Church Profile

A PDF version of our profile (which better preserves the formatting) can be downloaded here. Our 2011 Annual General Meeting report can be downloaded here. Our Constitution can be downloaded here, and the accompanying policy document here.

Our Vision

To save, to disciple and to release in Jesus' Name

Here at King’s Baptist Church our vision/mission statement is ‘To save, to disciple and to release in Jesus’ Name.’ We are seeking to outwork the vision that God has given us to be a ‘Church without Walls’. We have received a number of prophetic words about water flowing out from the baptistery into the streets of the town; of being an oasis where people come to be refreshed and renewed, some staying and some going back to their churches but all healed and restored; we are seeking to be a church full of faith and full of the Holy Spirit, where every member is equipped to serve God in this generation reaching out to the surrounding community. Our church programme reflects this vision of God’s plans for the future of His church at Kings Baptist Church.

To save in Jesus’ name by being relevant to the local community and undertaking a range of activities that challenge people of all ages to consider Christ and His death on the cross as Lord and Saviour. We recognise that this requires the saving power of the Holy Spirit and that our evangelistic activities must be in His power.

To disciple in Jesus’ name by training, teaching and nurturing those who accept Jesus as their Saviour, encouraging them to reach full maturity and spiritual health, and provide pastoral care and support for the members and those who attend church.

To release in Jesus’ name by enabling people to develop their spiritual gifts so that they in turn can introduce people to Christ and help them reach maturity. This is by encouraging people to develop their gifting and experience through the teaching and activities of the local church and attendance at conferences and training (including ministerial training).

Our Vision for the Next Five Years is:

To be a kingdom people - working with and helping/resourcing other churchesin the area.
To be effective and relevant to the local community, with a particular focus on evangelism in Stotfold, Arlesey and the surrounding area.
As revealed, to understand and grow through God’s pruning, feeding the roots of the church, re-shaping and provision of new growth.
To be open to the direction of God, as His Spirit reveals this to us.
To embrace the new vision(s) & direction given to us through the new minister, eldership and members.
As revealed through our days of prayer and fasting: to sustain and expand where directed by God all of our existing activities which God is blessing.
To continue as a resting place & place of restoration for the saints recognizing that some will stay and some will move on.

What we currently do

Kings Baptist Church believes in a God who works in individual’s lives through the power and filling of the Holy Spirit and that He also works through signs and wonders today. As such we are both evangelical and charismatic in our worship, teaching and outreach.

Church’s Ministries and Activities

The Church has seven Departments:

Worship
Evangelism
Pastoral care
Teaching & training
Children and Youth
Mission
Administration

Prayer is vitally important to under gird all of the above. As such it is part of each Department’s ministry.

A full description of these can be found in the Church’s Annual Report, Family Matters and elsewhere generally on the website. We have the following meetings, outreach activities and events aligned to our Vision Statement:-

	To save	To disciple	To release
Weekly
Sunday morning service at 10.30am, including Communion	x	x	x
Sunday evening service at 6.00pm (Communion on the first Sunday in the month)	x	x	x
King’s Kids on Sunday morning	x	x	x
Prayer meetings on Friday at 10.00am and 8.00pm		x
Discipleship Groups (currently circa. 70% of Church Members attend these.)	x	x	x
Youth Discipleship Group on Tuesday evening	x	x	x
Youth Group activities on Friday evening	x	x	x
Youth Tea and Toast on Sunday evening		x
Accelerate (Years 6, 7 and 8) on Tuesday evening	x	x	x
Activ8 Social for Years 6, 7 and 8 on Friday evening	x	x	x
Tiny Tots (Thursday morning)	x		x
Break Out (Years 1-5) on Thursday evening	x	x	x
Monthly or less frequently
Regular healing services	x	x	x
Coffee and craft mornings	x		x
Arise and Shine (service for older people)	x	x	x
Norton House – services	x	x	x
Gothic House, Arlesey – services	x	x	x
The Limes, Henlow (services in an old peoples home)	x	x	x
Over 50s Lunch	x
Social events	x		x
Works of Heart Craft evening (monthly event)	x		x
Holiday clubs	x	x	x
Balancing the Yoke (prayer meeting for women married to non-Christians)	x	x	x
Outreach events	x		x
Men’s breakfasts and nights out	x	x
Women’s social evenings	x		x
Women’s Exercise Group (3 times a month)	x
Training mornings, including Worship, Preaching, Safeguarding Children and Adults		x	x
The Church runs Alpha courses at least once a year	x		x

