Church Life

The Lord Jesus, on the night before He died, broke bread with His disciples and told them, to keep doing this, to remember Him, until He returns. We have what is called an 'Open Table,' which means that all those who love God and have asked Jesus to be their Saviour, are welcome to share in the taking of the bread and wine. Once a month in the morning, we are seeking to make the communion a central part of our service and in the evening we use it as an opportunity for ministry.

If someone asks to come into membership, they are interviewed and if they have committed their life to following Jesus, we are happy to accept them.  They do not have to have been baptised, but we consider membership to be a privilege and a commitment to find their place in the church family and to use the gifting that God has given them, to serve others.

We bring babies and children in a service of dedication; thanking God for preserving the life of the mother and welcoming the child into the church family. If the parents don't believe, or don't belong to the church, we are very pleased to have a service of blessing over the child and the family.

In the Great Commission – Matthew 28.19 – Jesus called his followers to , 'Make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the Name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.' On confession of a person's faith in Jesus, and their willingness to turn away from sin, we baptise by complete immersion. We have baptised people aged from 11 to 90!

If you are interested in getting married at our Church, we would be very happy to meet with you and discuss it further.

We are happy to do anything we can to help those who have been bereaved. Our pastor can either take a funeral, cremation or memorial service. We do usually also have a service of remembrance on the first Sunday in November.

We have always tried not to speak much about money as we see giving as a personal issue that should be a part of our life if we are following Jesus and, as it can be costly to run a church fellowship, we appreciate those who see it as part of their commitment.  Giving can be as part of worship at the Sunday services, or through a bank, by Standing Order. Those who give regularly can fill in a form for us to reclaim tax. We are seeking to be a generous church that blesses others as the Lord has blessed us.

We are committed to praying at the church, although much of the prayer is done individually at home and in small groups.  Our pastor and our worship leader Chris can often be found just walking around the church, bringing people and issues to the Lord. The Pastor and Ministry Team will pray for anyone who requests it. Our Evangelism Team use a small booklet called 'Try Praying,' to give to anyone who might find it helpful.

PUSH - Pray Until Something Happens

Pray according to the Word of God – not according to your expectations (or lack of them!) 

There are various small prayer groups that meet during the week and also organised prayer walks. Pam Marley runs a Prayer Chain that is well used when there are emergencies and Becky Brown runs the prayer 'Whats app'.

Regular Times: Thursday 7am and 7.15pm (Breakthrough Prayer)

Simon Swift heads up our Evangelism team, going out regularly on the streets with the cross.

The team is led by Mike Ruffhead and go out into the High Street on the first Saturday morning each month, to pray for people passing by; however, they are getting known and there are now people who come back each month to talk and pray.

We are the hub for Churches Together Outreach for all churches in The Crays, Orpington and Biggin Hill. We, with people from the other churches, meet at a different church each month and go out in pairs to local shops and Orpington High Street as evangelists. We offer to people we stop, prayers of blessing and of salvation and ask them if they would like to know more about Jesus and how they can get salvation through Him. If they leave us contact details they are followed up for further informal discussions by a church local to them.

Joan & Maynard Newman keep the library stocked and also get copies of DVDs, magazines and journals that people may find helpful.

Green Street Green Baptist Church takes seriously its responsibilities for safeguarding those at risk of harm. We are committed to the nurture, protection and safekeeping of all associated with the Church. Everyone working with children, young people and adults at risk, has a current enhanced DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) check and undertakes safeguarding training, as required. We follow relevant legislation, safer recruitment practices and the Baptist Union of Great Britain ‘Excellence in Safeguarding’ Guidance.

Everyone involved in the life of the Church has a role to play in promoting a safer church for all. The Church has appointed a Safeguarding Team, led by:

‍

‍Diane Whitehead

Designated Person for Safeguarding (DPS)

safeguarding@gsgbaptist.org.uk

‍

‍

‍

‍

‍

‍Val Ruffhead

Deputy DPS

safeguardingdeputy@gsgbaptist.org.uk

‍

‍

‍

‍

‍Alex Gamby

Trustee for Safeguarding

‍

‍

‍

‍

Every safeguarding concern or allegation will be responded to promptly and sensitively according to our procedures and policies, which can be viewed or downloaded below:

Green Street Green - Safeguarding Policy Statement

Request Safeguarding Policy

We keep up to date with issues that we need to pray about or act on.

Jackie Rowling is an evangelist, pray-er and part of the worship group – and wherever else she is needed.  She keeps us in touch with the Women's World Day of Prayer and keeps in contact with four other village churches (Five Villages Together)

Jackie Rowling represents the church at Churches together in Orpington and we are part of the London Baptist Association (LBA), the Baptist Union (BU) and the Evangelical Alliance. (EA).