SHEPSHED EVANGELICAL FREE CHURCH- what does that all mean?

We are not some new religious cult with strange ways and peculiar ceremonies. We are ordinary people of all ages, who come from all sorts of different backgrounds and walks of life. We have been meeting in SHEPSHED, England since 1969 and in 1975 opened our church building in Kirkhill.

There are no elaborate furnishings, just rows of chairs and a pulpit where the preacher stands. There is also a piano because we like to sing! We have services every Sunday and there is also a Sunday School in the morning. During the week we have a number of meetings, including a children's meeting and a Bible study and prayer meeting.

That brings us to the word EVANGELICAL. This refers to what we believe about the Bible, the good news ('Evangel' means good news.) For us the whole Bible is the Word of God. Nothing needs to be added to it and neither must anything be taken out of it. As God is Truth, so His Word is Truth. It is our authority and guide for all that we do. This means that we stand for the historic Christian faith which has always held this view of the Bible.

We are not 'new" and "way out". The whole reason for our existence as a church, is the good news contained in the Bible that "God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life'. That is what we believe and our great longing is that others might come to hear this 'good news' and believe in Jesus Christ of whom it speaks.

We are FREE. Whatever does that mean? It most certainly does mean that you don't have to pay to come in. It does not mean that we are free to do as we please. We want to please the Lord Jesus Christ in all that we do, so we try to obey His loving commands in our lives. Again, we are not free to believe what we like. Some people say that it does not matter what you believe, just as long as you are sincere. Sadly you can be very sincere and still be very wrong! So for us, the Bible is the standard of belief.

Nor are we free to worship just as we want to. God is holy and glorious and demands that we worship Him in Spirit and in Truth. Our worship therefore is reverent and dignified, but is also simple and orderly. You would not find it very different from the type of service that takes place in many other churches. On the other hand, if you are not used to church services of any sort, you would not be suddenly faced with something ritualistic, complicated or frightening if you were to come into one of ours.

Being FREE means that we are not part of any denomination, but are an independent church.

We believe that Jesus Christ is the Head of the Church and that He exercises His rule over us by guiding us through His Word. That does not mean that we are isolationist or exclusive, not having anything to do with anybody else. We are free to enjoy fellowship with many other churches who believe the same things as we do, locally, throughout this country and throughout the world. We are part of a great family.

Finally, we are a CHURCH. In the Bible that word never means a building or denomination. It always means a gathering of people, and that is what we are - a fellowship of Christians. We certainly do not think that we are better than anybody else, but we have come to realize that there is no hope for us in this world, or the next, apart from Jesus Christ who died to save us. So we confess Him as our Saviour and acknowledge Him as our Lord. We have believed in Him and trusted Him and that is what makes us Christians.

As a church we meet together regularly. We practise believer's baptism like any Baptist Church. That is to say, those who have trusted in Jesus Christ testify to their faith in Him by being baptized. Twice a month we have a service of Communion when we remember that Jesus died on the cross for us. All those who love the Lord Jesus Christ and His people are welcome to join with us at that service.

A very important part of our worship is preaching. The Bible, the Word of God, is declared and explained in order to present the challenges, lessons and encouragements it contains. A major part of the preaching of God's Word is the message of the Gospel, "that whosoever calls on the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ shall be saved". This means that all who trust in the Lord Jesus Christ will find Him to be their own Saviour and will have new life in Him. That is what we have found and we what you to share that also.

You will be very welcome to join us at our services, where you will find out more about the message of good news.

If you wish to contact us, please e-mail