The Need Project (TNP) has been established to meet the practical needs of those in urgent and critical need, working with local statutory and voluntary groups. TNP is supported by an active group within KBC who distribute food parcels, clothes, furniture etc. to those in need via our church van on a weekly basis, as a practical outworking of the love of Christ in our community.

There are regular assemblies and Chaplaincy work in the local schools, run both by the Church directly and through the Letchworth & District Christian Initiative to Schools work.

The Church sees each of these activities as being part of its outreach and mission to the community.

Members of the Church are encouraged to go on mission, both during gap years and for short mission schemes, both in the UK and abroad.

There is also a full programme of activities at the congregation plant - Fairfield Community Church.

Facts and figures

Church Membership

There are currently 101 members (of which nine currently go to Fairfield Community Church) and 25% are retired.

Finances

The table below summarises the Church’s income, expenditure, surplus/(deficit) and general fund over the current and last five years, set against membership. Amounts shown are in £000’s.

Year	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011 (budget)
Membership	99	82**	91	98	99	101

Income	201	176	184	117	119	119
Expenditure	143	138	151	174	144	140
Surplus/(deficit)	58	38	33	(57)	(25)	(21)
General fund	79	127	164	107	81	60
KCC and other funds	120*	33	37	34	46	35

*Includes £120,000 for Kings Community Church for purchase of building and leasehold. **Thirteen members transferred to Kings Community Church.

The Church sets aside around 15% of its income for mission (including the establishment of the new churches).

Current Leadership and Management Structure

The Church Council (Trustees) consists of Ministers, elected Elders and Department Heads. Elected Trustees stand for three years and can be re-elected for subsequent terms. There is the opportunity to take a one year break between terms of office. There are currently:-

1 Minister (currently vacant)
2 Ministers in Training
1 Full-time salaried Children Head of Department
6 non-stipendiary Elders (two of which are involved in setting up Fairfield Community Church)

Our present Minister, Rev. Philip Amos moved as of 1^st September 2011 to take on the leadership of New Life Church in Worthing, East Sussex. He was part of our leadership team at Kings Baptist Church for 17 years and Senior Minister/Pastor for the last 8 years (during which he completed his theology/ministerial training at Spurgeon’s College).

As a leadership we have prayerfully sought God’s will with our two Ministers in Training, they have both entered the Baptist Union Settlement Process in September 2011. In addition, two of the current Elders who have been involved in the setting up of Fairfield Community Church will move with the new church. One (Pauline Wade) is currently working full time for the church (unpaid) and the other (Peter Wade) is our current Treasurer.

Catchment Area

KBC serves three main communities: Stotfold and Astwick (7,600) and Arlesey (5,360). The statistics come from the Central Bedfordshire Council’s website. Over 80% of those attending come from Stotfold and Arlesey.

There has been considerable building development in the local area over the last ten years. Current in-filling along the A507 could further increase the population to 25-30,000 in the next 20 years.

96% are White British, 80% of people in Stotfold and 70% of those in Arlesey are owner occupiers, 72% of people in work travel to work by car, 2% of people of working age are unemployed. Although the area is generally quite affluent, there are pockets of deprivation and need.

Legal and Affiliation

KBC is affiliated with the Baptist Union of Great Britain. Our Constitution, adopted in May 2010, is the standard Baptist Union constitution, with KBC having local policies and procedures for understanding and interpreting the Constitution.

KBC is a member of the Evangelical Alliance.

The Church is registered with the Charities Commission, registration number 1136519.

The Church is a member of the local Stotfold Churches Together Committee and takes part in joint events.

We are a registered Fairtrade church & we use and promote fairly traded goods and products.

The Financial year runs from 1 January to the 31 December of the same year. The Annual General Meeting is held in the April of the following year. Church meetings are held on a quarterly basis.

