About Us
Mutley Baptist Church’s vision is to be a community of followers of Jesus where everyone is included.
We actively help one another to develop and deepen our relationships with Jesus and one another, intentionally sharing God’s loving good news with those around us.
Mutley Baptist Church's Values
Jesus calls us to love God and love people, and to be a community of followers who, like him, share these values
At Mutley Baptist Church,
our aim is to be inclusive of all
We seek to be a church which celebrates and affirms every person and challenges discrimination. We will continue to challenge the church where it continues to discriminate against people on grounds of disability, economic power, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, learning disability, mental health, neurodiversity, or sexuality.
We believe in a Church which welcomes and serves all people in the name of Jesus Christ; which is scripturally faithful; which seeks to proclaim the Gospel afresh for each generation; and which, in the power of the Holy Spirit, allows all people to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Jesus Christ.
This is the Inclusive Church Network Statement that we have affirmed.
Our beliefs are in our name
Almost all organisations have activities that are shaped by their vision, defined by their values and built on their beliefs. For Mutley Baptist Church:
our Activities are shaped by
our Vision which is defined by
our Values which have their foundations in
our Beliefs
You can read our values here and our beliefs are represented by the graphic below
Mutley
We are first of all called to share the Good News of Jesus in the Mutley district of Plymouth. We do this through our words and actions.
Baptist
We are a Baptist Church. There are some things that make us distinctive as Baptist Christians, the most obvious being Believer's Baptism.
You can find out about Baptist Churches on this page on the Baptists Together website.
Church
We are Christians who are committed to each other and sharing Jesus. The Bible is vital to us as one of the key ways of hearing from God.
We are able to do all we do because we are empowered by God's Spirit.
Our commitment to LGBTQ+ community
We recognise that in the past our church (alongside many others) has hurt and treated many LGBTQ+ people unfairly. In 2015, the church went through a process of trying to understand what we believed about same sex relationships. Many people left when the we discerned that we should be affirming.
Following this, the Elders (leaders) wrote a letter to all the LGBTQ+ people who were in the church during those four years. The letter is below and this remains our acknowledgement and commitment to the LGBTQ+ community.
Mutley Baptist Church is now part of the inclusive Church Network and aims to be a community where LGBTQ+ people are included and celebrated alongside everyone else.
"We write to you as the eldership of Mutley Baptist Church to apologise.
The events of the past four years have touched and damaged everyone in our church fellowship but none more so than those of you who belonged to the fellowship and LGBT.
The leaders and elders of the church have changed over this period and we realise that, although it is long overdue, we need to say something. We are so sorry that this happened and that we let you down; we apologise for the ways you have been hurt, and bullied by some, for being just who you are. We admit that we haven't got it right; we are still working towards making Mutley Baptist Church a place that loves, is inclusive and is affirming of all: a safe place no matter who you are.
We ask for forgiveness for the years that you have had to hide who you are or were afraid to be yourselves; when your mental health might have suffered, or you were not treated properly
Our prayer is that you are not just welcome but embraced in this church fellowship, whether single or married, although equally we understand that we need to rebuild trust to make this sound more than just words.
We pray that God's blessing will be upon you.
With love and prayers from the MBC Eldership"
Dated 2019
Dedication
As a Baptist Church we don't baptise or christen babies, we baptise believers (see below). But just as Jesus blessed children and their families we want to do the same.
In a Dedication we offer parent(s)/carer(s) the opportunity give thanks to God for the gift of their child, seek God's blessing on their child as they grow up, and ask for God's guidance and grace in being even better parents/carers.
A dedication is a great opportunity for the church community to come together and celebrate God’s goodness and blessing, to commit to the family and the child we will support them throughout their life.
Believer's Baptism
Believer’s Baptism is one of the highlights in a Christian’s life: a public statement of our commitment to follow Jesus.
At Mutley Baptist Church we usually immerse people in water in a pool at the front of the church (unless there are medical issues).
The physical act of baptism represents dying to our old way of life and being raised to new life in Jesus; being washed clean by Jesus and making a fresh start as a follower of Jesus. When you are baptised as a believer you may well feel closer to God and experience his joy at what you are doing.
If this is something you would like to explore please speak with Nick, our Minister, or contact our office
Membership
Mutley Baptist Church is a Baptist church, led and sustained by our Church Members.
Church membership is our way of expressing our commitment to this specific church community is based on our mutual commitment, responsibilities and promises to love, support and encourage one another and be involved in the church
If you are interested in finding out more about membership, we’d recommend looking at our covenant leaflet.
If you are interested in becoming a member please speak with Nick, our Minister, or contact our office
Get to Know Us
Mutley Baptist Church is served by paid staff and teams of volunteers.
Our staff team provides day-to-day leadership and support for all of the activities and ministries of the church
Staff:
- Nick Lear (Minister)
- Fiona Spicer (Community Pastor)
- Beth Hemes (Youth, Children's and Families' Pastor)
- Hilary Fursdon (Administrator)
- Steve Siney (Caretaker and Room Bookings)
- TBC (Maintenance Technician)
Trustees (known as Elders) are appointed by the membership of the church to provide leadership and oversight of the churches activities.
Trustees:
- Mark Bailey (Secretary and Trustee)
- TBC (Treasurer)
- Pam Shelmerdine (Trustee)
- Tim Frost (Trustee)
- Andy Gaston (Trustee)
- Nick Lear (Chair and Trustee)
- Tim Provost (Trustee)
- Jeremy Dawes (Trustee)
Our Trustees are accountable to the Members of the church, which is part of the Baptist Union of Great Britain.
Staff Team and Leaders
Affiliated with and working with our partners
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