Just a reminder that whilst the scaffolding or the warning cones are in place down the side of the Music Room you’ll need to take extra care as work goes on to repair the roof and fit new lintels above its windows.
Thanks to Rod for this reminder.
John Sherbourne
A date for your diary
While we’re sweltering in what we’re told is the third heatwave of the year, October 31st may seem a long way off. But unlike some churches who leave things to the very last minute we thought we’d give you plenty of notice about Krys Gadd’s 2026 Craft Fair.
For more information you can contact Krys direct on krystyna.gadd@icloud.com
Now and then – a look back in time to how our kitchen used to look
The two black and white pictures in our gallery above show that many years ago MBC’s kitchen had a much more “old fashioned” look about it. Not that those who worked in it didn’t always turn out some amazing meals, in fact almost two decades ago and in addition to our weekly commitment to providing a hot meal for Lunch Club, we ran a number of lovely in-house dinners and an Alpha courses which saw 32 people sit down to a delicious pork caserole, stuffed baked potato and fresh veg (the alternative for those who prefered was vegitarian sausage) and a choice of dessert.
However, as time goes by things need replacing, and this includes cookers and fridges; things we probably all take for granted.
The colour pictures, however, show the kitchen as it is now, resplendent with a multi functional delonghi oven and a cavernous state of the art fridge. As Shelley said at our last Church Meeting the rules and regulations we needed to sign up to in order to buy and fit such devices took an age. But now they’re here they, and our wonderful cooks who use them can ensure that MBC can continue to provide hospitality to young and old alike.
A heartfelt thank you from Florin and Dana Fodor in Cluj, Romania
Dear friends and ministry supporters,
I hope this email finds you well and experiencing God’s grace in your week. As we look back at what has been happening through our Teachers Ministry recently, we are so incredibly grateful for your partnership, your prayers, and your heart for this mission.
Because of your faithful support and prayers, we saw a multiplication of our ministry in Romania (new volunteers, new communities, new events, new people reached with the message of hope in Christ.
Thank you very much. You are a vital part of this story, and we wanted to share firsthand the impact you are making.
Florin and Dana (Cluj, Romania).
Phil Coates unpacks more about Expect 26
BMS Expect’26
(William Carey: Expect great things from God, Attempt great things for God.)
Expect is the quadrennial conference of the BMS. Shelley and I were invited to attend the Wednesday, 24 June, of this 5 day event, at High Leigh Conference Centre near Ware, Herts. Delegates from all over the world included BMS missionaries (including Mark and Andrea Hotchkin). Over 150 delegates were there – and all received a copy of Jane Coates’ second book, More Encounters and Journeys.
The programme was packed, with a plenary every morning, breakout sessions and workshops, meals together and worship.
I arrived just in time for the Plenary by Rula Khoury Mansour, a Palestinian Israeli Christian lawyer who addressed what I estimate to be around 200 people in a packed very large ‘tent’. She spoke very movingly and incisively about Christian responses for peace in times of conflict, showing by examples how people together in conflict together “carry what would crush any of us” and are “formed into something we could not become alone”. She reflected on Palestinian experiences in recent years, using the Arabic word ’sumud’ meaning ‘steadfast remaining’ – in which people can become hard and bitter, or soft and making life. A stone near Bethlehem says ‘we refuse to be enemies’ and said that all acts for peace are a rehearsal for reconciliation in the future, not waiting for the new world somewhere in the future, but building small pieces of it now – ’to rehearse with bare hands the world God means it to be: Jesus told us the kingdom of God is here, now’.
Rula has built an International Centre for peace studies in Nazareth: “Peacebuilding is worth doing even when peace does not come. Where the Holy Spirit works to form us together or just coordinating us, we show up and God forms us through it. Can anything good come out of Nazareth? Come and see…” Dr Aniu Kevichusa (Exec Director for Intercultural Learning and Collaboration – and a PhD student of Prof Haddon Wilmer of MBC, over 20 years ago!) followed this up powerfully, reflecting that mission is the attribute of God who seeks the lost. To the potential disciples’ question “where do you live”, Jesus invites us – “Come and see” – and shows that this is close to the Father’s heart and close to the hurt of the world.
Shelley and I attended the same ‘making disciples’ breakout session (which she referred to in the MBC service on 28 June) – disciple making is a lifestyle, not a method; the church exists for people who are not there. We all have a circle of people we can reach out to, to take the good news of Jesus to their homes.
