Arun Community Church was the new name given to Rustington Christian Fellowship, established by David Thatcher and his father-in-law John Smale in 1972 as a church plant from Littlehampton Baptist Church. The first public meeting was on Sunday 1 October in the small hall of Rustington Village Hall.

In March 1978, ACC was officially established as a separate church with John as the Pastor. David took over the senior leadership responsibility in September 1983. After running three congregations for a number of years, in 2001, Arun Community Church moved venue to the then Littlehampton Community School Sports Hall for its Sunday morning family service.

On October 10, 2010 David’s eldest daughter, Becca Jupp assumed the role of leader at ACC, supported by a wider team of leaders.