King’s Way Church began life as a student bible study in Queen’s University in 1970. Led by student Robert Mearns it was held in Ken and Liz Brown’s staff flat. After Robert graduated the group continued to meet but when Ken and Robert both moved with their families to Dunmurry in 1971, the group was passed to new leaders who formed it into the Belgravia Fellowship.
Robert and Ken continued to meet in their homes for worship and when the numbers reached about thirty Robert gave up his job with the Northern Ireland Electricity Service to become full time paid pastor. Ken became the first chairman of Dunmurry Christian Trust, the charity set up to oversee the church’s financial affairs. With a particular burden to reach the un-churched and socially marginalised the group grew to the point where it was necessary to hire a succession of community halls, hotels and ultimately the Belfast Bible College to accommodate Sunday worship.
In 1992 the church members agreed to purchase a vacant furniture store on Kingsway, the main street in Dunmurry, which thus provided an appropriate new name for the church. It was a financial stretch but God has been so faithful and has enabled the trustees to continue to allocate at least fifty per cent of the church’s annual income to mission, both locally and overseas. It was also in 1992 that Robert and his family felt a call to the United States where they have ministered ever since, supported by King’s Way and returning regularly to their home church in Dunmurry. Stephen Rodgers, who had started coming to the church as a very young teenager, succeeded him as pastor.