A 50-year celebration was held at the Grange Baptist Church (GBC), Letchworth, on May 18, with generations of people who had been blessed by God’s work through the church family in Hertfordshire in attendance.
A memory wall and video photo montage spanned the entire 50 years from ‘blueprints’ for the building through to the present day, passing through the many groups, events and services that the church family have been involved in over the years.
The vision
The vision for what would become the GBC began on a new-build estate in the 1950s when the town centre Baptist church, under its pastor, Will Smart, had begun to run a junior church led by Leslie Newth in the local school. One of Pastor Smart’s children, with grandchildren and great grandchildren, are still members of the GBC. Other founder members of the church, when it became autonomous in the 1970s, have a similar dynasty in membership!
Serving the community
But this is no church resting on its past achievements. Active youth clubs over many years have been refreshed for new generations, rooms extended and updated, new ministries developed. There is a real desire to reach into the needy estate community of which the GBC is a part. Their facilities are used to serve every kind of person in the community and to then share the good news of the Lord Jesus.
It was a joyful day full of thanksgiving for God’s grace and goodness shown to the church, which, having had its ups and downs like any family, is still overflowing with the love of the Lord.
