The present Barcelona-Centre Protestant Church has its origins in the Methodist Mission which the English missionary, William Thomas Brown, began in the city at the end of the 19th century.

Methodism, founded by the Anglican minister John Wesley, began as a movement of religious revival in the Anglican Church in the middle of the 18th century. Methodism was distinguished by its noticeable spiritual character and its social concern, derived from a belief in the concepts of Faith and Love. It spread throughout different countries in the five continents because of its missionary vocation. In Spain, the Methodist missionary, W. H. Rule, founded a mission in Cadiz in 1837, which, although was not particularly fruitful, is considered to be the first protestant institution in Spain.

It was not until the revolution of 1868 and thanks to the 1869 Constitution — which established the freedom of worship in Spain— that Methodism was established. The missionary, William Thomas Brown, arrived in Barcelona in 1869 and founded a school, following the Methodist tradition and taking advantage of the new freedom of education and the great need for schools. He translated the Methodist Catechism into Catalan (1869) for children at the same time as he began evangelising in the city.

In 1871, William Brown opened the first premises for worship on the first floor of 10 Abaixadors Street where he set up a place of worship, a day school and a Sunday school. In this way, the Barcelona-Centre community began its humble beginnings and, in spite of the economic difficulties and the religious intolerance, it grew under the leadership of Rev. J.R. Griffin (1874-1876), Rev. Robert Simpson (1876-1884) and Rev. J.G. Brown (1884-1896). The Church members discovered the sense of community and collaboration, since it was clearly a Church where all members participated and were active and they were expected to be morally and physically disciplined.

In 1892, the community moved to 16 Banys Nous Street but due to disagreements with neighbouring Catholics they were forced to move again. They moved to the premises at 63 Sant Pere Més Baix Street and then shortly afterwards moved again to number 80 on the same street, with the aim of having the place of worship and the schools together. Throughout these years, the community strengthened under the leadership of the Rev. F.G. Smith (1896-1916), who worked to reinforce evangelisation, the work with young people and to improve the area for the community. It was therefore in 1911, that new premises at 22 Ripoll Street were opened. The congregation grew progressively, thanks to the growth of the spiritual life of its members, the work of evangelisation and the excellent work of the schools, that played an important role in education in a society with little economic means.

The ministers Rev. W. Lord (1916-1924), Rev. S. Saunders (1924-1933) and Rev. J. Capó (1933-1939) continued the task of consolidation and growth of the Church. However, the beginning of the Spanish Civil War badly affected the life of the congregation. The Church of Barcelona-Centre, like many other protestant communities, was closed down until the 15th August 1937, when the Republican Government authorised the churches to open again. In spite of these events, the number of members of the Barcelona-Centre community grew spectacularly.

On 26th January 1939, Barcelona was taken over by the national troops. It was the beginning of a very difficult period in which all Protestant communities had to face new and serious problems, the persecution of some of their members and the closure of their places of worship and schools.

In 1940, at great risk, services in people’s homes began and it was not until 12th August 1945 that the Barcelona-Centre Church could open its doors again. Unfortunately, the problems continued and on 11th October 1947, the Church was raided by a group of young people “requetés” who destroyed the furniture and the place of worship.

In spite of all the difficulties, the life of the congregation grew with a feeling of enthusiasm and fervour and the number of members increased in the post-war years.

In 1951, after a great deal of searching, new premises were bought at 26 Tallers Street, previously a suitcase factory. On 17th January 1953, the present place of worship was opened thanks to the will, the generosity and the faith of the congregation, its pastor Benjamí Heras and its minister Rev. George Bell (1948-1955). He would be the last Methodist Superintendent, because in 1955 the Barcelona-Centre Church, with the other Methodist communities of Catalunya and Balears became members of the "Iglesia Evangélica Española (IEE)".

The Barcelona-Centre community with its ministers Samuel Capó (1955-1983), Enric Capó (1983-2000), Daniel Reyes (2000-2001), Ralph Baudisch (2002-2006) and Carles Capó (2007) has continued to follow the theological and doctrinal tradition of the Protestant Reformation of the 16th century, without forgetting its Methodist legacy of social concern. This concern has extended to the creation of a residential home for the elderly (1969), a collection point of second hand clothes for the poor, collaboration with a Children’s Centre in the Raval district and the opening of a Fair Trade shop (2000).

The ecumenical vocation is clearly seen in the open attitude towards dialogue and participation with the National and International Community of Churches and the Church is a member of the World Council of Churches, the Conference of European Churches, the Conference of Protestant Churches of the Latin Countries of Europe and the World Methodist Federation, and without detriment to its identity as a Protestant Church, it is open to ecumenical dialogue with the other Christian confessions.