Please pray for the elderly in our community, many of whom may become increasingly isolated with the longer nights and poor weather.
Church family prayer requests
Please pray for Children’s Church as we explore the future direction of this important ministry
Please also pray that our children will thrive and that they will want to invite their friends along too.
Praying through this week’s message
This week at church we were encouraged to examine our lives to see if there is anything we’re holding back from the lordship of Christ. Take time to think about these areas of your life, praying that God will help you let go and be free to follow him, whatever the cost.
• Family relationships
• Friendships
• Home
• Career/work
• Finances
• Time
In the news this week…
Pray for God to raise up men and women of integrity, peace and justice to rule our nations. Pray for those elected to lead, that they might have wisdom and compassion, and that God’s spirit would help influence the decisions that they make.
Remember the ongoing battle for Mosul and the resumption of bombing in Aleppo. Pray for those trapped in the conflict zones. Pray for peace, protection and for an end to the conflict.
Pray for the Chudleigh families affected by the fatal car crash last week.
Lord, have mercy.
Chudleigh Baptist Church overseas - ANGOLA
Remember Jez and Carina who have recently arrived in Angola. Pray for them to settle well and to see where God is leading them in their work with MAF in that country.
The Children's and Youth Church is a major part of Chudleigh Baptist Church as when we leave the congregations on a Sunday morning, there are lots of empty seats! Our aim is to help the children and young people grow in their knowledge and love of God and to learn about what the Bible says and how we can apply that to our lives. We have several groups that help us achieve this.
We have creche for the 0-3s where we play, sing songs, listen to Bible stories, do some craft as well as enjoy the odd snack! We might not manage to fit all these activiities into one morning, but we have a good go!
Once the children are eligible to start pre-school, they can join the 3-7s, which includes children up to the end of school year 2. Following that, there is a group of 7-11s which takes children in school years 3-6. In both these groups, the children might take part in music, quizzes, treasure hunts, learning about the Bible, eating sweets, prayer times,doing craft and more.
Finally for a Sunday morning, the 11-14s meet (school years 7-9) and enjoy chatting and discussing, praying and learning about what the Bible says and working out how we might apply it, as well as eating jelly babies, but there is a growing pressure to have Haribo. We regularly pray together, giving thanks and praise to God as well as asking Him about stuff.
Whilst we have a great time in groups with activities aimed at our age groups, it is great when we meet with the rest of church as we can join in with worship, playing musical instruments and learning about God together. We also look forward to the end of the service when grown ups might like to enjoy a cuppa and we can often be found by the biscuit tins!
We now have regular All Age services - they are held about once a half term. These services are great as we can all be involved and you never know quite what the service will hold or how you might be praising and worshipping God - anything from kneading and shaping bread dough to using balloons to walking round the church pretending to be an animal on its way to the ark!
Some of the highlights of our year are going to SW Spree. This is organised by Urban Saints and SWYM and is a weekend of camping and fun but with the aim of enabling children and young people to deepen their relationship with Jesus. We have been each year since 2011 and wonder what colour T-shirts we will have for the next Spree?!! Highlights involve Duggie Dug Dug, Inflatable Sumo Wrestling, Writeway, Spree's Got Talent, archery, kayaking, raft building and so much more!! (Highlights for the leaders are getting home to a real bed at the end of it all!!)
The youth enjoy helping out on camps in various parts of the country in the summer, going to Soul Survivor as well as going along to Soul Exeter and FNX in Exeter.
The youth are also involved in ET (Everybody's Territory) which is run by Maren Hedermann who works for the Chudleigh AreaYouth Project. ET meets weekly in term time on Sunday evenings 7-8.30pm at Chudleigh Parish Church.
Spree 2017 was another highly successful year and we were super excited to be a part of it once again. Twelve young people from Chudleigh spent the weekend in the company of 1200 other young Christians from all over the South West and took part in a wide range of activities and group meetings where there was a chance to worship together, learn more about God and have fun in the process.
The camping was dry and fun and the all the Chudleigh crew had a great time having water fights, playing on inflatables and taking part in a wide range of workshops around the camp.
The event at Crediton is really well organised and such a wonderful opportunity for 8 to 14 year olds to have fun and meet with God at the same time.
Its a huge thank you to the Spree team for the organisation and to Chudleigh Baptist and Parish Church for your support of our young people. Bring on next year!
Church membership
Membership of Chudleigh Baptist Church is open to anyone who is in agreement with our Church Covenant. This is a series of six simple promises that seek to embody our commitment to Christ and to one another.
The idea of a covenant is a rich biblical one. It expresses the way in which God enters into a relationship with his people. For example the covenant with Noah, after the flood. (Gen 9:8-13). Later in the Old Testament there are other covenants - with Abraham, with Moses, with David, with Israel. Later again, there is the promise of a new covenant (Jer 31:31-34, Ezek 34:25-32.) - a covenant written not on stone but on the people’s hearts. This is the new covenant that we find in the New Testament. Jesus speaks of this at the Last Supper- the new covenant sealed with his blood. A new relationship based on grace.
A covenant is an agreement. It has promises and responsibilities. God says ‘I will do this- in response, I ask you to do this’. It is not a contract. Not a legally binding document with sanctions but a practical expression of a relationship. We speak, for example, of the covenant of marriage. A relationship characterised by love, entered into freely. Our covenant is a practical expression of our love for and commitment to God and one another.
Here it is:
As a member of Chudleigh Baptist Church I affirm my faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour and commit myself to seek to:
Live in a way that is consistent with being a disciple of Jesus Christ.
Love God, his people and the world in practical and self giving ways.
Pray for the church, its ministry and leadership and the world.
Give to the church’s work generously and regularly.
Meet (regularly) with God’s people for worship, fellowship and teaching.
Serve the church’s ministry by using the gifts that God has given me.
Live, love, pray, give, meet, serve - that’s what we seek to do. We don’t always get it right, but that’s our goal. This is what we commit ourselves to together.
Towards the beginning of each year we hold Covenant Sunday when we have the opportunity to renew our commitment during a communion service. In this way an individual’s membership of the church is renewed annually. This is always a special Sunday and there is always a creative way for the children to take part as well. However, the Covenant Book is available throughout the year for anyone who wishes to become a member at any other time.
For more information or if you would like to discuss becoming a member please get in touch using the "Contact Us" page.
To view our constitution, please click here.