Paddock Wood Baptist Church

We are a small church in Paddock Wood, a town in West Kent.  We worship most Sunday mornings in the Paddock Wood Community Centre at 10am.  Our worship services are more informal in style and include times for sharing and praying together and for questions and discussion after the sermon.

We have a Thursday evening discipleship group to ‘go deeper’ into God’s living Word together, usually at a member’s home.

We also share the Remembrance Day services, Good Friday Walk of Witness and Lent and Advent courses with Paddock Wood Churches Together which includes the CofE/Methodist and Catholic churches.

At the moment, we are seeking God’s heart in Paddock Wood and asking Him where He wants us to be for His glory and to serve where His kingdom is coming in. 

All those of the congregation who are physically able belong to various groups in the town as this is one way we can be Jesus individually to people, for example in choirs, art groups, craft groups, volunteer at a coffee shop and two others run or help to run Paddock Wood Guides and Rangers.  Pray for many opportunities for us to offer the Father’s hope and love to those we encounter in these groups. 

Please give thanks that we have seen a couple of people come into Sunday morning services.  Pray they and many more will find their home with us, a place of salvation, peace and hope.

Please pray that we will find where God wants us to serve Him in Paddock Wood.  The Church of England/Methodist church already runs most outreach and community activities so it is hard to see where God wants us but we believe very much that He has a place for us! Pray that we will be open to it and hear the Spirit’s call, that we’ll be ready to say ‘here we are Lord, send us’.

Gatwick Network

Redhill Baptist Church

Over the past fourteen months since I became Minister at Redhill Baptist Church, we have begun a meaningful and transformative season marked by a deepening awareness of God’s call to live with a 'generosity of Spirit' toward one another. This has not simply been an idea, but a lived reality, as relationships within the church family are being gently restored and strengthened. There is a growing sense that God has been knitting hearts together again, fostering unity, grace, and renewed love across the fellowship.

This season has also been rich in new beginnings. A number of fresh initiatives have taken root, including a monthly Bible study, an Alpha course, a guitar club open to all abilities and a weekly community café. Each of these has created new spaces for connection, discipleship and outreach. A particular highlight came on Easter Sunday when five people were baptised - a powerful and joyful declaration that God continues to transform lives within the church community.

The church’s commitment to serving Redhill has remained steadfast. The Food Club celebrated its fifth anniversary, marking years of faithful, practical support for local people. During the colder months, the church hosted the Winter Night Shelter for six weeks, offering warmth, dignity, and care to those in need. Alongside this, the ongoing 'Link Up' midweek service continues to provide fellowship and encouragement for seniors, demonstrating the church’s heart for all generations.

Encouraging signs of growth have also been evident. Six people have come into membership over the past year, and new families are beginning to find a home within the church. Spiritually, the congregation has been enriched through a focused Bible study series on the Gifts of the Spirit, alongside a sermon series on 'The Road to Emmaus.' Together, these have helped deepen faith and expectation as the church listens for God’s voice.

Like many churches, challenges remain - particularly in navigating the legacy of the pandemic and discerning how best to remain relevant in the local community. Yet even here, God’s faithfulness is evident. Through every difficulty, He has been present, guiding, refining and renewing His people.

As Redhill Baptist Church looks ahead, it does so with hope - confident that the God who has been at work in this season will continue to lead, restore, and grow His church in the days to come.

Revd. Jonathan Hardwick

North Kent Network

Riverview Park Baptist Church

This year we celebrate our 35th anniversary. We are mostly an elderly congregation and have, in recent years, had a few of our original members pass to be with the Lord. Despite our age, we are still a church whose heart and mind is fixed on God and His will for us. 

We meet in a community hall but many, many years ago one of our members had a vision of us having our own building. The whole church caught the vision and started to put money toward the project. In 2022 the opportunity arose to purchase a plot of land adjacent to the community hall and s0 we began exploring the possibility of purchasing it from the Diocese of Rochester.  Over these many years we have faithfully held onto the vision despite setbacks and the lengthy negotiations, and along the way we have been blessed by having enough money to buy the land, if not enough to build on it just yet!

Last year we prayed weekly for every street in our community and a few of us more mobile folk prayer walked the streets, chatting with people when we could. We managed four circuits by the end of last autumn.

