There has been a church on this site since 1142 and it has continued to bring the people of Poole together through prayer, gathering, worship and service. We still aim to do that today and believe that St James' Church is a place of Christian worship where all are welcome.

Welcome
  • All are welcome to our services! 
  • Within our congregation, we have those who have come from evangelical, Anglo-Catholic, traditional, and conservative backgrounds, and who come together in unity here to worship Jesus.
  • In communion services, we welcome all to the table who know and love Jesus, or who would want to know and love him more.
  • We often find people of all ages present in our congregations. There are those who have been faithful believers for 90 years and those who are just exploring faith for the first time.

Worship
  • We are part of the Church of England and the Diocese of Salisbury.
  • We hold to the teachings and practices of Jesus as understood by the Anglican Church.
  • We have a very informal style of worship, and although we tend to follow liturgy from Common Worship for our morning services.
  • We dress plainly, and enjoy an informal approach to worship. 
  • Our music can involve the organ, a grand piano, and also a modern worship band.

Word 
  • We believe that part of our role is to help grow disciples of Jesus.
  • We strongly believe that the Bible is God Breathed and contains truth that is highly relevant to this generation.
  • We believe in the power of prayer and encourage private and collective moments for prayer. 
  • We have several small groups in existence which meet at different parts of the day and week and provide a safe space to know more about the Bible and how it can shape our lives today.
  • We regularly hold discipleship training courses, such as Alpha, the Bible Course, and the Prayer Course to help all those on a faith journey learn more.

Witness
  • As the former civic parish church for Poole, we still play an active role in the local community.*
  • We often host civic events and services for the local community, such as our annual "Service of the Sea" and hosting the mayoral elections.
  • We use our church buildings to bless the local community, through the foodbank, toddler groups, pilates, elections and concerts.

*Since Poole was joined with Bournemouth and Christchurch in 2019, Poole no longer has a civic council.