About
Margate Church marks a new chapter in the long story of God already been told here in the South East of England. In 695AD Pope St Gregory of Rome sent St Augustine and a small team of missionaries from Rome to bring the Christian gospel to the UK for the first time. Encouraged and invited by King Ethelbert’s wife Queen Bertha, these missionaries landed here in Thanet, just a few miles from where the Church is situated today. It is on this site (marked as St Augustine’s cross), that the King and Queen gladly received the Gospel. The words on the plaque state that Augustine happily planted the Christian faith that day which spread with marvellous speed throughout the whole of England. This nation has once before seen renewal and revival spread from this region and we as a Church are believing he can use these pre-dug riverbeds to do it once again.
Margate Church has been earmarked by the Diocese of Canterbury as a place for strategic investment to support wider revitalisation in the Church in Thanet and further afield. Mark Nelson is the senior leader of this project alongside an amazing team of clergy, staff, PCC’s and volunteer leaders.
Mission & Vision
The Mission of Margate Church is to see everyone in East Kent know Jesus as the Way, the truth and the life. We are a diverse, intergenerational and creative community. A church that empowers the young, lives generously, relates joyfully and is led by the Holy Spirit.
Parishes
Holy Trinity Margate
The original iconic Church was built in Margate in 1825 and as it filled to overflowing, planted St Paul’s Cliftonville on the Northdown Road. Holy Trinity was destroyed by bombing in 1943. After years of petitioning and prayer, the new Holy Trinity church was built in the Northdown area of Margate. Consecrated in 1959, the new Church was built onto the existing St. Mary’s Chapel, built in 1892 and still regularly used as a Chapel for prayer and occasional services. As the congregation grew, further rooms were added. The church was reordered in 2003 and over the next few years plans were approved to extend the buildings facilities to provide a two-storey multipurpose facility, in order to better meet the needs of church and community.
The Chapel remains open throughout the week as a space for prayer.
St Paul’s Cliftonville
St Paul’s Cliftonville is an important and visible landmark on Northdown Road and its church and community centre have worked for many years to serve the people of the parish, much of which community is seriously economically deprived. St Paul’s, which is pleased to describe itself as a church of the poor for the poor is the home of Ignite, a style of church primarily for those who may not feel comfortable in a traditional church service. From its origins in Cliftonville, Ignite has spread across the Diocese of Canterbury, serving people living in marginalised and socially deprived communities.
