In faith the Orr-Ewings, and 2 other couples moved from London into the South Buckinghamshire area. The Minster was born in a rental house in Beaconsfield with a particular focus on reaching the rising generation. Young people in their twenties and thirties began to gather and encounter Christ. The church moved into Beaconsfield High School and some older people joined as well. A year later the Orr-Ewings were able to buy Stampwell Farm. The hand drawn map from the vision shows exactly the location of the farm with the train line going across the back boundary. It seems that God gave us a very specific piece of land. The farm was derelict and the work of conservation began. Stampwell Farm is referenced in the Doomsday Book. It had many acres of fruit trees - mainly plums and cherries which supplied fruit to London, but had been untended and were in very poor condition. The Minster began to meet in one of the barns but when we outgrew that, we got a tent and erected it on the old threshing floor of this Saxon farm. The first summer after we began to worship on the farm the plum trees burst into life and there was so much fruit that branches snapped off under the weight of it.

The Minster vision of land, conservation, theological education, work, entrepreneurialism, church planting and resourcing, hospitality and prayer ran in parallel with a local congregation drawn from residents in striking distance of the farm, who were drawn to Christ and to the vision. Other congregations and projects were planted or supported in West London, Walsall Heathlands, Ascot and Windsor. The original Beaconsfield congregation which grew quite large is now an independent self-governing church meeting elsewhere. Daily prayer and worship continue to happen at the Minster at Stampwell Farm and new services and small groups are bubbling up. We are committed to the wider Disciple Making Movement in the global church and we resource micro churches and home churches with teaching, leadership training and prayer.

The original Celtic Minsters were monastic communities and centres which were known for their emphasis on working sustainably with the land, as well as providing sustainable leadership to much smaller communities further afield. This has been our story so far too. The first Minsters were also communities of work and food production. We have a coffee roastery Nuach and many people exploring other ways of integrating their work and faith as part of the community at the Minster. The life of the farm runs in parallel holistically with the ministry and the grazing systems and principles of land management have been inspired by a theological vision of creation care, pointing to a loving, nurturing God. Many people have experienced the presence of God for the first time at the farm. It is a thin place - a place where the Lord is worshipped and the very soil, trees, bluebells and meadows join us in praise.

The Minster has a calling to be a safe place for people wounded and traumatised by life and it has proven to be a refuge for people who have previously experienced the pain of spiritual abuse or toxic church politics. We believe in healing in community and this safety is a precious thing. People are free and our freedom matters. So whilst the Minster has clear theological commitments and prioritises the Scriptures and an openness to the Holy Spirit we do not believe in leadership models that control others. Christ is the Lord and we are his servants. We do have visionaries and founders and trustees. We trust them to listen to God, to teach the word and to serve God and people, but each disciple of Christ is ultimately responsible for their own walk with him, not controlled or dominated by others.