Who are we?
We are a worshipping community of believers, who are actively seeking the presence of God.
We love the Presence of God
Our worship and pursuit of His presence is so central to who we are as a people. Everything else we do flows from this expression.
Psalm 27 v4
The Word and the Message of the Cross
The centrality of the gospel and the preaching of the word is a foundation of who we are.
2 Tim. 3 v16
The Message of the Kingdom
Our desire is to see the kingdom of heaven on this earth, walking in the fullness of our inheritance.
Luke 4 v18
The Pursuit of Prayer and Holiness
We are contending for revival, for God to heal our land and pour out His love into the multitudes.
2 Chron. 7 v14
The Healing of the Heart / The Father Heart of God
Living in the fulness of sons and daughters as we allow the Lord to heal our hearts.
Psalm 147 v3
Father’s House Leadership Team
As leaders we have a passion to see God’s people being released into all he has called them to be, seeking after Gods presence in all we do. Worshippers and passionate lovers of Jesus wanting to see the power of the gospel and his kingdom reach all nations. We have a heart to develop leaders in team, in a culture of love and honour.
Andrew Baddeley
We have been in and around church leadership for over 20 years, some of those years working with young people, but more recently we have taken on the baton of leadership with George and Carolyn at Father’s House Shaftesbury.
My passion is to see revival, the presence of God filling our community and to take His presence to the ends of the earth.
Helen Baddeley
I am excited to be part of this team, working together to see the presence of God at the centre stage of everyday life here at Father’s House.
My hearts longing is to see peoples lives set free, to fully know who they are called to be, and be part of a developing culture where all things are possible with God.
George Powell
I have been involved in Church Leadership and Mission over the past 30 Years, looking to see God’s Kingdom expressed through all the earth.
With a heart seeking after Revival and all that entails. To see his people grow in their gifting and callings. I love to see worship growing and developed and God’s presence stewarded.
Carolyn Powell
I have been actively involved in the leading of churches alongside looking after our 5 beautiful children. My heart is to see people living as God intended them to be regardless of their age.
There is nothing better than seeing people realise the amazing gifts that God has given them and watching them grow in courage as they step out and use them.
The origins of Father’s House Shaftesbury church began in the mid 70’s when people from many different backgrounds, looking for a richer, deeper experience of God, found each other and began to seek together. We were not disappointed, and as a consequence more and more people came to know God as a caring and loving Father, and Jesus as the way to Him. We also experienced the baptism in the Holy Spirit.
As a result of reading the words of Jesus, we became convinced that those who believed in Him should be baptised by immersion; that you didn’t have to be an ordained minister before administering breaking of bread – but that any believer could do it, even in their own home. These along with other insights were important, so to live them out without causing unnecessary conflict, it was considered best to form New Covenant Church. This was in 1978 (it was then called ‘Maranatha’ a syriac word meaning ‘Our Lord Jesus will come’.)
From 1978 – 1986 we were rather nomadic, meeting in schools and halls. As we grew in size it became evident that we needed our own premises to cater for the various needs of the church. In 1987 we purchased our present building (a former egg packing factory), and converted it into a meeting place. We called the building ‘Shaftesbury Christian Centre’ to avoid people thinking of the building as the Church.
On 2nd April 2012, Shaftesbury Christian Centre changed its name. We are now called Father’s House Shaftesbury (that is the building and the people who meet here).
We have done this because we feel Father’s House is more reflective of who we are as a people and is in line with our increasing experience of knowing Him as our heavenly Father. Jesus said: ‘My Father’s House shall be called a House of Prayer’; we want it to be a place of worship and prayer, and somewhere people encounter Him as Father.
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