About Us
St Barnabas Church is earnestly committed to the commission given by God to all Christians of making Jesus known to all. God knows us all better than we know ourselves, and the Good News about Jesus is that He has made it possible for us all to know God personally.
St Barnabas Church has been passionately living out this commission for over 100 years. St Barnabas was originally formed when St John the Evangelist Church in Old Coulsdon decided to plant a number of Churches within its very large parish (as it was then). St Barnabas became a parish in its own right around the beginning of the 1960's.
Our main Sunday service begins at 10:45am. Our services have a relaxed and friendly atmosphere but that is not at the loss of depth since concurrently they offer a high quality in terms of spirituality, effort spent planning, and much prayer. We also have an 8am service every other Sunday. Please see our services page for details.
Our Church is named after the Saint, Barnabas. He is described as having the status of an Apostle in Acts 14:14. Together with St Paul, he undertook many missionary journeys throughout the Mediterranean. He was originally called Joseph, although because of his ability to encourage those around him, the early church re-named him Barnabas which means son of encouragement (Acts 4:36). St Barnabas understood the power of the Gospel to change people's hearts, and lives. When an arch persecutor of the early Christian Church, Saul (later called Paul), arrived in Damascus claiming to have experienced a now famous conversion en route it was Barnabas who made great efforts to convince the early Church of the genuineness of Saul's conversion.
Post code for your satnav: CR8 2HR
We have regular Sunday worship with Sunday School for children up to age 16. The church is very light and airy, and sits at the top of a hill a mile from the centre of Purley overlooking parts of the South Downs. The parish comprises approx. 2,500 homes.
There are two halls that are used by the local community for activities including exercise classes, dancing, dog training and an independent Pre-school. We also have very active Guide & Scout organisations for girls and boys aged 5 upwards.
There has been a church on the site for 100 years. The present building was constructed in 1958; it is simple and uncluttered, directing our attention to the Altar table and Cross. It is furnished with art, including the painting of "Madonna & Child" by John Hayward, an enamel 'Resurrection Cross' by local artist Lesley Miller and many fine Altar Frontals.