Ponthir Baptist Church Casting Net into Deeper Waters

"When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, "Now go out where it is deeper and let down your nets, and you will catch many fish."

"Master," Simon replied, "we worked hard all last night and didn't catch a thing. But if you say so, we'll try again."
Luke 5: 4-5


When the Rev David Mann started his final year student placement at Ponthir Baptist Church, confidence was very low. "The church couldn't afford ministry, its income was not going to cover its costs and membership was slowly declining by natural causes. People had come to the expectation of closure. They were almost resigned to it," says David.

|PIC1|David figured that working together, they had one year to make a difference and to 'do something drastic'. The fiftieth anniversary of VE Day in July 2005 became their first opportunity. They leafleted the village inviting people to a 1940s fancy dress party with pig roast and jazz band.

Church members were nervous before the event. "They were terrified at the cost," recalls David. "They had become used to having no impact in the community, no outreach, no contacts. There was an expectation that everything was going to fail."

To their surprise and delight over 250 people came to the party. "Many of them said they had not known there was a Baptist church in the village," says David.

Encouraged by the success, the church held a holiday club in the summer holidays which attracted twenty children. An early morning children's service started soon after. Parents' interest in what their children were doing led to the establishment of a community service straight after the children's service (there had previously only been an afternoon service).

|PIC2|The new community service was also a departure from the past with a contemporary worship using multimedia. "By God's grace, we have had the courage to get rid of some of the traditions," says David. "We had to find the language that people understood. The traditional language of church wrapped up in hymn sandwich, bible studies from the minister and religious terminology meant nothing to them."

The community service now attracts up to fifty people a week. Since 2005 the church has had seven baptisms and seventeen new church members. Last year when the church thought they would lose David as they couldn't afford to keep him, the Baptist Union of Great Britain, excited by the church's mission and potential, offered a Home Mission grant just in time to allow David to stay.

"We are only here because of God choosing to make something happen," says David. "A church that had been standing still for quite some time is moving forward in many directions. For some people that is frightening. One of our challenges is moving forward with as many people as possible. It is not always easy. We are committed to serving Christ and follow him wherever he takes us."

http://www.ponthirbaptists.org.uk/






Re-printed in Christian Today with the kind permission of the Baptist Union of Great Britain.