Local Church Map & Directions
LATEST CHURCHES ADDED:
Holy Trinity Parish Church, Middlesbrough
Saint Bartholomew's, Fittleworth
The Plant Church Network, Chorlton on Medlock
Old Fallings United Reformed Church, Wolverhampton
Emmanuel Church Canterbury, CANTERBURY
Elsdon Avenue URC/Methodist Church, Seaton Delaval
Commonside Christian Fellowship, Harlow
The Baptist Union of Great Britain
Baptists...
The Baptist Union of Great Britain (BUGB) is the Baptist family in England and Wales (there is also the Baptist Union of Wales). It is a diverse union with small and large congregations, different nationalities and differing styles of worship yet united by core values and a common purpose of changing lives and transforming communities with the message and love of Jesus Christ. The Union works with others in mission locally, regionally and internationally.
Over 2,100 churches belong to the Baptist Union of Great Britain (BUGB), each of them autonomous, self-funding and the majority of them financially independent.
Most churches have their own building but others meet in homes, schools, community centres and other public places. Some follow a traditional style of worship whilst others are trying new ways of doing church to attract people that can find church alien to their culture and way of life. Churches will normally meet for worship on Sunday but will also have meetings during the week like bible study groups, parents and toddlers, youth clubs, lunch clubs etc.
Some churches in the Union are not solely Baptist but a combination of two or more denominations known as a Local Ecumenical Partnership (LEP). Baptist churches in some areas have formed a 'cluster' and many work with other denominations on joint mission events and projects for their communities.
There are Baptist churches with a team of ministers whilst others may have a part-time minister or no minister at all. A national fund, Home Mission, provides grants to those churches who would struggle to finance a minister's wages or an evangelism project on their own. Home Mission also pays for publications, training events and support for all local Union churches from regional associations and the national resource centre in Didcot.
What Baptists believe
Baptists understand the church as a community of believers gathered in the name of Jesus Christ for worship, witness and service. There is no set Baptist liturgy. Each local church and community is free to determine its own pattern, though prayer and praise, listening and reflecting on Scripture, and sharing Holy Communion will always be central.
From the example of the New Testament, Baptists claim that baptism is for those who believe and are able to declare that Jesus is Lord. As a symbol of Jesus' claim on our lives, baptism by immersion is practised, representing a desire to die to self and to live for Christ.
Baptists believe that everyone that attends a Baptist church has a role to play and can use their God-given skills and talents for the good of the church and the community. These gifts include teaching, evangelism, social action, pastoral care, prayer, healing, taking part in worship, administration or hospitality.
When a person is baptised in a Baptist church, they normally become a church member. Church members are called to prayerfully discern God's will for their shared life. Final authority does not rest with the ministers, deacons or any other local, national or international body, but with the members meeting together under God's guidance. Church meetings will make significant appointments including ministers, and agree financial policy and mission.
Click here to visit the Baptist Union website
