Our History
The Plymouth Brethren Christian Church has been part of British life since the 1820s, with a rich heritage of worship, witness and service.
Two centuries of the PBCC in Britain
The origins of the Church are in the United Kingdom and Ireland, with our heritage woven into the fabric of British religious and social history. While the fellowship has spread worldwide, its roots remain closely connected to Britain and Ireland.
Our Early History
The Brethren movement traces its origins to the 1820s, when groups of Christians began gathering simply, without denominational structures, to worship. Since then, the fellowship has spread beyond the UK and across the globe.
What united them was a conviction that the established churches had drifted from New Testament simplicity, and a desire to return to the teachings and practices of early Christianity.
Plymouth itself has a long religious history and is closely associated with the Pilgrim Fathers, who sailed from the city to America in 1620 in search of religious freedom.
During the nineteenth century, the city again became linked with a movement seeking to live out Christianity in a simple and practical way. Then known simply as “the Brethren”, early congregations met in simple meeting rooms for the Lord’s Supper and the preaching of the gospel.
The name “Plymouth Brethren” arose because the assembly in Plymouth, Devon, became particularly prominent in the movement’s early years, with some of the founding teachers coming from the naval city.
By 1829, permanent meetings had been established, and Plymouth had developed into one of the principal centres of the growing Brethren movement.
Twentieth Century
By the beginning of the twentieth century, the Plymouth Brethren were an established part of Christian life in Britain and Ireland, while the fellowship that had begun here had grown into an international community.
The century brought great challenges, particularly through the First and Second World Wars, with many members serving as medics, stretcher-bearers, nurses and support workers.
The foundations for a global fellowship had been laid in the nineteenth century, as members moved to North and South America, Africa, Australia and New Zealand. In the twentieth century, those connections deepened through ministry, family links, migration and shared Christian fellowship.
Throughout the twentieth century, new meeting rooms continued to be established across the United Kingdom as congregations grew in towns and cities throughout England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Members of the Church continued to be active members of their communities, particularly through family businesses that grew to be at the heart of local economies and community life across Britain.
Education became an increasingly important part of community life, and in 1994, members of the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church established an independent school network, now known as OneSchool Global. This has since grown into an international network of schools serving Church families in the UK and across the world.
The Church in Britain continued to uphold the principles that had marked its beginnings: the centrality of the Lord’s Supper, commitment to Scripture, Christian family life, service, and fellowship. In later years, the name Plymouth Brethren Christian Church became more widely used as the official name of the Church in the UK and internationally.
The PBCC Today
Today, there are more than 55,000 members of the PBCC community across the globe, with around 18,000 members here in the United Kingdom.
Members of the PBCC continue to contribute to communities across the United Kingdom through business, education, charitable initiatives and local volunteering, while maintaining the same principles of worship and fellowship that have shaped the Church since its earliest days.
This commitment is reflected through the work of the Rapid Relief Team (RRT), which was established in 2013 and provides practical support during emergencies, community events and charitable initiatives across the United Kingdom.
The Church has also adapted to advances in technology and communication, embracing modern technology in areas such as education, business and community life, but still ensuring it is used responsibly and in keeping with Christian values.
While the Church has grown internationally over the past 200 years, its roots remain firmly connected to Britain and Ireland, where the movement first began in the 1820s.