Beech Hill Church are a family with a mission. We’re a church that’s united by our love for Jesus, and a passion to see Him known and loved all across our area of Yorkshire.
What is our church like?
We’re a church of roughly 100 people (though you’ll never find us all there any one week!) We’re made of a mixture of ages, colours, backgrounds, and traditions. Many of us live in Otley, but quite a few are from Burley-in-Wharfedale, Ilkley and further afield. We’re probably a bit younger than you might expect for a church founded in 1916- about a quarter of our church are under 18.
Two things really mark us out as a fellowship:
- The first is community: It’s often hard to get people out of the building at the end of a meeting, and people meet up in the week to chat about life and faith.
- The second is the Bible: We love God’s Word because we love God. The Bible plays a central role in our church’s life.
What do we believe?
We are a mainstream Christian Church, believing and teaching the timeless truths of the Gospel, and presenting them afresh to a new generation.
Our church is built around three key ideas:
Preaching Christ | Teaching the Bible | Loving Others
We believe Jesus is the best news ever, and that everyone should hear about Him. We regularly put on events and courses to tell people about Jesus.
We believe that God speaks to us through His Word, the Bible, and so we spend a good portion of our meetings reading, examining, and trying to understand the Bible.
We believe that our faith needs to be lived out in action and so we put a real emphasis on our personal responsibility to love and care for others.
What Denomination are we?
We are an Independent Church which means we’re not part of a formal denomination. We are part of a family of Independent churches called the FIEC (the Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches). The FIEC is a family of around 650 churches all across the country, all with different names and backgrounds.
Regionally we are part of the Yorkshire Gospel Partnership which is made up of churches of different denominations (and none) such as the Church of England, Baptists, and Methodists, but sharing the same core beliefs and commitments as each other. There are similar Gospel Partnerships across the country.
Where are we?
Our church premises are at 20-24 Westgate in Otley. The bottom section of Westgate is traditionally called ‘Beech Hill’. Beech Hill Car Park is almost directly opposite our building and is free on evenings and Sundays.
A Walkthrough of a Sunday Morning
Most people who visit come along to our Sunday morning meeting.
Getting here...
If you are driving, right opposite the building there is Beech Hill Car Park which is free to park in on Sundays. There is usually plenty of space there.
The address of the building is 20-24 Westgate (this part is locally known as Beech Hill). There are two entrances. The righthand one is for wheelchairs.
As You Arrive...
As you come in by the lefthand door to the foyer there'll be someone there to welcome you and give you a notice sheet.
In the Main Hall...
When you go up the small flight of stairs (there is a stair lift if needed) in the main hall you'll find people of all ages from toddlers to pensioners.
There's no dress code or anything like that, so some people will be in jeans and t-shirt, some people will be dressed smarter. It really doesn't matter.
Normally people take a seat and chat until the meeting starts. There are no set seats, so don't be worried about sitting where someone always sits.
As the meeting starts...
The meeting itself starts at 10:30am. We normally start with a song. We usually sing a mixture of old and new songs. Most of the time we sing along to a piano (sometimes we sing along to a small band, but less often).
There are usually some news/notices, followed by someone praying from the front. Afterwards we usually sing again.
Then there's a kids' slot. Many of the children come and sit at the front and listen to a story from the Bible, but coming up to the front is not compulsory.
After that someone will read the passage of the Bible. There are Bibles on the seats, but also the passage is on the screen. We use a up-to-date translation called the English Standard Version.
There's normally another song- and during that song the 0-11s go off for their own groups upstairs in the building. We call those groups Heroes and Mini Heroes.
After the children have gone to their groups there is the Bible talk. We see this as a really crucial part of our morning and it normally lasts about 30 mins. The preacher explains the passage and helps us see its relevance and application for now.
At the end of the meeting...
We normally have a last song and then finish around 11:45am at the latest. The children come back down from their groups and most people stay around for a chat and refreshments at the end.
Find Out More
- Sundays
- Sunday Mornings
- Sunday Evenings
- Children's Groups
- Midweek Groups
- Meeting Point
- Home Groups
- Wednesday@2
- Men & Women
- Women@Beech Hill
- Men's Breakfasts
- Children
- Tots & Toys (0-3s)
- JellyBeans (3-6s)
- Cool Beans (4-11s)
- Tweens & Teens (12-18)