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Dear Visitor to this website,

I am very glad to be able to say hello to you on behalf of Margate Baptist Church, and to introduce myself to you.  I moved to Margate in September 2006 to become the Minister at Cecil Square, and I am now enjoying being involved in the local community and in the life of the wider Church in Thanet.

By way of introduction, I was born and grew up in Thetford – a small town in Norfolk. Here I became a Christian at the age of 16, and here I was married to Nicky in 1977.  We both went on to study at the University of Wales at Lampeter; and then moved on to Oxford, where Nicky trained to be a teacher, and I trained to be a Baptist Minister. My first Church was at Hainault in East London (1982-91); and then I spent 15 years as Minister of Pier Avenue Baptist Church in Clacton on Sea, on the Essex coast. Now God has brought us to Margate, and we are excited about what the future holds. We have two children – Sarah lives and works in Norwich; and James is presently working back in Clacton.

Our fellowship here at Margate Baptist Church is small but warm and loving. We are located in Cecil Square, at the heart of the town; and in many ways the heart is a good symbol of what we stand for.

We have a heart for God -  and we want to worship him passionately and thoughtfully, and with thankful hearts.

We have a heart for God’s world – and we want to reach out to our local community with the Good News of Jesus Christ, and with his love. We are also deeply committed to world mission, and to being salt and light in God’s name.

We have a heart for God’s people- and we want to enable everyone to grow in their faith, to discover their gifts, and to become active in ministry.

We seek to live out our vision through many different areas of service. For example, we run youth organizations like Boys and Girls Brigade, a Youth Club, and a Toddler group; we have twice-weekly Coffee Mornings, which offer a welcoming place of friendship; we organize a Lunch Club for local residents; we have prayer groups, Bible Study groups, and musical groups.   But most of all, we aim to know Jesus, and to make him known.

You would be very welcome to come and join us, if you can.

May the Lord bless you and encourage you in all you do.

                       Stephen Biddall  (Minister, Margate Baptist Church)