The origins of Whiteley Church are from 1993, with the start of an ecumenical house group called Whiteley Christians. Even earlier than this the established churches set up the Whiteley Executive to oversee the development of an ecumenical church in Whiteley. Working together these groups established a church in Whiteley.

As in the early church, the first service in Whiteley was held in a private home on 10th September 1995. This continued for about 6 months, until we relocated to the Solent Hotel where we were able to use of one of their rooms at a reduced rate. At this time we also gained our first part time (one day a week) minister.

In October 1996, a community house was ready to use, and coincidentally we had a half time minister appointed. We decided that since we now had our own minister that we should move services to the morning, but this meant that we lost most of the people from local churches who had been supporting us, so numbers dropped to about 10, but under Judy's leadership, and as the district has grown, so has the congregation.

As the congregation rose to above thirty on a regular basis, we outgrew the Community House. Fortunately, the local primary school had recently been completed, and we were able to get agreement to use their hall for our services. and the Church moved to Whiteley Primary School in September 1999.

After the completion of Whiteley Community Centre in 2002 in Gull Coppice, off Yew Tree Drive, Whiteley Church moved to the centre in July 2002.

With a church roll approaching one hundred, the need to plan for a dedicated church building soon became obvious. Whiteley is a modern town that is still growing! A lot of people who come for occasional services are in favour of a visual symbol, and we are constantly being asked "when are we going to get a church on Whiteley?"  

Our vision is one of a church for the 21st century which reaches out into the community of Whiteley.

Whiteley Church might not have a traditional Church building, but according to the Bible the Christians who meet in this building are a local 'Church'
(Colossians 4:15, Philemon 2, l Corinthians 1:2).  But we do need a permanent home we can call our own and that we can use for the benefit of the community.  Currently weddings and funerals have to be conducted by Whiteley Ministers at nearby churches.  You can find out our plans for the new church building elsewhere on this website.  Just look under 'main menu' and click on New Church Building.

If you want to know more about Whiteley Church, please contact the ministers, Revd Lorraine Snape and Revd Gary Snape on 01489 881500