The time allowed us to meet several really valuable contacts. We of course met with Helen Harris, BMS Director of Communications and Fundraising, who spoke at MBC in April, with whom we have ongoing close contact. MBC is historically a strong contributor to BMS through people and through our giving. We met for lunch with Orla Moxon the BMS Youth Engagement Officer, to discuss the recent highly successful BMS March4Mission 26 event in March in Malaysia, which was a pilot to replace the Action Teams; based on this success (a fuller report is available) the next March4Mission event will be in Thailand in March 2027 – aimed at training 18-35 year olds for mission at home or abroad. The Jane Coates memorial fund helps to support all of this activity.
We later met John Settatree who had organised the Church-Community Mobilisation (CCM) webinar Phil attended, in conjunction with Christians Against Poverty: some of the schemes in CCM – which is learning from overseas experience, e.g. in Nepal – are of great relevance to our current thinking about what Mission looks like and can become for MBC [separate slides with notes available]. Phil also met the new church engagement specialist in the UK, Nick Drury with whom we will develop contact.
After lunch, Shelley and I attended the Hope plenary session – a range of really encouraging, specific ‘stories and voices’ from around the world, including Mark and Andrea Hotchkins describing how God had blessed their Chad hospital, especially their local medical co-worker who had stepped up to undertake life-saving operations in their absence.
We then attended the Church Leaders session, to hear Kang San Tan, the BMS President, speak eloquently about the changing nature of mission movements, which increasingly involve partnership with a move from 80-90% of UK people going to the world (“the west to the rest”), to ‘everywhere to everywhere’ (or, polycentric mission). BMS seeks to be catalytic in this, aiming for more sustainable activities, enabling mission through generosity with partnership and seeking to avoid dependency. This includes the view ‘every church can receive and every church can send’. Some areas are very strong (e.g. over 2500 missionaries from Brazil are currently on service) but this is unusual, and there are moves to develop for example, ‘Africans to Africans’ seeking to raise Global South leaders and workers. The BMS still sees its resources as serving global mission, but the BMS three strategy areas: Heart for the Gospel; Hope for the World; and Help for the Journey link with the increasing emphasis on mission in our neighbourhood as well as far away. It was noted that the BMS is still founded predominantly on the support of UK Baptist Churches.
A Leaders Q&A session (fielded by Helen Harris, Kang and Aniu) was lively and informative. Questions included: Why should UK Baptist churches continue to support BMS? The local church can do local mission, but BMS is working in partnership with trusted people, for the longer reach – BMS approach is not UK-led by to create locally embedded leadership, avoiding dependency. Due diligence is always undertaken on fund distribution, aiming at long term sustainability.
What about the next generation of UK pastors/leaders? – in part this is beginning to be addressed by Orla Moxon’s role, with March4Mission as one aspect; Orla has a Harvest pack for kids this year. BMS engages with the training colleges. Interestingly, it was noted that the BMS journey is similar to that of local churches, changing to meet current needs.
Kang reflected that the BMS is unique in his view. It was founded by William Carey in 1792 (over 230 years ago) with a very strong history (and MBC has a very pioneering mission track record from 1960 onwards) but it is adapting to the new paradigm of mission in the current world in meaningful ways; it remains global in its reach (unlike many others), being wide ‘as is the gospel’.
The BMS statement ‘We believe that every follower of Jesus has a calling to mission’ holds well in these days!
I was privileged to then attend the latter part of the end of afternoon worship session, where retiring missionaries were gratefully thanked, celebrated and prayed with.
A very full day!
There were also 6 regional Expect meetings going on in June – see https://bmsworldmission.org/events
Overall reflection:
I already had high respect for the BMS, over many years, not least because of the involvement of so many (most known to us personally) in Moortown Baptist Church in full time and part time service abroad, including our own direct connection through Jane. That respect has grown, with the excellence of this event, the quality of the people leading BMS World Mission (and our increased positive contact with them), the clarity of the vision and theology of mission, and the willingness to embrace change – yet firmly rooted in the clear desire to follow Jesus, and sharing His love. Superb!
I believe that we need to continue to strongly support the BMS enthusiastically at MBC, learn from them in partnership, and further develop our links with them so that we have a strong, dynamic connection.
We have asked Orla to come to speak at MBC, most likely in the autumn now, to help our church see some of the steps being taken by BMS to encourage all generations – potentially some of our own church? I’m sure we will invite Helen Harris again in the future too. Meanwhile, we will continue our warm and direct links with them, and with Aniu, which I aim to continue to develop, to the benefit of MBC.
Phil Coates
28 June 2026
All our yesterdays… MBC cricket team circa 1958
Who said nostalgia was a thing of the past
I have to admit that the success of the two 1960s Youth Club hike pictures I recently posted took me by surprise. That’s because between them they were seen by almost 150 people; many more than a lot of other posts!
