Who We Are
A church in the heart of Stroud
We’re a community of people seeking to follow Jesus together.
For generations, people have gathered in the heart of Stroud to worship Jesus, pray, learn, serve and share life together.
The Baptist story in Stroud goes back more than 200 years. The present church building on John Street dates from 1824, but the community that gathered here was already taking shape before then.
A lot has changed since those early days. Stroud has changed. The church has changed. The people have changed.
But the desire to follow Jesus together remains.
We are a church that...
...looks beyond itself
Our story has never been just about what happens inside these walls.
From its early years, the church reached beyond its own congregation, running missions in communities around Stroud and seeking to share the good news of Jesus beyond the church building.
That outward-looking heart is something we want to carry forward.
We’re here for Stroud. We want to love our neighbours, serve our community and look for the ways God is already at work around us.
...believes church is about people.
For more than two centuries, people have come through these doors with different stories, circumstances and hopes.
We’re still learning what it means to be a church where people are known, loved and able to belong.
We believe church is more than something we attend on a Sunday. It’s people doing life together, praying for one another, sharing the highs and lows, discovering our gifts and helping one another grow into all that God has called us to be.
...is part of something bigger
We stand on the shoulders of generations of people who have followed Jesus here in Stroud.
They’ve prayed, worshipped, served their neighbours, welcomed others and passed their faith on to those who came after them.
We’re grateful for the story we’ve inherited. But we’re not simply looking backwards.
We’re here today, in our own time, with our own part to play.
We want to learn from those who have gone before us, stay rooted in Jesus, and remain open to what God is doing among us now.
What matters to us
At the heart of everything we do is Jesus.
We want to know him more deeply, become more like him and discover what it means to follow him in every part of our lives.
Jesus at the centre
We believe God is alive and active, and that he still speaks, heals, transforms and equips his people today.
We want to be a church that prays expectantly, listens carefully and makes space for the Holy Spirit, while keeping Jesus and Scripture at the centre.
Making space for God
We want to be a community where people are known and loved, where friendships grow, people pray for one another, gifts are discovered and everyone has something to contribute.
Life together
What might God do among us?
We’re a church that wants to stay curious about what God is doing. That means being willing to listen, to pray, to try things, to learn and sometimes to discover that God has something different in mind than we expected.
We want to be a church where there is room for people to bring their gifts, ask their questions, take their next step and discover more of who God has made them to be.
We don’t have all the answers, and we don’t have everything worked out. But we believe there is more to discover.
And we want to discover it together, as a church, as a community and as people learning to follow Jesus.
Come and be part of it
Whether you’re exploring faith, looking for a church, or have followed Jesus for years, there’s a place for you here.
Come and join us on a Sunday. We’d love to get to know you.