Bible-Pattern Church Fellowship

Bible-Pattern churches were also Pentecostal in terms of their doctrine and style of worship, believing (in common with other evangelical churches), in repentance from sin and salvation through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ as described in the Bible, the baptism in the Holy Spirit, and maintaining that God had given spiritual gifts to the church which members should seek to experience, such as speaking in tongues, prophecy and healing.

Differences of opinion regarding church governance eventually led Jeffreys to withdraw from what later came to be called the Elim Pentecostal Church and form the first Bible-Pattern Church Fellowship in Nottingham in 1939. A number of other local churches were subsequently founded in various parts of Britain.

Theologically, it can be seen as an offshoot of the Elim Pentecostal Church and, in terms of doctrine was similar, except for its espousal of the doctrines of British Israelism. It was for some time popular in the 1940s and 1950s, attracting many adherents to an annual Convention in London's Westminster Central Hall.

The church group suffered a decline in numbers in the later years of the 1960s but still exists as a separate entity, with several member churches in the UK and abroad. However its main church, Kensington Temple, has become the central London church of the Elim Pentecostal Church.

The original Nottingham church whilst remaining a Bible Pattern church has also linked with the Elim Pentecostal Church in Elim Church Incorporated, as have several others of the still functioning original BPCF churches.

Further information may be obtained from the current General Secretary of the Bible Pattern Church Fellowship, Rev Una Macmillan Tel. 01226 791952