History

Beginnings

The history of Wolston BC is fascinating. In the later part of the 18th Century three Congregationalists, namely Rev. G Burder, Rev. Jonathan Evans and Sir Egerton Leigh, came to Wolston to preach the gospel. Their message was well received and some people came to faith.

However, when the decision was taken to build a non-conformist place of worship the leaders and new believers met great opposition. It was rather like the time of Nehemiah when he and his fellow Jews tried to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. In Wolston, whatever part of the church was put up during the day was pulled down by night! Despite opposition, the Church was eventually built. Much more could be written about this but all that really needs to be said is that God helped the new believers and blessed them through the ministry of Rev. George Jones.

The Ministry of Rev. George Jones

The Rev. George Jones was our first minister. In 1806 he came from Queen’s Road Baptist Church in Coventry to start a Sunday School in the village. In 1814 six men came together and formally founded Wolston Baptist Church, with George Jones as its first minister. The believers initially met in a cottage but in 1819 purchased a piece of land and built the church we have today. In 1849 another piece of land was obtained for use as a burial ground.

What a servant of God George proved to be! The Church could not afford to pay him a stipend so he earned his money as a school teacher. In his ‘free time’ he looked after his flock and God blessed his ministry. The church grew quickly under his leadership, from 6 members in 1814 to over a hundred in 1852, and there were so many worshipping at the church that a balcony had to be added to the building; records show that the seating capacity was 300, though they must have been thin to fit so many in! George also took the gospel to the surrounding villages and founded several churches there. He ministered at Wolston for 42 years until his death in 1856 at the age of 79. He was buried in the cemetery he had helped the church acquire in 1849.

There were ordained ministers after George Jones, but in 1875-6 there appears to have been a split in the church and a ‘Baptist Tabernacle’ was built only a few hundred yards away. After that, from 1878-90, Rev. Henry W. Meadows was the minister, sharing his pastorate with the church founded by George Jones at Dunchurch.
In the early 20th century, the church was unable to fund a minister and asked the larger Baptist church at Queen’s Road, Coventry, to take them under their wing. Queen’s Road accepted but, as well as providing preachers and other ministry, also took over the finances, compelling the deacons to have to ask for even the slightest expenditure, such as coal for the stoves and oil for the lamps. This became increasingly frustrating.

The ministry of Sister Cynthia

In 1959 or thereabouts Queen’s Road sent a Deaconess called Sister Cynthia Allegro to our church twice a week to work with children and young people. Formerly a prima ballerina, she supplemented her income by teaching dance and her impact on young people was powerful, not only in the classes but also within the church; she inspired all age groups, preaching almost every week at Wolston.

Despite the cultural reluctance at the time to accept women in church leadership she believed that God was calling her to train as an ordained Baptist minister, and after three years training at Rawdon Baptist College near Leeds we called her in 1965 to become our Minister, a significant financial undertaking and a big step of faith for a small church. She had a powerful ministry and God used her bless many people in our village and lead them to Christ.

Ever since Sister Cynthia (she always preferred to keep her Deaconess title) died in 1979 God has enabled the church to call and support ministers. Our Church has been ably led by:

•  Rev. Rosalie Hall (1982 – 1987)
•  Mr. Ernie Hall (1990 -1993)
•  Rev. Nancy Cervantes (1995 – 2005)
• Rev. Neil Moore-Smith (2005 – 2022)