I said to God, ‘If you are there I will follow you, but I'm not willing to just join a social club’ – Vicki’s Story

Vicki shares her story of life and faith.

Hi Vicki, thank you for meeting with me today to talk about your life story. Can you start by telling me about your parents, siblings and childhood?

I was born in Forest Gate Hospital and grew up in Leytonstone. My mum is Irish from Dublin and my dad from London near Ilford and they both worked at BT. They had two children. I am the oldest and I have a brother, Anthony. I had a very happy childhood but no church upbringing. We moved to Chingford when I was 11 and I went to secondary school there. After A-Levels, I went to Stafford University to study English and History.

When and how did you become a Christian and get baptised?

When I was in Chingford I went to a small evangelical youth group and started going on a Sunday morning and I also went to Spring Harvest. At my first year at Stafford Uni I said to God, ‘If you are there I will follow you, but I'm not willing to just join a social club.’ I felt God say: ‘I love you and I’m going to take your heart of stone and make it a heart of flesh and make it a heart for me.’ I got involved in the Christian Union and started going to church there. I decided to get baptised at my home church as that was where I knew the most people and so I came back to get baptised in one of my vacations in 1991.

What paid jobs have you had during your life?

After I finished university, I came back to my parent’s home again and I did some unpaid work for Youth for Christ. and took a year out with Oasis Trust. I've worked for Stort Valley Schools Trust (SVST) and as a project co-ordinator at Waltham Forest YMCA. After I had our children I did a lot of volunteer work and worked as a cover supervisor. I also had a job at Harlow College for three years and worked for Takeley Christian School as a teacher and SEN support for three years. I am now an Adult Support Worker at HFT, a national charity providing housing and support for people who can't live independently.

Where and when did you meet your husband Nigel?

In 1995 I needed a job and a student friend saw a job at SVST in Stortford. It wasn't what I'd planned but I applied and got it. I enjoyed the role, working for Geoff Napper and I worked there for five years. I moved to Elsenham and went to St James Church in Thorley. While I was visiting churches for SVST and on a visit to Newport Church I met a youth worker volunteering in the City of London called Nigel. I moved house again to Stortford in 1996 and had a house share with three other girls and a cat called Neeps. Nigel and I got engaged in 1997 and married in 1998 in Newport Church.

Tell us about your children. What are they are doing now?

In 2002 I had our firstborn Joel. He got accepted to do Maths at university but he decided not to go and is now working at our local Wetherspoons pub. In 2004 Finn was born and he is now doing a Business and Finance Degree at Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) in Cambridge. Then in 2007 Grace was born and she is now 17 and at Harlow College doing a business BTEC. They all live at home with Nigel and me.

How are you serving at BSBC?

I was a Deacon for a few years which I enjoyed but my work and life became too busy and so I stepped down. I used to run the Havers Toddler Group and now I help Nikki run Messy Church and I help do Xplorers for 8-11 year olds. I am also the Church Tearfund representative.

Do you have any plans for the future?

No. My desire is to brighten people's day by whatever means, and live each day as it comes walking with God.

What do you enjoy doing? Hobbies?

I love reading golden age detective fiction and spending time with people.

‘The first people we met at BSBC made us feel like family’ – Beth’s Story

Beth shares her story of life and faith.

Hi Beth, Thank you for meeting with me tonight to talk about your life story. Can you start by telling us about your parents and childhood?

In my family there are four of us. Mum, dad, me and Katie. We grew up in Potters Bar and we moved to Bishop’s Stortford in 2000 when I was 9 years old. I was upset to move as I had friends that I was leaving behind. I had a fairly typical childhood. My mum was an A&E nurse at Barnet Hospital and my dad was a social worker but became a minister around the time I was born. Katie and I went to church weekly but it never felt like a chore and felt fun. The first people we met when we arrived at Bishop’s Stortford Baptist Church were Brian and Grace Purton who just made us feel like family.

What is it like being a minister's daughter? (has your dad coughed up the hush money?)

It is both good and bad. Good – we don’t have to try hard to fit in and there is lots to be involved in and being fully immersed. Bad — Dad used to say embarrassing stories in his sermons. I sometimes wish people wouldn't know so much about me without me telling them myself.

When did you become a Christian and get baptised?

here was no instant moment, but when I was 13 or 14 I started to think about this more and I went to Spring Harvest where everyone appeared to be full of the Holy Spirit and joy. After my sister Katie's baptism I realised that I needed Jesus and talked to Sue Rayfield. I started talking to her about it and then decided to get baptised at the Evangelical Congregational Church in Sawbridgeworth in March 2005 – as we didn't have a church building at that time. My dad and Nikki Savill baptised me.

What paid jobs have you had during your life?

I've always worked in catering since I was 16. I was a chef and then switched to baking in 2011 when I worked at Rosey Lea at Wickham Hall. I then worked as a baker at a patisserie in Witham. I love working with food and love everything to do with food.

Tell us when and where you met your husband Paul.

We met online. I was happy being single but one of my colleagues had been with her boyfriend for 10 years and I just thought it would be lovely to do things with someone else as a couple. I signed up to a Christian dating site and Paul messaged me the next day, and the rest is history.