This year we are visiting the homes in those streets, knocking on doors, introducing ourselves and the Church, and giving out a flyer about us alongside a copy of The Good News newspaper. We are also asking if there is anything they would like us to pray about. Later in the year, we plan to start The Bereavement Journey and an Alpha course for our local community.  

At Easter time we gave out eggs and invites to our Easter services, and we were very encouraged when we had three visitors to our Easter Sunday service. Other encouragements have been that we have recently added a member to the Preaching Team and she, and one other member. are also trying out as Worship Leaders. A real blessing for us.

So, this is our story so far… we continue to trust in God, to step out where we think God is leading us, and hoping and believing that God will work His purposes out. We believe that God never leaves us even though at times life can be hard…but we pray we will continue to walk where He asks us to and become the people He sees we can become…and may we see His Glory at Riverview.

We would value prayer for:

• Our planned outreach initiatives
• That we see the completion of our plans to buy a plot of land
• And, lastly in view of all the above, we would value your prayers for our part time Minister.     

East Sussex Network

St Johns Baptist Church, Bexhill

THE LORD IS RISEN, HE IS RISEN INDEED!
We celebrated our risen Lord Jesus on Easter Day at St Johns with along with 2 baptisms. We don’t have a baptistry and our very first baptisms in 2020 were in the sea. We now have a hot tub, which is perfect for us. We had some 38 folks turn up including families and friends. A meal was cooked and served along with some donated Easter eggs.

Baptisms are not the only thing we celebrate. Our buildings, being Victorian, need continuing updating, and to date all the major works have been caught up with. The buildings continue to be used by local community groups, which pay the bills. Finances come from all sorts of unexpected places. St Johns hosted a gaming competition in which some 40 young men with their computers spent the day competing against each other with the finals being put up live on our big screen. During a revamp of a toilet, a stack of glass lamp shades were discovered behind a false wall behind the toilet and sold by a local auction house for £400+.  We never know what God is going to do to meet the needs of St Johns.

Alpha has finished for now and we are starting a new Freedom in Christ course in May, which most of the church has signed up for.

Prayer pointers:
John 13:34-35
So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, so you should love each other.
Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples,

• Many of our folks are single and love the sense of belonging, as they say, to a family – so we want the sense of family to continue as we grow in numbers as well as in maturity.
• Continued encounters with those who use our buildings and opportunities to share the gospel.
• AND wisdom. As we work together to know what the Father is doing and walk in Jesus’ footsteps.

Thank you for your continued prayers

Union Church, Heathfield

Life at Union is always busy and we continue to be blessed with a growing fellowship (although sadly losing some through their promotion to glory!).
We continue to run our regular activities that include:-

• A well attended toddlers
• A bi-weekly community lunch for everyone
• A bi-weekly afternoon social that includes all the usual fun and games
• Three lively and well attended bible study groups

The biggest strength that we have here are the relationships that we enjoy with our local community. After years of planting these are really bearing fruit. We have several wellbeing/support groups that rent our halls and I am now often invited to share with them or to sit and listen to attendees when they are struggling - an unofficial/official chaplain if you like. This has led to a really good relationship with our parish council and we have just received some funding from them to run our next venture of a 'menopause awareness day' which includes sessions for male partners/supporters and also for local employers. You may consider coming along yourself to learn more about how to support those in your life or workplace who may be going through change. This is part of our new 'campaign' that we are launching for 2026 that will seek to serve those in the sandwich generations - dealing with perhaps teenage/early 20's children, elderly parents and their own stresses and strains of everyday life.
 
Please pray for

• The older generation in the church who struggle with seeing younger people take on their roles. Pray that they get a sense of pride of leaving a legacy for the future rather than feeling pushed out!
• Our new initiatives
• We would still love to have some musicians - although we now have a keyboard player!
• Just generally really!

West Sussex Network

The Shore Baptist Church, Bognor

How are we seeing God at work?
This has been a season of real movement, and there's much to be grateful for.

At the heart of everything we do is a conviction that the church exists for its community, not just for those who already belong. That conviction is shaping more and more of what we do, and we're seeing God honour it in some wonderful ways.

