About Village Hope
Our status, purpose and objective
Village Hope is a Christian charity and company limited by guarantee, with a remit for rural churches and communities.
Our charitable purpose is “to proclaim and live out the gospel of Jesus Christ in the villages of Britain, in order to establish effective Christian witness, and to encourage and enable Bible teaching, prayer, worship and evangelism in village churches”.
We believe that the Gospel of Jesus Christ offers hope to all humanity, for this life and the life to come, and that the Bible both sets forth the way of salvation through faith in Jesus and offers a way to live and a coherent vision and timeless values for society.
Village Hope is a member of the Evangelical Alliance, and its staff and trustees affirm the Evangelical Alliance’s Basis of Faith.
We also believe that Christians, especially those who live in rural areas, have the privilege and responsibility, as stewards of God’s creation, to celebrate and care for His land and for the Earth, which He created and sustains.
Our objective is to encourage, strengthen, support and resource those who seek to live a Christian life, serve their communities, and witness to the hope of the Gospel of Jesus Christ in Britain’s villages.
Our story
1893
Village Hope was founded in 1919 as the Friends Evangelistic Band (FEB). But our origins go back to the previous century, to a prayer fellowship started in 1893 under the name of the Friends Prayer League.
Through the Prayer League, people were called to commit themselves to Jesus Christ and to obey the voice of the Holy Spirit.
1917
In 1917, members of the League met for a three-day prayer conference in Birmingham. They came away recognising their failure to fulfil the Great Commission and the urgent need for a ‘new evangelism’.
1919
Two years after the Birmingham conference, in 1919, the Friends Evangelistic Band was launched. The work began with horse-drawn caravans travelling around the country with Bible texts on the sides and workers engaging in open-air witness.
Ten years later, the focus began to switch to villages, under the leadership of Percy Tyler.
Through the 1930s and 1940s, from its small beginnings, the Friends Evangelistic Band grew into a missionary organisation, with its own magazine, youth wing, conference and headquarters.
Books and tracts were published, poster campaigns sponsored in railway stations, and letters of encouragement and exhortation were sent through the difficult war years, and continued after. The work of itinerant evangelists flourished, small village churches were founded, and existing ones acquired, as the reputation of FEB grew.
1969
In 1969, our name was changed to the Fellowship for Evangelising Britain’s Villages, but our work continued as before, albeit in a rapidly changing spiritual climate.
2012
In 2012, a new chapter began under the new name of Village Hope. Over several years, the chapels we still owned were gifted to the congregations and Village Hope embraced a new vision and took a new direction, faithful to the heritage received from our founders yet relevant to 21C rural Britain.
2025
In 2025 the team grew with the addition of a new Head of Mission and Chief Operating Officer. His role is to ‘put the boots back on the ground’ to fulfil our primary purpose of encouraging and increasing mission across rural Britain. We also took on the role of supporting a new mission ministry to farmers, Farmgate Network.
2026
At the end of 2025 our Executive Director retired, and from the start of 2026 we have a new National Director to steer us in this new chapter for Village Hope.