What were your 2023 highlights?

• The Grand Opening of the Bridge where Catherine Church and I organised the catering. It was such a great event.

• Getting married to Paul of course was a major highlight.

• On our mini moon we went to Edinburgh and saw pandas at the zoo, and we went to the Kitchin Restaurant where we met Tom Kitchin.

• Getting both our rescue cats Pistachio and Hazelnut!

How are you serving at BSBC?

I serve as a youth worker, part of the Impact (11-18s) leadership group on a Sunday morning. I’m part of the Church Network Team. I am serving on the tea and coffee rota. I also provide food for church events where needed and I’m on the reading rota.

What are you excited about for 2024?

My dad and I are planning on doing a sermon together about feminism in church. I'm passionate about women's issues and inspiring girls to know it is OK to be a Christian and a strong woman. Church leadership can so often be male-dominated!

What are your favourite things or things you enjoy?

• Faith, food and feminism, pub quizzes

• Board games

• All fluffy animals

• The Office (US) TV show

‘I got baptised by my dad in the ocean’ – Marissa’s Story

Marissa shares her story of life and faith.

Hi Marissa, can you start by telling us about your parents and childhood?

My family live on the East Coast of America in Connecticut where I was born. My family are all Christians and my dad was from a Catholic background but became an Assemblies of God Pastor for several years. Over the years we went to different churches while I was growing up.

I have one sister who is married with two children and lives in New Jersey. My family and my sister’s family plan to stay with my parents in Connecticut for Christmas this year.

I went to Montclair University in New Jersey and did theatre, communications and a Masters in Speech Pathology (therapy).

When did you become a Christian?

I was four years old and living in Texas and I remember the couch I was sitting on when I asked the Lord Jesus into my life. I was talking with my dad about going to heaven when you die and my dad said I could ask Jesus into my heart right then and there which I did.

When did you get baptised and where?

I got baptised at 12 on Long Beach Island while at a Bible Conference. I got baptised by my dad in the ocean with my friends there watching.

What paid jobs have you had during your life?

I'm a Speech & Language Therapist working full time with my own private practise. I've done this since 2006 in the States and then in Bishop's Stortford and local areas.

Tell us about how you met Tim and about moving to England.

I first met Tim in May 2004 in New Jersey when Tim coached a youth soccer team and attended my church. When I found out Tim was English, I introduced Tim to my sister (as she'd been to England and also she is quieter than me), but he preferred the extrovert me and we started going out! We got engaged on Valentine’s Day 2005, marrying in August 2005. We rented a house for three years before moving to the UK in September 2008.

Tim wanted to be a teacher and so wanted to do teacher training (PGCE). I took a while registering to work in the UK and meanwhile we lived with Tim's parents for nearly a year until we bought a Victorian mid-terrace in Stansted. We lived there until after Keane was born.

Tell us about your children.

We have three boys – Keane, Soren and Breckon. They keep me active and they are amazing!

How long have you been at BSBC?

Since the pandemic but it does feel like longer as Tim grew up in the church so the church feels like an extended family. We had previously been at the Community Church for about 11 years.

How are you serving at BSBC?

I sing as part of the worship band on Sunday Mornings.

What are your favourite things or things that excite you?

I'm a people person. I like doing creative things. I enjoy reading novels, fiction and non-fiction and biographies.

‘I could feel security, comfort and the presence of God’ – Marcela’s Story

Marcela shares her story of life and faith.

Hi Marcela, can you start by telling us about your parents and childhood?

I was born in the countryside in the south of Brazil in September 1981. My dad was a farmer and my mum a lawyer. We lived at the farm till I was 14 and then we moved to the nearby city.

I have one sister who is younger than me, and we were raised in the Catholic Church even though my parents were non practising. I went with my Grandma and got confirmed there. When I was 16, one of my aunts was very ill with cancer, and I really prayed for her to be healed, but she died aged 39, so I turned away from God. I left home at 17 to study law at university.

When did you become a Christian?

I had always had a desire to seek and meet God. After university I worked in an office as a lawyer and a colleague invited me to go to dinner. Arriving there, I discovered that it was a meeting where a man was sharing his testimony about Jesus. At the end he asked who would like to accept Jesus as their Saviour, and I said yes and had prayer from the front. When I got home I slept, and could feel security, comfort and the presence of God embracing me. It was the best night's sleep I'd ever had. It reminded me of being a child with my parents, who cared for and protected me. God reminded me about a passage in the Bible in Psalm 131:2:

‘But I have calmed and quieted myself, I am like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child I am content.’

I decided straight away to go to the Baptist Church every week.

When did you get baptised and where?

I got baptised at Philadelphia Baptist Church in Porto Alegre in 2007.

What paid jobs have you had during your life?

I’ve had four jobs before moving to England: as a trainee lawyer and then lawyer.

Tell us about your marriage to Gustavo and your family.

After becoming a Christian, I wanted and prayed to marry a man of God.

I met Gustavo in the Philadelphia Baptist Church, but immediately he left for Ireland to learn English and then ended up in England, serving at a Brazilian Church in London. Within three months of Gustavo's return to Brazil we got engaged, and in the same year we married in December 2009.