So today I’ve decided to show you another of our old images – this one is MBC’s 1958 cricket team. There’s also a scan (below) of that summer’s fixture list, something that to us oldies brings back warm memories of our younger days.
Our Mission Partners Andrea and Mark Hotchkin return to Chad
In their latest newsletter, and as they prepare to return to Bardai our BMS Mission Partners Andrea and Mark Hotchkin ask for our prayers in some quite specific areas.
Who, what, where and when? A guide to all that’s happening here at MBC in 2026
www.moortownbaptistchurch.org.uk
It would be nigh on impossible to list everything that goes on here at MBC in just one post as very often we host special one offs – such as Plant Sales, Craft Fairs, Cream Teas and the like. Here, however, are what you might call the basics i.e. the things that take place either on a regular or a semi permanant basis.
Lasting for just over an hour our Sunday Service starts in church and on YouTube at 11am. The first Sunday of each month is Café Church and on the third Sunday we celebrate Communion.
An important part of our worship is Sunday School which sees a small group of young children learning all about Jesus and the love of God.
Rounding off Sunday we have Rock Solid. Meeting between 7 & 8pm and majoring around having fun. Youth Club style Rock Solid regularly sets our teenagers some serious and not so serious challenges and tasks.
Monday… Our free Warm Space Beacon Café, 10am to 12noon which runs in conjunction with The Lord’s Pantry, a project that within limits distributes free food and toiletries etc. to people in need.
Tuesday… Stepping Stones, a toddler group 10 to 11.30am. Term time only.
Tuesday… The first of our Housegroups, only this one is in church between 12noon and 2pm.
Wednesday… 10.30am – 2pm. Lunch Club, games, quizzes and always a hearty lunch for our seniors.
Wednesday… 7.30 to 9.30pm. A hybrid Housegroup with half the group meeting in our Music Room and others online.
Wednesday… 7.30pm – 9.30ish. Ladies Housegroup. This group meets in our Corner Room at Church from 7.30pm till 9.30ish.
Wednesday… 7.30 to 9pm. Country Dancing.
Thursday… 2pm to 4. Open Door Craft Group. Our second Warm Space of the week. No experience needed, Free refreshments and always lots of chat.
Thursday… 7pm to 9pm. Bible Study and prayer in our Music Room.
Friday… 10am to 11am. A second Bible Study, again in church.
Friday… And finally, between 8pm – 10pm, another Housegroup, again in someone’s home.
On top of all this we also have a Pastoral Team which offers confidential support to anyone who needs it. A Parkinson’s Exercise Class. An excellent worship band that plays regularaly in our Sunday services. Two Extend Exercise Classes (ideal for our older friends). Pilates. Pathways a Christian Counselling Service. Huge input into the Leeds and Moortown Furniture Store. Masses of home and overseas Mission work. PACT (Neighbourhood Policing Teams) and local councillor surgeries.
And of course at certain times of the year we also host some special services such as Baptisms, Easter, Harvest and Christmas.
For more information about any of these please email Moortown Baptist Church on admin@moortownbaptistchurch.org.uk
Moortown Baptist Church. 204 King Lane, Leeds LS17 7AA
Thousands flock to celebrate a mass beach baptism
Last Sunday, as we basked in the sun on Alwoodley Village Green more than 250 miles away, in Dorset, over 1,000 people came together to celebrate a mass baptism service.
The venue was Bournemouth beach and the event which was hosted by BCP Church Collective – a group of 14 churches from Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole – saw 43 people baptised not in a conventional baptistry like ours but in the sea.
Last Sunday, however, was only the first of two special services; the second is this Sunday (the 28th of June) when organisers confidently expect last year’s total of 92 baptisms watched by well over 1,300 people will be exceeded.
Summing up the event, one the organisers, Tim Matthews who is the senior leader at Lovechurch in Gervis Road, Bournemouth said: “In a time of such uncertainty, with so much bad news around, the beach baptisms are a sign of great hope for everyone.”
Many thanks to Jean Carlise who spotted this post on social media and passed it through to me, and also to BCP Church Collective for allowing us to use their pictures.
New fridge and cooker for MBC kitchen
They may have been a long time coming but I’m glad to report that MBC’s kitchen now has a new fridge and a new cooker.
Used by many of our groups, from Stepping Stones right through to Lunch Club, these new arrivals will ensure that when it comes to keeping up with health, safety and food hygene requirements we’ll continue to excel.