History of REC
Roundhay Evangelical Church was planted in 2007 by a group of people from City Evangelical Church in Beeston, South Leeds. They saw a need in Roundhay, an area of Leeds without a clear gospel witness, and an opportunity to 'share the love of Jesus' with many who may not have heard the good news!
From the beginning we met in Roundhay Parochial Hall, an ideal venue, suitable for various sized meetings, big enough for several Sunday School groups, and used by a range of local community group activities. Over the first few years we saw gradual growth, with a number of the church regulars moving on and new people coming. We have always enjoyed an active teens group and groups for younger children.
As well as its regular activities, over time the church has taken part in various community events - Roundhay Live, Oakwood Day, the Farmers' Market and local Craft days. We were delighted to have the opportunity to start doing regular assemblies in three local primary schools.
The Lord has truly blessed our church over the years. After a lot of prayerful consideration, and in the middle of the covid pandemic, we were delighted to appoint Adam Robertson as our first pastor in July 2020.
During the pandemic, we all became familiar with the 'zoom' technology in order to continue our fellowship. Once covid restrictions were eased we were able to meet again physically at Roundhay Parochial Hall, and get to know new faces properly! We changed the format of the evening service at this time, making it more informal and varied.
As the country gradually returned to a more normal routine, we were delighted to be offered the opportunity to take over the Oakwood Toddler Group in the hall. This was quite an interesting challenge with a cohort of 'covid' babies and toddlers who had not mixed with any others during the pandemic! In 2022 we had a stall at the Roundhay Park 150th birthday celebration event.
We have made use of the local 'Tasty' cafe on several occasions to host outreach evenings where we have heard about a personal faith journey, and then an opportunity for question/answers followed by more coffee and cake!
In 2023, we welcomed a team of students from Oklahoma, who undertook a local survey of visitors around the area, seeking what they thought about the person of Jesus. We also held our first 'Splat extra' Holiday Club during the summer for the local primary-school-age children with a theme of 'All at sea' which was much enjoyed.
We thank God that over the years the Church has continued to grow with an increasing number of adults, teens and younger children attending. We are blessed to be a fellowship made up of people from many different nations and backgrounds. Moving forward, we continue to look to the Lord to lead and guide us as His Church to His glory.