Church History

Harvest Church began life as Alton Evangelical Free Church (AEFC), founded in May 1949. It was established by a group of Christians who felt that their evangelical and bible-based beliefs were not welcome in the existing churches in the town.

Today we are a church of nearly 250 members, and with a congregation of 300 or more. We employ two full-time and two part-time staff. Our ministry stretches beyond the bounds of Alton , and further than Four Marks and Bentley. God has blessed us, and we are in faith for more. But it has not always been that way.
Perhaps you are a relative newcomer to the church and know almost nothing about our past; or maybe you have been with us for years and will recognise some of the names, faces and places that will appear on these pages. Whichever you are – my prayer is that as you read about the challenges and achievements of Harvest Church you will see that God has His guiding hand on this particular expression of His people. Even though we sometimes take the wrong turn, He remains faithful and brings us through to the place where He wants us to be.

It all began on the evening of 11th May 1949, when a group of seventeen people gathered at 19, Lenton Street. All were Christians, and most felt that their evangelical and bible-based beliefs were not welcome in the existing churches in the town. One of the leaders of the group was local farmer Fred Lerwill, who would be a leading figure in the church for many of the next twenty years. His daughter, Jean Stevenson, is still an active member of Harvest Church today.

Fred Lerwill originated in Devon, and had a Baptist background. In his early years he travelled to Australia and New Zealand in search of somewhere to farm. Then the First World War broke out and he joined the ANZACs, the Australian and New Zealand troops who rallied to Britain’s aid. He was wounded in action, and after the war returned to New Zealand with his new wife Alice. It was here that Jean and her sister were born.

1920's

In the 1920’s Fred and Alice returned to England and began farming in Rotherwick, just north of Hook. For a while they worshipped with the Baptists in Hook, but Fred was asked to look after the Methodist chapel in Rotherwick, which he did.

1930's

In 1931 Fred, Alice and their two daughters moved to Amery Farm in Alton, near to St Lawrence Church. They attended Alton Methodist Church but over the years became disenchanted with the rise of ‘modernist’, liberal theology, which was not based on the Bible. At one point a church steward told Fred that if he was unhappy with the church he should leave it – and they were probably very surprised when that was exactly what he did in the spring of 1949.

The country town of Alton was a very different place sixty years ago. The Second World War was still fresh in peoples’ memories – it was less than ten years since bombs had fallen on houses in Anstey, killing five people. The town was still connected to the south coast by a railway line. The tower of Crowley’s Brewery dominated the skyline; replaced today by Sainsbury’s. The population in 1949 was around 8,500 people, less than half of what it is today, and not surprisingly many of the current housing estates – Greenfields, Wooties, Ashdell, the Manor estate, and all the houses along the Ridgeway did not exist.

In addition to Fred and Alice Lerwill, the other people involved in the formation of Alton Evangelical Fellowship were Mr & Mrs A C Edmonds, Mr & Mrs D J Edmonds, Rev Fidge, and Rev & Mrs Smithers. The Rev Smithers was appointed as Secretary, and it was agreed that he could use the title Pastor, although for administrative reasons he ceased to be involved with the fellowship by September 1949.

1950's

The fellowship held their first meetings in the Alton Assembly Rooms. There were probably a couple of dozen or so at these gatherings, which followed what we now refer to as a ‘hymn sandwich’ pattern. In around 1950 the fellowship became involved with the running of the newly refurbished Wield Chapel, and there followed a Sunday pattern of morning meetings in Alton and evening meetings in Wield.

There are very few records of the first decade of the fellowship’s existence. We do know that in 1952 the members, numbering perhaps twenty, voted to join the FIEC (Federation of Independent Evangelical Churches), considered meeting at 19 Lenten Street rather than the Assembly Rooms. According to Jean they were becoming fed up with the smell of beer and the presence of beer barrels in their place of worship.

In 1957 the fellowship decided to change its name to ‘Evangelical Free Church – Alton’, although this seems to have soon become the more familiar AEFC that we knew until a few years ago.

Another significant event took place in1957. 19 Lenton Street had served them well as a home; it was owned by Fred Lerwill and others, but it was not ideal for the growing congregation that they had faith for. So on 26th June 1957 they opened a Building Fund, and on 3rd July the first donation was received – of 6 shillings and 3 pence. A new era had begun in the life of this small country church.

