History
Early Years
The foundational concepts of Arun Community Church were rooted in community living, sharing the Christian life together, and reaching out to others.
John Smale and David Thatcher, both Elders of Littlehampton Baptist Church had moved to Rustington, a near-by village. They were given the mandate to establish a community of believers in Rustington, and started meeting in a home. The first public meeting was held on 1st October 1972 in the Rustington Village Hall. The group, originally known as Rustington Baptist Fellowship, was led by John Smale, and was established as a separate church in 1979.
The Fellowship grew steadily, and further home groups were formed. In 1983 David Thatcher left school teaching and took over the pastoral role. During 1989, with the Village Hall reaching capacity, two home groups now meeting in Littlehampton were sent out to run a Sunday morning meeting in the Littlehampton School. 5 years later both congregations joined together again to create a larger expression of Church in the Littlehampton School.
In 1992 the church rented some offices in Rustington to facilitate the administration, which were later purchased. A pre-school playgroup was set up in the building as a service to the local community, and became known as the Play Centre.
Cutting Edge
In the same year, the church youth leaders, Stew Smith and Becca Jupp, started a monthly Sunday evening youth meeting called Cutting Edge, with Martin Smith invited to lead the worship. These meetings quickly became very popular, and over the next few years grew to regular gatherings of over 1,000 people meeting in the Littlehampton School Sports Hall. Each July a Cutting Edge event was held on Beach Green, Littlehampton, attracting crowds of thousands. In 1996, the Cutting Edge band went full time and became Delirious. The Big Day Out gathering in 2002 saw 12,000 people for a one-day music festival on The Green.
In 2001, Arun Community Church moved venue to the Littlehampton Community School Sports Hall for its Sunday morning meeting, this being the largest hall in the area.
Wickbourne
Wickbourne Chapel, a local Brethren Assembly, built on a Littlehampton housing estate as a mission church in the 1960s, was incorporated into the church, together with the Chapel building during 2001. At the same time, discussions were taking place with Sure Start, a government agency co- ordinating help for young children and their parents, who were seeking a base in that area of Littlehampton. This resulted in the old Chapel being demolished and replace with a new £1.3 million centre, financed mainly by Sure Start, but owned by the church.
This Wickbourne Centre was opened in 2005, comprising a 50-place Play Centre, hall, offices, meeting rooms and coffee bar. Arun Community Church, Sure Start and the WIRE, a community project run by Spurgeon’s Child Care, share the facility.