We are Lymington Baptist Church, a lively and active church, right in the centre of town - in New Street, a turning just off the High Street. We meet on a Sunday morning at 10.30 'til noon, after which we take the opportunity to have a cup of tea or coffee and catch up with visitors, new and old, for a chat. There are usually lots of visitors to Lymington Baptist Church and we'd love to see you too. If you're not sure what it means to be a Baptist Church, take a look at What's a Baptist? or find out more about our Sunday Services.
LBC exists to bring glory to God by helping people to know and follow Jesus. Through Jesus we believe that we can experience God as Father, the source of all meaning, security, purpose and joy. We also believe that the Good News about Jesus is the ultimate answer to every need we have and our passionate desire is for the News to be unleashed in the lives of everyone so they can experience the transformative love of God which leads to true freedom and fullness of life. We call this Living Well.
The Bible says that people are separated from God because of their desire to live in His world without Him. The Good News of the gospel is that when we choose to allow God to be in charge of our lives and when we trust in what Jesus has done for us on the Cross (rather than what we have done) we can be reconciled with Him. The gospel then continues to change us from the inside out as we become more like Jesus, enjoying the abundant life of freedom he came to bring.
Members of the Church here have four key principles:
Grace: Knowing and enjoying the grace of God in our lives. Living as disciples of Christ trusting in the work of Christ alone to reconcile us to God. Being committed to celebrating this undeserved grace through regular worship.Desiring and seeking opportunities to share the message of grace with others.
Growth: Holding the Bible as our ultimate authority for faith and conduct – allow it to shape our faith and lifestyle.Being regular in corporate worship and teaching. Cultivate our own personal devotional life through prayer and Bible reading.Praying with others for the church and its mission. Participating in Church Members Meetings so that together we can discern the mind of Christ.
Groups: Helping to bring the love of Christ to others by sharing their burdens.Being a regular attendee in the congregation and a small group (Life Group) – never undervaluing the ministry of “turning up” which confers value on others.
Generosity: Applying Biblical principles in the use of what we have (time, money, abilities).
Discern how God has gifted each one of us and seeking to serve Him through the church, ideally in accordance with our gifting and in ways which are sacrificial. Giving financially to God’s work through the church regularly and generously.
That’s what we’re about!
Meet The Team
Lots of people are involved in running our church, but let's begin with our Minister (known as a Pastor in Baptist circles).
Pastor: Dave Gooderidge
The Reverend Dave Gooderidge was inducted as Pastor at Lymington Baptist Church in July 2000. Dave was trained at London School of Theology, after which he spent five years as Assistant Pastor at Hertford Baptist Church. Before college, Dave worked for Marks & Spencer and The Department for Trade & Industry, as well as Youth for Christ. Dave is married to Louise and they live in Lymington with their three children.
Assistant Pastor: Nigel Bayley
Nigel arrived at Lymington Baptist Church from Moorlands College in Dorset in August 2004. Before this, he spent eleven years as an Electronics Engineer followed by six years as a Shift Leader in the paper industry. Nigel is married to Elaine and they have two children. One of Nigel's areas of responsibility is for youth and children and he runs the very successful Rock Solid Youth Club and Alibi Drop-In Bar on a Friday evening. In any time he has left over, he supports Manchester City and believes that they will be champions some day soon. Perhaps that's stretching miracles a bit too far!
We have a team of Deacons, their role being to guide and help the Pastors to lead the Church. They are:
Peter Garton
Kirsty Gostt
Richard Holman
Tony Lowman
Trevor Pogmore
Ros Reid
And there are a number of other people who contribute a great deal to ensure that Church runs smoothly - so, in no particular order:
Treasurer: Laurence Coles
Administration: Peter Garton
Finance: Tony Lowman
Fabric Team: David Luker
Prayer Groups: Rob Gostt
World Mission Team: Ros Reid
Youth & Children's Ministry: Trevor Pogmore
Music Team: Nigel Bayley
Pastoral Care Team: Elaine Bayley
Life Groups: Dave Gooderidge
Stewarding: Matt Kisler
Prayer Ministry: Chris & Helga Sewell
News Sheet: Alan Morris
News Emails: Mac McKenna
Social Events: Pam McKenna
Catering: Sal Luker
Website: Martin Tipper
Flowers: Liz Babmer
Thursday Fellowship: Jean Bennett
Christian Aid: Jean Bone
Grace Cafe: Mo Wiggins
Hullabaloo: Jane Holman
Men's Stuff: Lawrence Maule
We are part of the Baptist Union, the Evangelical Alliance, and one of the Churches in LEAF, Local Evangelical Alliance in the Forest. Like other Baptist Churches, we finance ourselves. This is how.