Crayford Baptist Church

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts... - Colossians 3:15

Changed lives

On this page some of our brothers and sisters share a little of how their lives have been changed by Jesus Christ (and being part of CBC too).


Chris


Changed livesIn the Spring of 1995, my then husband and 3-year-old son were attending a Christian Fellowship but came to the decision that it wasn’t quite how we wanted to worship, and so we started looking for a local Baptist church, and on our very first visit to CBC, I can still remember the people who spoke to us and who made us very welcome.  Although the only other children at CBC at the time were the pastor’s family, we decided that CBC was the church for us.

In the years that followed, we had a daughter in 1996, and I’m pleased to say that other families have since joined our fellowship.  I hope and pray that everyone who comes through the doors at CBC feel the same welcome as we did, all those years ago.

Prior to marrying in 1990, I belonged to a church in Sidcup. I was brought up in a Christian home, and so attending Church, Sunday School, Girls’ Brigade and Junior Christian Endeavour was just normal to me.  I knew at a young age that just attending church wasn’t enough, and that I needed to give my life to Jesus, and I remember distinctly praying in my bedroom asking Jesus into my life.  At the age of 19 I was baptised and became a church member.

I thank God that He has been with me in the good and bad times, and am very thankful for the love, care and support of my Christian friends at CBC.




June


JuneI came to Crayford Baptist Church in April 2008 and became a member at the same time as my husband, Len, as we moved into Crayford and wanted to go to the nearest Baptist Church, as we had been at a Baptist Church where we lived before. I’m very happy here and look forward to the home meetings which are very friendly and we can ask questions if we don’t understand, and also ask for prayer for any problems.

I believed in God when I was 8 years old but I didn’t know about Jesus until I was 36. Then I became a Christian and was
baptised at 37 years. I was having marriage problems so I asked God, “If you are there will you get me a bigger house (we had six children at that time), also I’d like a church where they don’t have jumble sales and I’d like to meet a real Christian.” God answered my prayers in three weeks and we got a four bedroom house in Coldharbour, Eltham and a neighbour next door who was a Christian and a church, Coldharbour Evangelical Church, where I was baptised after I’d had some lessons on what a Christian was and how I could become one. Years later my husband also became a Christian.




Mark and Gina



Changed livesWe were both born into Christian families here in Kent, and, having met and started dating in 2015 (whist still at Mark’s former church in Hextable), we decided in 2018 to move to a new church that we could properly call “ours”. We tried a few in the area, and had an immediate good feeling about Crayford Baptist Church. Everyone was so welcoming! We were able to stay for a cup of tea after the service and chat to people in the congregation, but what we liked most about the church was that we could see ourselves taking an active part here.

I (Mark) am a keen singer and musician, and my eyes lit up as soon as I saw a worship group that was wearing matching ties! I now frequently lead services on Sunday mornings, and I’ve had a wonderful time helping the worship team with my singing and (sketchy) piano playing.
My (Gina’s) skill lies in working with children, and especially during lockdown, I started to take a bigger role in helping to plan youth services on Sunday afternoons.
Both of us work as teachers – Mark is an Economics teacher at a secondary school, and Gina teaches Year 6 at a primary school – and, as stressful as the job can be at times, we are blessed to have the support of each other, and of a God that knows the plans He has for us.

Mark
Choosing to follow Jesus has been the best decision I ever made. It has made me more confident, more compassionate and more open to new experiences that have changed the way I see the world. After graduating from university, I spent a year working as an actor in a touring Christian theatre company called ‘Riding Lights’ taking outreach theatre to schools, prisons, theatres and community centres around the UK. Being given the opportunity to share my experiences has made me realise God’s steadfast power, but perhaps what was a bigger blessing was being able to see prisoners, homeless people, and people riddled with addiction experiencing real change as God works in their lives. I don't really know what the future holds for me, but I know that with God by my side, I have nothing to fear.

Gina
Honestly, my relationship with Jesus has always been up and down – there are many questions and things I don't understand. However, I have never doubted that Jesus is our Saviour and that He is at work in my life. It has taken a few years, but after worrying over every difficult situation that I faced (“I can’t do this!”), I realised that everything ended up being OK. God’s plans for me are good. I still stress about a lot of challenges I am faced with, but I have learnt to have faith and trust that actually, everything will be fine because God is with me. Halfway through my teaching degree, I decided that I did not want to be a teacher anymore. I stuck the course out (not wasting the tuition fee!), but had awful experiences with a placement that left me broken and adamant that I did not want to teach. After university, I got a job as a teaching assistant whilst trying to figure out what to do with my life. Long story short, I have now been teaching for about 5 years!


Juliana
JulianaI am from Ghana, West Africa. I was 13 years old before I knew about Christ through my elder brother who I was living with. From that age until my arrival in the UK in 1990 to join my ex-husband, there was nothing but challenges. For me, marriage was a way of running away from my past. However, to cut a long story short, my marriage broke down in 2010 and in 2012 I moved with my daughter to Crayford.

After our divorce I had little to start with. Prior to this I had never paid a mortgage, rent or bills and at the age of 48 I started paying everything on my own as a single mother. I had health issues and my friends and family told me I was crazy.

I remember meeting with the church secretary, shaking and anxious, scared that I would be rejected. But I was accepted and loved by every member of the church. Crayford Baptist Church became my family from that day onwards.

It was a very long journey for me – spiritually, emotionally, physically, financially and mentally exhausting. Starting again was not easy, but by the grace of God we are here today. Crayford Baptist Church has showed me unfailing love and I have learned what love really is.

Since I became a Christian my life has never been the same; in each situation God has been there for us. I have experienced a series of miracles in my life, including my health. For me to be here this very moment and writing this testimony is a miracle in itself. With my immune system very low and classified as extremely vulnerable during the lockdown I was really scared and anxious. I can never thank our pastor enough for taking the time to call and check on each of us every week, for that call alone meant so much to me – that someone really cared for me and my family.

Three years ago I decided to take in and temporarily foster children aged 16-18 under Bexley Council’s Host and Support scheme, and again the church family prayed for me and I am still doing it. It comes with so many challenges to look after teenagers whatever their background, but it makes me happy to give love and support to them and to give back a small fraction of what God has done in my life.

Joining a home group has helped and improved my prayer life and has given me a part of a family that I can confide in to share my problems and worries and to pray and study the Bible together.

I thank God for his grace upon my life, my loved ones, the church members, my community and this country.



Changed lives

Ann
I first came to Crayford Baptist Church when I was 12. 70 years have passed and I'm still here. As a youngster I wanted to know that I was accepted by God, but how could I be sure? Then I came to Jesus and step by step, by reading the Bible, praying and talking to other believers, I found the answer. Jesus had shed His blood to release me from my sin; in fact His blood washes me clean from every stain of sin. Not only that but He gave me a new heart and a new spirit… but it took a while to register. One thing
I know is that He is my light and my salvation, my life – and what
a life it has been!

I have spent many holidays with friends working on the mission field in some very difficult places,
and I too became involved in this work which is a steep learning curve. Walking with Jesus is truly exciting and educational – He wants us to learn. I would say that my thirst to learn is greater now
than ever it was. I may be an only child, but I have a huge extended family. When I put my hand into the hand of Jesus, life truly began. He has never let me go or let me down, and one day He will welcome me into glory!


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