as we seek to bring people to personal commitment to Christ in Maidstone and beyond. Fellowship - Encouraging a deepening sense of the value and responsibility of belonging to each other in God’s family.
Discipling - Teaching one another to serve and obey Christ, helping each other to grow and mature in our relationship with Him.
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Our Basis of Faith

Open our Basis of Faith as a PDF file here.
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Our History:

• 29th January 1936 Five men and two women meet at 30 Poplar Grove to discuss starting a fellowship of the Open Brethren in Maidstone.
• 1st March 1936 The first official meeting of the Maidstone Assembly of Christian Brethren is held in the Mechanics room at the Corn Exchange and is attended by 13 people. The rental for the room is 10 shillings.
• 5th April 1936 Evening Gospel meetings begin.
• 1937 Weeknight prayer and Bible study meetings are moved from homes to a room in Herbert's Cafe on Bank Street; Sunday school begins; Membership rises to 32 and investigations for a property started.
• 1939 War breaks out and the Mechanics room becomes unavailable; Meetings move to the Rechabite Hall, Brewer Street - the rental is £39 per annum plus heating and lighting.
• 1950 The search for a plot of land begins again.
• 29th January 1951 The unanimous decision is made to purchase a plot of land on the corner of Salisbury and Boxley Roads at a price of £160, without planning permission. During the war it had housed static water tank and had then been converted to an allotment.
• 1953 Planning permission was obtained and a tender from Christian Builders A.J. Lewis & Son accepted.
• 27 February 1954 Work has been completed at a cost of £3300 of which £1000 was found by the members, £1000 was a gift from a trust set up by Mr. Laing and £1300 was a mortgage from the Abbey National (this was paid off within 7 years); Salisbury Hall is officially opened with a thanksgiving service attended by 100 people.
• 1967 Work begins on an extension to the rear of the property which is completed in 1968. Further improvements are made over time to the interior including re-siting the kitchen, improving the foyer and front toilets and provision of central heating.
• 1975 The name of the building is changed to Boxley Road Evangelical Church.
• Dec 1990 Rev. Simon Edser is appointed is the first paid Elder of the church; he holds this position for seven years.
• July 1999 Rev. Tom Smith is appointed as paid Elder of the church; he holds this position for two years.
• April 2005 Steve Edney is appointed as full time Pastor of the church and his wife Kellie as part time Administrator.
• October 2007 The building is completely refurbished, including improvements to the platform and installation of new kitchen.

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