Herford St Baptist Church

I attened the Herford St Baptist Church on the 6th of June. The Herford St Baptist Church was constituted on July 1959 and has been going for 50 years. There is only one service time and that is 9.00am on a Sunday Morning. They celebrate the Lord’s supper every second week. The church appears very small and quiet. After each service they have morning tea. Youth groups at the church are every second Friday night from 6:45pm – 9:00pm. It ranges from grades seven to twelve. The youth includes games, fellowship, devotions and supper.

The church is a protestant church and believes that Jesus died on the cross for us and rose again. The church also believes in the teachings from the Bible and the trinity; God the father, the son and the Holy Spirit. The virgin birth and that Jesus is the only son of God. They also believe that Jesus is coming back one day. The church is Christ centered, Bible believing, prayer focused and spirit led. They are not a Pentecostal church.

Walking into the church there were two deacons at the door greeting the people as they walked in. The church has a very ‘old style’ appearance. They have long, old wooden seats to sit on and the structure of the church is a low set brick and very basic. It has a very quiet environment and gives the perception of not making a big show or production in what they do. To start off the service the congregation where encouraged to join in signing a couple of hymns and a few choruses. The band was made up of the keyboard, flute, drums and someone playing a tambourine. There were a couple of singers on microphones and one person out the front leading. After worship was finished someone came up and read from a very big Bible that was resting on an old wooden pulpit. After the Bible reading it was time to partake in communion. The deacons distributed the emblems throughout the rows. Announcements followed communion. The main message was spoken. The main message was about how we need to rely on God and how we will provide for us. At the service that was attended two people were going to be baptised. Before they were baptised they gave their testimony. After giving their testimonies the two people got baptised in water. Once this was finished everyone joined together outside and had some morning tea. There was a feeling of close community at this church. The same people had several parts that they played within the service instead of a different person doing everything that is needed to be done. It seemed that everyone knew each other and they were very friendly. It made the baptismal time appear more personal because everyone seemed to know these two people very well and if you didn’t know them their testimonies allowed you to see into who they were and made you feel a part of what was happening.

This was a very interesting experience for me as I am used to going to a big church. This church is small but still good. It is comes across conservative compared to the church I am at but it was a different and enjoyable experience.