The Centre is named after the great Puritan theologian John Owen who exemplified in his day the kind of godly learning that is so needed today.

Owen is increasingly recognised as one of the greatest British theologians who drew upon the theologians of previous generations, understood and engaged his times, sought the good of the churches and above all loved and pondered the Scriptures. The Centre exists to promote such vital and learned godliness.

While the Centre seeks to be of benefit to all evangelical churches in the United Kingdom, it aims particularly to benefit the evangelical nonconformist or free churches.

Evangelicalism in the United Kingdom has a rich theological tradition exemplified by people such as D.M. Lloyd-Jones, C.H. Spurgeon, J.C. Ryle, Thomas Chalmers, Charles Simeon, Andrew Fuller, William Carey, George Whitefield, Daniel Rowland and before them the Puritans and the Reformers.