Mr Barnard said: "It was a lively talk and everyone found it very interesting indeed.
"Even the Methodists were learning things about their own history they never knew before."
A memorial stone was put in the wall of the church at the tower end commemorating a mission to China which started in 1885.
In 1970, the Bible Christians moved to Trinity Church, Burrage Road, Plumstead, leaving St Joseph's abandoned.
And in 1907, they were amalgamated with other methodist groups to form the United Methodist Church.
Many churches were knocked down or used for something else, which is why only three of
the original Bible Christian churches remain.
After the Bible Christians left, the building was purchased for £10,000 by St Peter's the Apostle church, Woolwich New Road, Woolwich, for its extra parishioners.
Retired policeman Mr Barnard, who has attended St Joseph's for 20 years, said: "It needed a lot of restoration, so the first services were held in a hall next door."
Part of the work involved removing altar rails from St Peter's and using them to form a rail around the lectern at St Joseph's.
In 1976, the building became the separate church of St Joseph's, with Father Michael Clifton as its first priest.
When it first opened, around 200 worshippers turned up. It now has a congregation of 350.
Between 1988 and 1998, the lectern and altar rails which had been brought from St Peter's were removed and replaced by the wooden lectern which is there today.
The current priest, Father James Kirby, has been at St Joseph's since 1998.
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