Hopes are high a new Baptist church can flourish in an historic Haslemere chapel that closed in 2018.

Hope Chapel in Lower Street is opening its doors once again this Sunday (March 1) at 6pm.

Flourishing independent Baptist community Grace Church Guildford has been given the opportunity of using Hope Chapel as a new centre of worship in Haslemere.

Rather than sell the chapel, which was founded in 1862, the building’s charity trustees Grace Baptist Trust have invited Grace Church Guildford to hold Sunday evening services there for six months to gauge if there is sufficient support for a new lease of life.

Throughout 2019, monthly prayer meetings have been held there and hopes are high the new Sunday evening service – starting this weekend from 6pm to 7pm – will be well attended.

The Rev Dr John Benton, the former pastor of Grace Church Guildford, who is currently director of pastoral support and a lecturer at London Seminary, will be doing much of the preaching over the next six months.

The long-standing editor of monthly newspaper Evangelicals Now, he is the author of five books on Christianity.

Mr Benton said: “About a year after it closed, some friends and I obtained the key to the old chapel.

“It was a winter’s Saturday morning but as we opened the door the sun shone and the chapel was in such good condition it just seemed to be saying to us ‘here I am ready to go – do something’, so we felt we had to give it a try.

“On Sunday evenings at Hope Chapel, we are looking at the New Testament book of Romans, where God is described as the God of Hope.”