Our Wellbeing Café continues to be a warm and genuinely life-giving space; 

a place where people who might never set foot in a Sunday service find belonging, conversation and care. Alongside this, our regular Renew Wellbeing sessions offer something quieter and more contemplative: Space to breathe, to rest and to encounter something of God's peace, without any pressure or expectation. Both are well-attended and we regularly hear stories of real impact in people's lives.

We're also deeply proud of Treasure Box, our full-time on-site nursery. It's become a vital part of the local community and we're particularly moved by the number of children with SEND or on Care Plans who are finding a nurturing, high-quality home there, well above the national average. This feels like exactly the kind of practical, embodied love that Jesus calls us to. Families who might otherwise feel unseen are finding care and dignity through Treasure Box, and that is a real answer to prayer.

Our connection with local schools has also been flourishing. Our Youth and Children's Worker, Jacob, has been doing remarkable things: Over 200 primary school children came through our Christmas Unwrapped experience and a similar number joined us for Investigating Easter. We’re delighted by the number of children who have now encountered the story of Jesus through these seasonal events and the partnership with local schools continues to grow.

We are also navigating - with care and love - some conversations around what it means to be a genuinely welcoming church for everyone. In the debates that often threaten to polarise and divide us, we’ve been exploring what it means to find ‘third way’ solutions, rooted in our Anabaptist heritage. It's not always easy, but we're proud of the grace and openness our community is bringing to it.

And then there was Easter Sunday, where we had the joy of baptising two people. What a day! What a reminder of why we do all of this.

Answers to Prayer:

• Our community engagement is broad, consistent, and growing — the Wellbeing Café, Renew sessions, and Treasure Box are all reaching people who might otherwise have no connection to a church community.
• Jacob's school work is bearing real fruit - Several hundred children reached through Christmas Unwrapped and Investigating Easter.
• Two Easter baptisms - lives publicly given to Jesus. We celebrate!

How Can You Pray for Us?

• Summer Holiday Clubs: Pray for volunteers, energy, and resources to serve local families well during the school holidays.
• After-School Drop-In Youth Café: A dream in the making. Pray for the right team, format, and funding to bring it to life.
• Treasure Box: Pray for the staff team as they love and care for some of our most vulnerable local children, and for continued growth and sustainability.
• The whole team: We’re not a huge church, but we’re doing a great deal! Pray for joy, renewal, and resilience for everyone who gives so much.

We are grateful. We are hopeful. And we're watching eagerly to see what God does next.

 

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South Kent Network

Smarden Baptist Church

As a very small congregation of eleven we have been encouraged by two new people joining us since the new year along with another just before Christmas, and we have been blessed by the opportunity to bring back live music in our worship. We are now focused on building mission through Relational Ministry as we encounter neighbours, friends and family in daily life, finding out where God is already working in people’s lives.

Our church football club is a side activity with nearly 100 men and women, young and old, including families. We are affiliated to the FA and are involved in leagues, fun kickabouts and tournaments, including walking football. Most players are not believers, but we get many opportunities to talk about faith, and update folk on church activities. 

Our monthly Community Breakfasts in church are always popular in the village and now folk travel into the area to attend. Friendships develop and our recent offers of prayer have been taken up by visitors, several joining our Palm Sunday procession and Easter service, as did a number our footballers (and their families) for the first time.

A Pilgrim’s Way Walk on Good Friday involved members, neighbours and family, joining an American friend who had walked with his father all the way from Winchester to Canterbury! It was a wonderful time in great company, across 22km of the Wye Downs, finishing at the venue of our first baptism in this new, exciting season for Smarden. Our minister led the baptism of his friend in a local river, supported by family, church members a fellow pilgrim from the US, and some Christians from our football club. We were delighted to be joined by several young people who are expressing interest in faith.

We are now active in the nearby primary school where our minister leads assemblies.

How you can pray for us:

• To become a home for local Christians in fellowship, service, prayer and worship.
• To welcome and nurture those exploring faith in Jesus, that they learn to follow him.
• That we develop partnerships with local churches working for God’s kingdom.
• For our connections with the local school, their children, families and staff.
• For friends of the church in our village that they respond to the gospel.
• For the growing number of younger people in the church’s orbit, that they find Christ.

 

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