Pontyberem is the largest of the coal mining settlements in the Gwendraeth Fawr valley, and its centre dates largely to the late ninteenth- early twentieth century. St John's Church is sited in a rectilinear churchyard, immediately south of the B4317, in the village centre. The church was built in 1893-1894, to the designs of William Griffiths.

The building consists of nave and chancel, and has a simple interior with open roofs, and a chancel arch on corbels. The east window has stained glass dating to 1955, by Celtic studios. Stained glass in the nave's north window is by John Petts, and dates to 1972. The two north windows have stained glass dating to 1991 and 1992, by Gareth Jones.

Sources include:
Lloyd, T, Orbach, J and Scourfield, R, 2006, The Buildings of Wales: Carmarthenshire and Ceredigion

N Vousden, RCAHMW, 4 February 2013