The story of a church is the story of a group of people brought together by a common faith and vision. Part 1 of this history concentrated on Fred Lerwill, who played a key role during the early years. Others involved in those days included the Edmonds family, of whom we now know very little. Between them Mr A Curtis Edmonds and Mr D John Edmonds chaired many of early committee and members meetings, and other family members made up a reasonable percentage of those attending.

It was probably through the Edmonds family connection that the Alton church became involved in running the Methodist Chapel at Wield. Evening services were held in the chapel, and these appear to have been something on a strain on resources – in 1955 the church was unwilling to commence evening services in Alton because of its other commitments, including Wield. There appears to have been reluctance for those at Wield to take more responsibility for their own affairs. In October 1957 the church did begin its own evening services, and responsibility for services at Wield was passed to those attending the Chapel, although there would still be “help from Alton friends.” The relationship with Wield Chapel continued into the 1960’s.

1957 was a significant year in the life of what was still a relatively new fellowship of believers. They decided to adopt the name ‘church’ rather than ‘fellowship’, and they began a building fund in order to purchase their own building. Evening services commenced in October, and in November a Sunday School was established with 8 children attending. A diaconate of three was formed – a group of men with formal responsibilities for managing the affairs of the church, in conjunction with the Chairman, Secretary and Treasurer.

Two years later, in May 1959, the church reached its 10th anniversary. There is no evidence that the event was celebrated. Most of our information from this time comes from the church minute book, which does not shed much life of the spiritual life of the congregation. It does reveal their concern with the minutia of church life – the format for communion, how the chairs were to be set out, and the importance of rotas. The minutes of the Deacons’ Meeting in September 1958 include the following decision: “The somewhat noisy door catch to be oiled, to see if less disturbing.”

1960's

There are glimpses into more significant matters – the Sunday School had over 50 children in attendance, and there was a strong focus on outreach to young people. In 1960 a baptism was arranged, which presented a challenge for a church without the facilities for full immersion. A note in the minutes reads “..the local Strict Baptist Church was willing for the church to be borrowed for this purpose, but the absence of electricity made arrangements difficult.” In addition to Sunday services there were evening Bible Studies and prayer meetings, and the believers’ heart for the lost was shown in the Hospital services at Treloars and a continuing enthusiasm for evangelistic events.

In 1960 the church was still meeting in 19 Lenton Street, owned by Fred Lerwill. Membership was not increasing. The Secretary’s Report for that year states: “Membership – smaller than ever owing to 2 resignations, now 20 + 1 junior. Should be cause for prayerful concern, esp. in view of desire for expansion in work.”

This expansion in work included the construction of a new building in which the church would meet. At the same meeting to which the Secretary reported concern about numbers (and there were only fourteen people present), the plans for the new building were displayed. The Building Fund stood at £270 8s 7d – it was estimated they would need £3,000 to complete the work. This small fellowship had faith for growth.

The land for the new building had been generously donated by Fred Lerwill, who gave a corner of the field in front of Amery Farm. The new building, a prefabricated cedarwood structure, would only take three weeks to erect, but it took over a year for the necessary planning permissions and issues of access to be resolved. Finally an opening date of Saturday 24th March 1962 was agreed upon. The total cost had risen to £4,300.

At the same time as they were planning the new building, the fellowship also entertained the idea of taking on a pastor. A number of names were circulated, many of them being ‘retired’ pastors who were happy to take on a part-time role. A possible change of church name was also discussed, as it was felt that many local Christians did not know what sort of church AEFC was. If a word such a ‘Baptist’ was added to the name, it would become more familiar. However, no change was made.

The opening of the new building was a time of celebration for AEFC. Invitations to the dedicatory service were sent out to friends of the church. Fiona Stevenson, the young granddaughter of Fred Lerwill, and daughter of Bruce and Jean Stevenson, handed the keys to the visiting speaker, Rev Evans. There was a recital on the new Lowrey electronic organ.