Our History

Stotfold Baptist Church was founded 180 years ago through a children work begun by Christians from Biggleswade Baptist Church. Members of that church walked eight miles each way to evangelise Stotfold. Stotfold Baptist Church was formed when twelve local people began to fellowship together in an old barn.

The current building is the third premises used, being purpose built in the 1960s. Over the last twenty years KBC has had a vision to fulfil the original purpose of the old village green/pond of Stotfold - as a resting place for animals being taken to market in London so that they arrived refreshed and fed. Therefore the vision has been to restore and refresh those who come to the church and to send people on ready to serve.

Recent history has involved:

In 2006 launching Kings Community Church (Jackman’s Estate, Letchworth) as an independent Baptist Union Church, which by God’s grace was endowed with a freehold church building provided for by funds from KBC.
From 2007 KBC has supported Sandy Baptist through a difficult time sending Elders and spouses on rotation to support the leadership. Sandy now has an ordained Minister (4 June 2011) and a growing membership.
We planted a new congregation in September 2009 on the new Fairfield development on the old Fairfield Hospital site. Fairfield Park and Fairfield Hall together have a population of around 3,000. The congregation has seen regular growth, and God willing, this will become independent Baptist Union church in September 2012.
The church has supported four ministers through training in terms of Baptist Union accreditation and BTh degrees. Two are completing their training in July 2012.

The Minister we are looking for must have the following characteristics, experience and gifting:

Has a personal, mature and deepening personal relationship with Jesus Christ, been baptised in the Holy Spirit and believes in a God who still works through signs and wonders.
Full of faith and of the Holy Spirit (Acts 6 v 3). Demonstrates evidence of Spiritual gifting – especially Preaching, Teaching and Prayer and evangelical in outlook.
Demonstrates evidence of Spiritual fruit in his/her personal life, ministry and lives an exemplary lifestyle in terms of self, family, marriage etc. (See Titus 1.)
Has a continuing strong call to the ministry & is able to bring new vision to KBC as well as embrace the vision of the church.
Is able to mature the members of the Church through training, teaching and nurturing them to go deeper in their spiritual walk with God.
Has the ability to teach sound doctrine effectively to large and small groups of all ages in a contemporary and dynamic manner and to equip the saints.
Has proven ministerial/leadership skills and competencies (3 years minimum as a Minister or Minister-in-Training with prior church leadership responsibilities).
Has been an effective Team Leader in terms of church departments, but also happy to operate as part of teams.
Has good, effective pastoral & counselling skills and the ability to cover a wide variety of situations.
S/he is an Accredited Minister within the Baptist Union (BU), or be willing to transfer to BU accreditation.
S/he fully subscribes to the BU Declaration of Principles and the Evangelical Alliance’s Statement of Faith and accepting the scriptural authority of the whole Bible as the divinely revealed Word of God.
Is willing to undergo continuous personal development and to ask for help when required.

We will expect you to be:

A man or woman who is humble before God and is open to His divine leading.
Able to lead the Church, and particularly the Elders and Church Council, in seeking and knowing God’s plan for the area.
Able to lead and teach with authority in the gifting and outworking of the Holy Spirit.
Able to train and develop the leadership of the Church, both present and those to be leaders.
A shepherd for the flock and the leaders of the Church, being able to relate to the needs of all-ages and having a servant heart regarding caring for the local community.

Short profile

King’s Baptist Church is a charismatic, evangelical church with 100+ members in Stotfold - a small town in central Bedfordshire with a full time Children’s worker.

We are seeking to outwork the vision and prophecies given to us by God: to be a kingdom people, a ‘Church Without Walls,’ about water flowing out from our baptistery into the streets, of being an oasis where people come to be refreshed and renewed. We are seeking to be a church full of faith and the Holy Spirit, where every member is equipped to serve God in this generation reaching out to the surrounding community.

We have a new church plant on the Fairfield development 2 miles from the church which we are hoping will become an independent BU church in 2012.

KBC has a modern 4 bed detached manse.

Our mission/vision statement is “To Save, To Disciple and To Release in Jesus name” as outworked in our church activities.

We are excited about the new season approaching and would love to hear from you if you feel that you could be our new minister!