Formed circa 1998 (the team was “17 years ago, consisting of 12 members” per the 2015 booklet) Leader of record (2015): Sister Irene Barrett [Current leader — to confirm]

The Evangelistic Team carries the good news of Jesus Christ into the wider community through street witness, tract distribution, prayer outreach and partnership work. It stands in a tradition that goes back almost to the founding of the church itself: on 24 April 1893 the newly-formed Young Men’s Society began holding open-air services in Harley Road, and the first weekly Open Air Services by the Christian Endeavour Society at Lower Place began on 26 August 1896. The street witness of HBC has changed shape across the generations but never stopped.

The team in its current form was founded around 1998 with twelve members and has, in the words of its 2015 chapter, “ventured out by engaging in witnessing and distributing gospel tracts around the Jubilee Clock area of Harlesden.” The Jubilee Clock — the focal landmark of Harlesden High Street — has been the team’s regular Saturday witness post for many years, reaching shoppers and passers-by who would not otherwise step inside a church.

Beyond the High Street the team also serves as an outreach group to the wider Stonebridge community, conducting prayer meetings led faithfully by the team leader. HBC is also a member of Churches Together in Stonebridge and Harlesden, the local ecumenical partnership, and the team’s outreach work is partly conducted alongside other local congregations addressing inequality, poverty, and the spiritual needs of the area.

The team’s stated aim, recorded in the 2015 Anniversary Booklet: “to continue to evangelize in the name of Jesus Christ, so that souls may be won for the Kingdom.”

Sources: [125th] pp. 47–48; [Web History]; [Centenary] (open-air services 1893, 1896).