Church life
The ordinary rhythms that hold our church family together through the year.
We meet regularly as a Church Family, to seek out God's guidance together, to listen for and try to discern His plans for us as a Church, for Bideford and for the wider community.
God has been sharing some amazing things with us as we re-commit our lives to Him as a Church Fellowship and earnestly seek His face.
We celebrate Communion together as part of the Sunday Service, on the first and third Sunday of each month.
As we share bread and wine, we remember the sacrifice that Jesus made when He died for our sins on the cross, and thank God for all He's done. Jesus called Himself “the bread of life”, which means that we're nourished by Him, we survive because of Him, and He satisfies us when everything else leaves us empty. Communion celebrates the Gospel: Jesus was broken for us so that we can be fixed by Him.
We get together about four times a year to enjoy a shared 'Fellowship Lunch' together, immediately after the Sunday Morning Service, to celebrate various events in the Church Calendar, such as our Church Anniversary, Harvest Thanksgiving, Advent, etc.
These take various forms (Sunday Roast, Hot & Cold Buffet, Bring & Share, etc.), but are always delicious, and a great time of fun and fellowship. We are indebted to our fantastic 'Catering Team' who put in many hours of preparation. A small donation is usually requested, and all profits are then donated to BMS, Home Mission Fund, or Christian Aid.
We like to take every possible opportunity to celebrate (+ eat cake!) together, so we encourage everyone to sign up to the Birthday Scheme.
Every gift given to the Birthday Scheme supports life-transforming health work. Each year, Birthday Scheme members donate over £300,000, which has a huge impact, saving and improving lives in countries across the world. And the Bideford Baptist Church Family gets to celebrate with you by singing 'Happy Birthday' and sharing some delicious Birthday Cake as we chat over tea & coffee after the Morning Service!
Each week, following the Service, we get together to chat whilst enjoying a nice cuppa, and possibly some cake or biscuits (if we're lucky!).
This is a wonderful opportunity to catch up with everyone's news, introduce ourselves to those who are new to the Church, and to share with each other the week's joys, hurts, successes, disappointments or special events.
Our wonderful 'Flower Lady' kindly coordinates the Flower Rota for us, and beautifies the Church each week with colourful artistic displays of seasonal blooms, bringing the joy of God's creation inside for us all to enjoy.
Particularly splendid are the displays which are specially created for our annual Harvest Thanksgiving Service, incorporating produce and groceries donated by members of the Church Family, along with a spectacular Wheatsheaf Loaf centrepiece!
All of the produce and groceries on display during the Harvest Festival, along with other gifts given through the year, are shared with local people and local projects who need them most.