The invitation letters, newspaper reports and grainy black and white photographs of the opening all appear very formal and dated. But behind them (or ‘in them’, in the case of the pictures) were real people – real Christians with a living faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and with a desire to share this faith with the community in which they lived. The new building, and the search for a pastor, were expressions of their desire to broadcast the gospel in this corner of Hampshire.

On Saturday 26th March 1962 the members of Alton Evangelical Free Church celebrated the opening of their new building on Amery Hill. As they listened to a recital on the new Lowrey organ they would not have realised how significant that year would be for the world: in 1962 the Cuban Missile Crises brought a real fear of nuclear war; US President John F Kennedy committed his nation to putting a man on the moon, and the Beatles signed a recording contract and became the icons of a changing culture. 3524535321090f59d962

In January 1965 it was proposed to appoint a ‘moderator or pastor. Up to this time the church had been led by a small group of men who had full-time occupations, such as farmer Fred Lerwill and Bruce Stevenson, a vet. A minister would, by definition, have a ministry. The name of Rev A Comley was proposed, and there being no other nominations, he was accepted.

A month later the church meeting voted, by 12 to nil, to appoint Rev Comley as Pastor ‘in this time of the church’s greatest need’. Clearly it was felt that the input of a minister was required, and Rev Comley was the man for the moment. His was a part-time position and the church could not afford to provide somewhere to live in Alton, so he and his wife remained in their home which was 10 miles away from town. However, the church did agree to set up a ‘Manse Fund’ in order to buy somewhere at a later date.

It is interesting to read this from the minutes of the 1965 annual church meeting: ‘the Pastor spoke of his vision for the church in the future – a vision of outreach towards the souls of Alton and around, with possibly a Gospel Team with its own transport, which could also be used for bringing the elderly to meetings and services’. He also wanted to establish a church library, and hold a Missionary Exhibition. The minutes of meetings around that time also talk of a bookstall, and hint at a coffee bar.Both are now part of the church's ministry to the community.

On the evening of 16th April 1966 David and Cherrill Cornick were received into membership. David and Cherrill are still active members of today’s Harvest Church and they say a lot has changed in the last forty years. Services used to be “very traditional”, with a one person leading all the way through. There was a midweek prayer and bible study meeting which they remember as being “very formal”.

October 1966 saw the church putting on the ‘North Hants Missionary Exhibition Convention’ – a week long event which attracted over a thousand people. For a church with a membership of around 25 people this was a major undertaking. A number of major missionary societies were involved, giving presentations on their work overseas.

For several years Bruce Stevenson wrote an annual report on the church, which was published at the AGM. In June 1967 he wrote: ‘Our year covers the second year of our Pastor’s ministry, and as his church secretary I contemplate his resignation with sadness. Whatever human failings he may have, he has preached the Word of God fearlessly and has served energetically in every sphere of the Church.’ Sadly, Rev Comley’s short time as the first Pastor of the church had come to an end.

For the rest of the decade the church contemplated a replacement for Rev Comley, but no one suitable was found. Other issues that were addressed by the church in the late 1960’s were the extension of their premises on Amery Hill to include a new room, and the purchase of a church minibus.

The church does not appear to have grown very much during the 1960’s, if attendance at church meetings is anything to go by. There were usually no more than twenty-people present, although at the last meeting in 1969 the numbers had risen to twenty-four.

The 1960’s are remembered as the decade in which the world was changed forever. But some things remained the same. The Christians of Alton Evangelical Free Church continued to meet together to pray, study the Bible and worship. They continued to reach out to town growing around them. They remained faithful to the service of Jesus, and to the establishment of His Kingdom.
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Finally

Finally - one minor footnote in this history of the 1960’s was the establishment of the church newletter. The first edition, just a single sheet of paper, was published in January 1964, with Bruce Stevenson as editor. The main ‘article’ was a short note about support for Mr & Mrs Dresser, who were ‘our’ missionaries with the Sudan Interior Mission.

The newsletter had a shaky start. It was intended to be monthly, but the third edition did not happen because of a lack of material. However, Bruce persevered with this new method of communication, and on 14th December 1967 it was decided to give the Newsletter a proper name. ‘One’ was suggested, as was ‘WON-ONE’. But the winner, by a narrow margin (supported by eight out of the fourteen people present) was the name ‘Vision’.