News from the Networks

 

East Kent network

Queens Road Baptist Church

Queens Road, BROADSTAIRS, CT10 1NU
01843 861055
www.qrbc.net      Email    
Ministers: Revd Stephen Cave, Revd Samuel Hearle & Revd Rhodri Walters

 

 

News:

• In June 2011 over 1100 people from the community visited the new facilities at Queens Road as the church celebrated its re-opening

• Since June a Monday to Friday café has been opened; increased numbers are accessing the activities provided through the Gap project; more community interest and usage of the facilities; people undertaking the Alpha course and new people attending Sunday worship

Please pray for:

• That we will be able to get the structures in place for the smooth running of the facilities

• That through our life and witness people will experience something of the Kingdom and want explore faith

• That our hearts will be fully committed to the Lord and that we will faithfully continue the journey He has called us too

   

East Sussex network

Ringmer Baptist Church 

meets at: Ringmer Village Hall, Lewes Road, RINGMER, BN8 5QH
office: 3 Tile Barn Close, ISFIELD, TN22 5EZ
www.ringmerbaptist.org.uk      Email    
Minister: pastoral vacancy

 

News:

• Ringmer Baptist Church is situated right in the heart of the village of Ringmer in East Sussex. Our regular Sunday Services are held in the main hall of Ringmer Village Hall and we run a Sunday Club for children ranging from age 2 to 15! We strive to be a warm and welcoming fellowship open to all who either love the Lord Jesus as their Saviour or who are seeking to find answers in a world that offers few. The aim of the church is simple: ‘To glorify God by upholding the authority of Scripture, caring for one another and by serving and witnessing Christ within our community.

• Although at present we are a small fellowship we are blessed with many spiritual gifts and have a heart for prayer, outreach and bible study. In addition to our Sunday Services we hold both a prayer meeting and Home Group during the week where there is opportunity to study God’s Word and to share with each other what God is doing in our lives.

Please pray for:

• Our continued growth spiritually and that we might bear much fruit.

• That we would know God’s Will and guiding as we look to call additional Deacons to the leadership team this Spring.

• That our outreach efforts and individual witnessing would result in people wanting to know more about our Lord Jesus Christ.

   

Gatwick Network

Life Community Baptist Church

Church meets on a Sunday between 10.00 – 13.00:
at Business Enterprise Centre, The Forest School, Comptons Lane, Horsham, West Sussex.  RH13 5NW
Correspondence Address:
C/o 190 St. Leonards Road, Horsham, West Sussex.  RH13 6AU
01403 218842     
www.life-baptist.org.uk      Email     
Minister: Revd Julie Shimizu 
 

 

 

News:

• 2011 has been a challenging year for us which included some key people who have had serious illnesses or leaving our fellowship for a variety of reasons.   However, amidst these difficulties we can honestly say that God has been so faithful to us.  It is at these testing times where we realise that we are fully reliant on Him and to rediscover our true identity.   We have recognised this hard season in the life of the church as an opportunity to assess carefully and we believe there are 2 areas we are being particularly drawn to.  Firstly as a church to be more VISIBLE in the community and secondly the need for an additional VENUE to be able to do that.  We have been presented with an opportunity to temporarily occupy a prime place within our town which we are currently in the process of finalising.  We are trusting that God will be showing us the next steps for this coming year.   

• There has been some exciting developments in our Children and Youth work.  Firstly, we have recently appointed a part time youth worker to encourage and expand our youth ministry.   They have started  an Alpha Course where they will have deeper opportunities to explore their faith    Secondly, in addition to the normal Sunday children group meetings we have a “messy church” style meeting on the first Sunday of each month where the children enjoy a chance to be more creative and at the same time learn about Jesus   This year we are praying that there will be outreach opportunities as we open this up to the wider community by formally inviting young families to these once a month meetings

Please pray for:

• Please pray for us to be able to discern God's vision for His way forward for us in 2012

• That in faithfully carrying out His will , we will be fruitful thus proving more clearly than ever before, that we are His disciples

• That we would be successful in our attempt to be more outward- looking as a church, whilst always keeping Christ Himself at the centre

   

Guildford Network

Farnborough Baptist Church

Queens Road, FARNBOROUGH, GU14 6DX
01252 375154
www.findachurch.co.uk/churches/su/su85/fbc      Email    
Minister: Revd John Layzell 

 

  

News:

• The church building is situated in the North Camp area at the southern end of Farnborough and is well-known in the local area.  We run activities there for different age groups ourselves, including two highly successful Parents & Toddlers sessions weekly, a fortnightly children’s club, a weekly coffee morning and a monthly lunch for more elderly people.  In addition the building is used during the week by two church groups other than ourselves and two other children’s groups, as well as numerous one-off parties and other meetings.  In September a new after-school club will also start.  This is all fine, but we have become aware that people see the church more as a community centre, and not so much as a place where they can meet God.  As a small church (and as we all get older), it is a challenge to us to be more overt in our communication of the Christian message in the way we use the church building and in our daily witness.

• Our links with other churches in the town are not very strong, but there are some things we do together.  In particular, there is the Farnborough Food Bank which is run by and from one of the local churches with help from many of them, the Gateway schools team which runs assemblies in almost every junior school in the area and the Triangle bookshop.  People from our church are involved in all of these.  However there is no proper Churches Together organisation in Farnborough and this limits our effectiveness when talking to the local council about social and community issues.

   

Please pray for:

• Our local South Farnborough Junior School is one of the largest in the area and one of the few where Gateway does not yet do assemblies; on the other hand all the children who come to our fortnightly group attend there.  Please pray for more openness on the part of the school leadership team and for us to make the most of whatever opportunity comes our way.

