5 Mar 2026, 12:15Southampton Seventh-day Adventist Church Communications DepartmentSouthampton, Southampton, England, United Kingdom
A New Address for Southampton Seventh-day Adventist Church
It is with great joy that the Southampton Seventh-day Adventist Church members finally received the keys to their new church building on 12 February 2026 after more than six months of delays.
The most notable obstacle was linked to the historic role the church played as the first established congregation in the British Isles. The church was established in 1880 as the “Tract and Missionary Society” and later the “International Tract Society,” which was a common step in the beginnings of Adventist mission work in Europe. To proceed with the sale, the solicitors needed evidence to confirm the change of the name to Stanborough Press. It was not clear who held the archives relating to this part of its history, and the initial searches were futile. After much prayer as a church, Pastor Božidar Prgonjić was impressed to reach out to the Stanborough Press editor, Pastor Dusanka Rancic. Providentially, she had been compiling the history of Stanborough Press in preparation for their 140th anniversary and recalled reviewing copies of the relevant documents as part of her research. There was great joy when these copies and other communications from the time were accepted by the solicitors, allowing the sale to proceed.
The church was faced with many more challenges, but with much prayer, patience, and the evidence of God’s leading at earlier steps, the removal day arrived. Several members, young and old, took time off to assist in moving many accumulated belongings down the road from 157 Shirley Road to the new address, 257 Shirley Road. Pastor Rio Espulgar, the South England Conference Family Ministries Director, came over and “put his shoulders to the work” in the spirit of Nehemiah, which was a welcome blessing.
The Southampton church congregation will temporarily meet at a local college while essential renovations take place. The church keenly looks forward to soon welcoming the local Southampton community and wider area to this building, which will be a place of worship, fellowship, a mission hub, and a heritage centre showcasing the beginnings and progress of the Advent Movement in the British Isles.
It is with great joy that the Southampton Seventh-day Adventist Church members finally received the keys to their new church building on 12 February 2026 after more than six months of delays.
The most notable obstacle was linked to the historic role the church played as the first established congregation in the British Isles. The church was established in 1880 as the “Tract and Missionary Society” and later the “International Tract Society,” which was a common step in the beginnings of Adventist mission work in Europe. To proceed with the sale, the solicitors needed evidence to confirm the change of the name to Stanborough Press. It was not clear who held the archives relating to this part of its history, and the initial searches were futile. After much prayer as a church, Pastor Božidar Prgonjić was impressed to reach out to the Stanborough Press editor, Pastor Dusanka Rancic. Providentially, she had been compiling the history of Stanborough Press in preparation for their 140th anniversary and recalled reviewing copies of the relevant documents as part of her research. There was great joy when these copies and other communications from the time were accepted by the solicitors, allowing the sale to proceed.
The church was faced with many more challenges, but with much prayer, patience, and the evidence of God’s leading at earlier steps, the removal day arrived. Several members, young and old, took time off to assist in moving many accumulated belongings down the road from 157 Shirley Road to the new address, 257 Shirley Road. Pastor Rio Espulgar, the South England Conference Family Ministries Director, came over and “put his shoulders to the work” in the spirit of Nehemiah, which was a welcome blessing.
The Southampton church congregation will temporarily meet at a local college while essential renovations take place. The church keenly looks forward to soon welcoming the local Southampton community and wider area to this building, which will be a place of worship, fellowship, a mission hub, and a heritage centre showcasing the beginnings and progress of the Advent Movement in the British Isles.
