About us

Reaching the community

Shirehampton is a suburb in the north west of Bristol which retains the charm of an independent village. The village is busy with a good selection of shops, a library, Post Office, bank etc. There is a range of employment and many residents work in neighbouring Avonmouth and the vast docks at Portbury. The village borders the river Avon and has many open green spaces including river walks.

Our history

We are an evangelical Baptist Church which started in a home in 1890 with a vision to reach the rapidly growing village of Shirehampton and the Port of Avonmouth. The founder members crossed the tidal river from Pill several times a week. This was a dangerous journey by ferry, particularly on dark winter nights, but they persevered and a successful children’s work was established. Money was finally raised for the church building in 1904.

Our pastor Paul Rhodes and his wife Katy, have been with us since August 2019. Within the first few weeks of their arrival, they visited the homes of every member and friend. This was really appreciated and meant that when the Pandemic started a few months later, they already knew us.

During those difficult months they doorstep visited. Katy offered to shop for those who were shielding and they have been tireless in supporting those in need. Paul sends a daily email with teaching and news, to every person, which has helped us to stay connected.

During Lockdown we had Zoom prayer meetings and Zoom Services on Sunday. Paul is a good Bible teacher and prayer is important to him.

We are a praying church with a vision for outreach into the community. During the Pandemic we delivered Good News Newspapers to homes in the village and opened the church for ‘Drop in Prayer’ for a time. We have a display of free ‘TryPraying’ booklets on the boundary railings and these have been regularly taken.

We are a happy, welcoming, fellowship, always willing to pray with and support one another.

Making changes

In the last decade we embarked on a major refurbishment programme. A team of retired church members totally renovated every part of the church. It took seven years and our lovely building is now a joy to worship in. Step by step we raised £160,000 and finished without any debt.

“The eyes of the Lord roam to and fro throughout the whole earth to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose hearts are loyal”

2 Chronicles 16:9

Meet Paul

Paul was brought up in church but only became a Christian in 1979 on a camp run by Youth With A Mission (YWAM). Katy became a Christian during her time at College. They met in a Drama Group in Taunton.
Paul is a trained teacher and led a youth congregation in the 1990s where they saw the Holy Spirit working in power amongst the teenagers.
At his baptism he received a prophecy that the Lord was calling him into the ministry. He finally applied to Bristol Baptist College in 2001. His first ministry was in Reading. Over the next 6 years the church grew but he discovered that his expressive/relational style of leadership is best suited to churches of less than 150, including children. He therefore moved on to make room for someone who could grow the church further.
After pastoring a church in Swindon for 8 years Paul felt called to work for Barnabas Fund as a speaker. Barnabas Fund are one of the organisations who support the suffering church. During this year Paul and Katy travelled all over the UK from Exeter to Inverness, including Wales.
However he began to miss pastoral work and received a call to Shirehampton Baptist Church.
Paul has also written many bible study booklets including some which outline his understanding of some of the secondary issues (those not essential to salvation).

Our leadership team

Ruth Muir

CHURCH SECRETARY
Ruth joined the church in 1991 and has been our secretary since 2018. She leads worship, plays piano and is our safeguarding lead. She is married to Simon and has 3 children and 4 grandchildren.
Brian Raybould

TREASURER
Brian has been a member of the church since 1972. Prior to retirement he worked in engineering. He is married to Rosemary and has 4 children and 4 grandchildren.
Pauline Jones

PASTORAL CARE
Pauline has been part of this church since childhood. She is an encourager and makes regular contact with us in order to receive updates and prayer requests
Muriel Bolton

PRAYER & MISSION
Muriel has a passion for good discipling and World Mission and hasbelonged to the church since 2001. She is married to Colin and theyhave three children and nine grandchildren.