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Church Profile: Stalham Baptist Church

Church Profile: Stalham Baptist Church 

As part of our feature which highlights churches from across our region, we find out more about Stalham Baptist Church in the north Norfolk town of Stalham

Name of Church: Stalham Baptist Church
Location: High Street, Stalham, NR12 9AZ
Denomination:  Baptist
Leader(s): Ron Skivington & Jerry Otieno
Contact information:  website: www.stalhambaptist.org.uk (giving access to a weekly online service and weekly blog by one of the pastors, and the church diary and Facebook page)  email: secretary@stalhambaptist.org.uk 
 
What is Stalham Baptist Church like during a main weekly meeting?
Our Sunday morning service at 10.45 am regularly sees between 90-100+ people, ages ranging from babies to 90 year olds, worshipping with a mix of modern and some traditional music. Our worship is led by a variety of people and we always have a mix of musical instruments and singers. We have a young people's slot in the service before they go out to age-appropriate groups. Those remaining in church enjoy times of prayer and a Biblically-based sermon that takes scripture and seeks to make it relevant to life in 2025

What else do you have going on during the week?
We have a community fridge open three times a week. This is a project to try and reduce the amount of waste food going to landfill. Two local supermarkets donate items reaching their sell-by dates for us to offer to anyone who wants them. We also run a weekly foodbank

We open up to provide a warm space three times a week, including offering soup and rolls on Thursdays

We run regular Bible study and prayer groups at church and on Zoom, along with a Bible art group. We also have men's and women's breakfasts with guest speakers

Groups run throughout the week to welcome people and provide friendship and fellowship, including:
coffee & chat, craft club, table tennis, baby and toddler group, bereavement group, messy church and memory cafe

The main sanctuary is open Monday-Friday mornings with one of the pastors in attendance

We also 3 times a year deliver a colourful magazine, called Community Scene, with testimonies, church news and items about other local organisations to nearly 1600 homes

How have you seen God at work in Stalham Baptist Church over the last year?
One of the major ways we have recently seen God at work has been through the refurbishment of our larger hall and the installation of 72 solar panels and an upgrade to our heating and lighting, the total cost of all the work has been over £600,000 and we have seen God provide almost all of it by grants and donations. It has meant we now have a modern facility that enables us to be more of a community hub and able to be proactive in serving Stalham and beyond. This has meant in the last year we have started the Memory Cafe, craft group, and baby and toddler groups all giving us contact with people we didn’t have before

We are also encouraged by the number of new faces, of all ages, who have appeared in church in recent months which has seen a much larger Sunday school and by the continuing faithfulness of those who have been long-time attenders

What is the main thing you would like someone who has never been to Stalham Baptist Church to know about it?
We would want people to know God is real and Jesus loves them. That we are normal people who love Jesus. That they will find a warm welcome and a place to make friends and to be able to deepen their faith or discover it

What are your hopes for the future of Stalham Baptist Church?
Hopes for the future are that our logo, Jesus at the centre, becomes increasingly true in Stalham: Jesus at the centre of our individual, church and community lives. That we remain open to listen to what God is saying and how He is leading. That we may be an increasing blessing to our community