The future is bright ...

Chiddingfold Baptist Church, in the South Eastern Baptist Association, is supported by Home Mission.  Minister Ian O’Herlihy shares the story
 
Today Chiddingfold Baptist church is a fellowship of around 40 who continue to seek to carry the torch of witness to a new generation. There is a healthy balance of female/male members and the range of age of those who attend varies quite consistently with the exception of those aged 18 - 30 who are an age group we are making every effort to engage. Chiddingfold Baptist Church seeks to be at its centre a biblical and evangelical fellowship that has the following mission statement:

We exist to bring people to a relationship with Jesus Christ and to express that new life in the love and work of the church family and local community
 
Three things to praise God for:

• For the continuing growth of Messy Church and the relationships with the parents and children who attend.
• For the recent move to the Villagers where we know hold our morning services.
• For the continuing good ecumenical relations between the Christian fellowships in the village.

• That the success of a recent venture with a group of young adults meeting for fellowship on Sunday evenings (once a month at present)
• That the Lord would continue to guide and sustain the leadership.
• That the up-coming weekend away would be a blessing (there have been no end of setbacks so a clear run from here would be good)

• We have discovered that some essential work is needed on the roof of the church building and also the porch area. Finances for this work will need to be raised to fix the issue before it becomes a crisis.

• We are hoping to begin a parenting course in the near future and would also in time like to offer courses for marriage enrichment.
• The church will be electing a new elder in the next few weeks so prayer for this would be appreciated.
• To continue unfolding God purposes and plans for us and the wider community.

How are things at the Church generally?
Things at Chiddingfold Baptist Church continue to change. Over the last year we have seen many challenges and successes together. Messy Church which we celebrated at Christmas by hosting a party at the village hall was a real highlight and being the second such Christmas party was bigger and better than the year before. Our small but growing creative arts group is something we are hoping to continue to grow and we hope it can become a real base for community outreach. Contact with the wider community is growing through our commitment to evangelism and we have even been out door-to-door getting to know the community a bit more, one house at a time.  We are currently facing some difficult times and decisions but the future is bright for Chiddingfold Baptist Church and we continue to walk into tomorrow with faith, hope and love.


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