- 42 Bell Street
- Princes Risborough
- Bucks
- HP27 0AD
01844 274499
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The Background of Princes Risborough Baptist Church - A Historic Church
How Old Is Our Church?
PRBC is over 300 years old, or at least parts of it are.
The Baptist Church at Princes Risborough was established in 1707, with an original Meeting House registered as a place of worship in 1708.
Baptists have been worshipping on this site ever since. The original baptistry and its adjacent well can still be found beneath our floorboards, but the building itself was largely rebuilt in 1805 and enlarged again in 1814. The sister of CH Spurgeon is known to have preached here.
For a Baptist Church, 300 is quite old. The first Baptist church in Great Britain was opened at Spitalfields in 1612 . Ours is still open.
For more about our Church history click here.
Why Baptist?
Baptists are part of the world-wide Christian Church. Our fundamental beliefs and our policies, church management and ministry of service are all based upon the authority of Scripture.
So what makes Baptists different from other Christians and what makes a Baptist church differ from the churches of other denominations?
Contrary to popular belief, it is not the practice of Believer’s Baptism that is the primary distinction. The essential starting point for Baptists is the concept of the “Gathered Church
We gather together seeking to know the will of God and recognise that authority comes from Jesus Christ as Head of His Church.
This principle means that a Baptist Church Ireland
Where Did We Come From?
Buckinghamshire has a long history of Nonconformism, extending back at least to the early 16th century.
Following the English Civil War (1642-1651), Baptists met in private houses in the villages around Aylesbury.
By 1688, one such church was meeting at Ford.
By 1700/1701, some of the members of the Ford Church began to meet at Princes Risborough and a separate Church was formed.
In 1707, land was given on which our original Meeting House was built.
How Did We Celebrate 300 Years?
A Tercentenary is very special and this one provided many great opportunities.
A year-long programme of events was organised. We looked back on our history, which often proved to be an inspiring story of triumph over adversity by many devoted servants. We looked at ourselves and our service today and we have become inspired to seek God's plan for us and to discover how best to bring the power and love of God to meet the desperate needs of our 21st century world.
Where Are We Going?
In 1797, ninety years after the foundation of our Church, and with the congregation in decline, the few members left solemly declared their intention to become " A Visible Church of Christ".
Our Vision today is to live up to that historic declaration and strive towards those aims and goals now embodied in our modern Mission Statement:-
"We are here to worship Jesus Christ and
obey His teaching, to care for one another and
be open to sharing our good news with everyone."
obey His teaching, to care for one another and
be open to sharing our good news with everyone."
In 2011 we look towards a future with new opportunities and challenges in the life of the Church.