Church Profile -
Queens Road Baptist Church,
Broadstairs, Kent

Broadstairs is an attractive seaside town on the East Coast of Kent. Like many of the coastal areas in the South of England its population is a mixture of retired professionals, people who work for service providers, and others who survive on low-income or D.S.S. (for further details see intro to the Gap Project). Queen Road Baptist Church is set right in the centre of the town. Its main church building is over 100 years old and can accommodate up to 320 people. This is supplemented by church halls which were built in the 1960's. These contain two large halls, a well-equipped kitchen, toilet facilities, together with a smaller room and three offices. Following eight years of a joint ministry which came to an end in February 2003, the Minister, Revd. Stephen Cave, has brought a new vision of team ministry. This involves bringing together a team of specialists (youth worker; second minister; pastoral worker) to supplement and expand the existing work of the church. We have already appointed a youth minister (Revd. Samuel Hearle), who took up the post in September 2004, and a second minister (Revd. Rhodri Walters) began his ministry here in August 2006. At present the church has in the region of 230 members, which when added to the number who attend as members of the congregation amount to 350. We have around 50 young people involved in church based youth activities, together with between 80-100 young people who attend the various youth activities provided by the Gap Project.

Staff

At present we have two full time Ministers, a full time youth minister (working for the church and the Gap project), two job-share office managers employed for 28 hours per week and a caretaker employed for 15 hours per week, together with two people who clean the church.

The Gap Project -
A Thanet Community Project

The Gap project is based at Queens Road Baptist Church. There has been a long tradition at the church of seeking to engage with the community and the project grew out of a desire to continue in that direction. Although the project now has it own Project Manager, Administrator, office, and charitable status, it remains firmly rooted in the life and mission of Queens Road Baptist Church. Most of those who work within the project, either as paid sessional workers or volunteers, come from the church.

Mission Statement

The aim of Queens Road Baptist Church is to:-
"Reach and teach people, releasing them into life in the Kingdom of God"

What we have set out to achieve over the last nine years.

• Teaching: to establish a teaching programme that enables the whole church to be built up in their faith.
• Project: to create a project that is geared towards addressing the needs within our community "
• Outreach: to encourage people to be involved in the wider community; to create "people-friendly" activities which offer the opportunity for a personal encounter with God
• Church growth: Because we are mostly full on a Sunday morning we are looking to expand outwards to establish active groups in other areas.
• Worship: to help people to experience life-changing encounters with God
• Friendship: to foster friendship by creating opportunities for us to get together
• Children: to ensure that children's work/ministry is central to the church's life and witness and those who work with children are supported and valued
• Youth: to create a dynamic programme that enables young people to make life choices
• Pastoral: to move people away from a "dependency" syndrome to the liberating experience of greater personal wholeness in relation to God
• Prayer: to create daily opportunities for corporate prayer and to move away from the "self-indulgent" to the "self-offering"
• Vision: to help the church to clarify its purpose in God and to move towards its fulfilment
• Mission: to create a programme of overseas' support that is God-guided rather than driven by personal interests
• Giving: to help the church to give in a more accountable and informed way
• Leadership: to widen the leadership structure to incorporate eldership; to enable our deacons to develop personally and in their ability to provide spiritual leadership
• Professionalism: to create structures and activities that help the church to function more effectively

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