• That every church member and attender will grasp the challenge of making friends with the object of introducing them to the church and to Christ.

• It is a concern to us that we currently have no youth group, particularly since some of the children in our fortnightly club will be moving to secondary school in September and thus out of the age range of the club.  Please pray that the right team of people will come together so that we can start a youth group by September, if not before.

 

Mid Sussex network

Upper Beeding Baptist Church

Church Lane, UPPER BEEDING, BN44 3HP
01903 815720
www.ubbc.org.uk     Email    
Minister: Revd Peter Butchers

News:

• Upper Beeding Baptist Church serves the villages of Upper Beeding, Bramber and Steyning.  Aware of the needs of our community we have, over the past year, set up a Debt Advice Centre and Food Bank and, in response to a request from our local Community Police and Parish Councillors become involved in providing a youth support team which provides  weekly detached youth work in the local community.

• A new year brings a new opportunity for us as we launch ‘Re:fresh’.  Taking place on the fourth Sunday evening of the month it is open to everyone who wants to try fresh ways of learning, growing and experiencing God working in their lives.  It’s a time to worship, drink coffee, chat, look at big issues and hear from others about their experience of faith. The informal and relaxed style gives a good opportunity to invite friends and neighbours who want something different from the usual style of service

Please pray for:

• Good relationships to be built with the young people, community police and neighbourhood wardens in our community

• Sensitivity as we seek to help and advise those in need through the Debt Advice Centre and Food Bank

• Re:fresh – that the Lord would use this new venture to reach out to those on the fringes of the church and those exploring the things of faith.

 

North Kent network

West Kingsdown Baptist Church 

Fawkham Road, WEST KINGSDOWN, TN15 6JP
01474 852054
www.wkbaptist.org.uk     Email    
Minister: Revd Anne Clements

 

 

News:

• West Kingsdown Baptist is a small village church situated off the A20 in Kent. At the opposite end of the village is Brands Hatch racing circuit where this year the Paralympic cycling race will be held. The weekly congregation is around 25-30 people which means our church can function as a large extended family with Jesus at the centre. However our small and relatively elderly congregation means this also presents challenges in terms of where we extend our limited resources in reaching out to the village.

• After conducting a survey of the local community to discover areas where we could contribute, last year we decided, with some fear and trembling, to start a carers and toddlers group called Catch Up. This has been a great success with several people now on the waiting list as we could not accommodate any more. Before Christmas we invited them to participate in a nativity service; many came along including one family that brought 4 generations along with both granny and great granny in tow!  Along with this encouragement has been the sadness of losing some key people in our congregation as they have relocated to other places. However a retired minister and his wife have moved into the area offering help in outreach and we will run a Christianity Explained course in the spring.

Please pray for:

• As Churches Together in West Kingsdown we will be able to provide hospitality during the Paralympics and witness to the love of Christ.

• That Catch Up will continue to thrive and that many will come along to Mothering Sunday on March 18th.

• That God will use the Christianity Explained course to bring people to a knowledge of Christ.

 

South Kent network

Cheriton Baptist Church  

Quested Road, FOLKESTONE, CT19 4BY
01303 278717
www.cheritonbaptist.co.uk     Email    
Minister: Revd Dave Barker

 News:

• Praise God for those coming to know Christ in the last year - men, women, teenagers/children.

• Praise God that all the money has come in for the church refurbishment and for major repair work to the tower.  Our building is now fit for community outreach.

Please pray for:

• That CBC would be bold and faithful in playing our part in extending His kingdom.

• That God would continue to guide us as we start a Sunday service in Hythe this year.

• That we would be hungry for more of God as His church.

 

Tonbridge network

Westerham Evangelical Congregational Church

 Fullers Hill, WESTERHAM, TN16 1AB
01959 563148
www.westerhamcongregationalchurch.co.uk
Miister: Pastor Phil Sutton

 

 

News:

• Westerham Evangelical Congregational is a small church located in the centre of a large village on the Kent Surrey border. We have between 30-40 attending the services each week and have seen modest growth in 2011 due to  a monthly Café Church meeting on Sunday afternoons in the recently opened Costa Café.

• Phil Sutton our pastor is good friends with the local Anglican vicar and they jointly lead the café services, which are evangelistic in nature and seek to involve the whole restaurant in what is going on. Many passers-by have enjoyed the event which includes modern and traditional worship songs, DVD’s and group activities. It has also proved to be a good ‘neutral ground’ to explore the Christian faith

Please pray for:

• we would value prayer for the café services

 

West Sussex network

Goring New Life Baptist Church 

Meets at: Goring C. of E. First School, Mulberry Lane, Goring-by-Sea, WORTHINGx, BN12 4RN
Email    
Minister: Revd Nigel O'Dwyer 

 

 

  News:

•  In the autumn our church participated in an Alpha Courses with other churches in the Goring area.  We rejoice that among those who committed their lives to Christ was the divorced son of one of our members.

• In February we are beginning a 13 week 'Freedom in Christ' course, building on the Discipleship teaching which our Minister has been giving on Sunday mornings.

Please pray for:

• That the 'Freedom in Christ' 13 weekly Course will bear fruit in all our members' lives, and that the community of Goring will be touched as a result.

• That the ecumenical Lent Groups starting in February will be well attended and that friendship bonds will be strengthened across the Goring churches.  We are following the York Lent Course 'Handing On The Torch - Sacred Words for a Secular World' by John Young.

• That our Church will grow through people being brought to faith in Jesus.