Three years later Davi was born, and also Gustavo's desire grew to leave his job and serve God in ministry. When Davi was two years old in 2014, we did a missionary training course.  We left Brazil in 2016 and arrived in a very cold January in Bishop's Stortford.

How long have you been at BSBC?

We have been at Bishop’s Stortford Baptist Church since January 2016 and since then our family has grown. Isabella was born in 2019 and Blue our French bulldog was born in 2022.

What does your ministry look like being married to Gustavo?

We are jointly together in our mission to serve God in all that we have and all that we are. At the moment I am supporting my husband and children by providing their care and being physically and emotionally available for them.

What are your favourite things or things that excite you?

I love nature and animals because I was raised on a farm. I love to ride a horse and I have rediscovered my passion for playing Padel. If you want to know more please ask me!

How can we pray for you?

Please pray for wisdom and vision for me, our family and our ministry.

‘I love being with my family’ – Gill’s Story

Gill shares her story of life and faith.

Hi Gill, can you start by telling us about your parents and where you were born?

My parents met in a hospital while my mum was a Ward Sister in Romford and my dad was a Hospital Chaplain, and they married the day before the Second World War started in 1939.

I was born in Oldchurch Hospital in Romford in 1945 and am an only child. When I was three, we moved to Leicester where my dad was a Baptist Minister. Then in 1961 we moved up to Portobello in Edinburgh where he ministered at Portobello Baptist. In 1966 we then moved to Hounslow, West London where I went to live with my grandmother in Barnet to help her before she died two years later.

When did you became a Christian?

I was very young when I became a Christian and Christianity has always been a big part of my life.

My father enjoyed being a Baptist Minister and my mum enjoyed being a Pastor's wife running the youth group and other Church activities.

When did you get baptised and where?

My dad baptised me in 1963 at Portobello Baptist Church in Edinburgh.

What jobs have you had during your life?

I’ve had a variety of jobs: nursing; working at Boots; dental nursing in Edinburgh and in London and Hounslow; police officer; and I was a school parent governor at Hillmead School and a classroom assistant.

When, where and how did you meet your husband Terry?

I joined the police force in 1972 and I met Terry in Watford when I was posted to Watford Central police station in 1973. We got engaged in November 1973 while attending St James Road Baptist Church in Watford and were friends with Liz Lake's parents.

We married in October 1974 at Bishop's Stortford Baptist Church as we visited BSBC whenever we visited Terry’s parents. Terry was brought up a Catholic and my parents opposed this and didn't attend the wedding even though he was a lapsed Catholic when we met. He converted to a Protestant Christian through Gordon Snelling, the Church Minister at BSBC who married us.

After we married we bought a flat and then a house in Bushey, where we attended North Bushey Baptist Church until 1980 when we moved to Collins Cross Road, moving in 1984 to our current house with our two boys.

Tell us about your family.

Our eldest son Andrew was born in 1978 and Stuart was born in 1980. They both went to Sunday school at BSBC, Boys Brigade and Crusaders. We are a close family.

How long have you been at BSBC?

We started coming to BSBC in 1973 when visiting Terry's parents. We became members in 1980 when we moved to Bishop’s Stortford.

What roles have you had within BSBC?

Because of work and children, and doing degrees etc. we mainly attended on Sundays and home groups, but since retirement I have been involved serving at the Breaking Bread Café and being a volunteer receptionist at the Church Centre two days a week; I am part of the Contact group team; I have done hospital chaplaincy in PAH Harlow and am a volunteer therapist at St Clare’s Hospice.

You mentioned that you have taken degrees. Which ones have you taken and when?

I became a qualified registered nurse in 2004. In 2008 I received a BSC Hons in Palliative Care, both from Anglia Ruskin University (ARU).

What are your favourite things or things that excite you?

I love being with my family. I enjoy the theatre; I like being out in nature. I do some knitting and reading. I'm a member of Bishop’s Stortford Women’s Institute (WI) and U3A. I love family history. My great, great uncle founded the Evangelical Alliance.

Please pray for my sons and their partners to come to know Jesus.

‘Jesus is still my friend’ – Maureen’s Story

I was brought up in a Christian family and attended Harlow Baptist Church in Old Harlow. My parents were very involved in church life (my father still is, and my mother is in heaven).

I became a Christian aged 10 and was baptised at 11. I recall giving my testimony to the church, saying ‘Jesus is my friend and saviour,’ which was my simple understanding as a child.

I remember my first Bible reading (Luke 2, the birth of Jesus) in the church and even what I was wearing! We had a music group in the church and I learned to play the guitar so I could join them in my early teens. I also became involved in Sunday school and taught alongside a fabulous teacher, and helped in the Junior Section of the Boys’ Brigade, working alongside her husband.

During my early teens I clearly remember sitting in church next to my parents, listening to the sermon. I was so blessed that instead of the pastor, I saw Jesus in the pulpit! I looked around to see if anyone else could see what I could see, but no, so I turned back and basked in Jesus’ presence. No words. Just peace and love.

Unfortunately I slipped away in my late teens, however He never left me. I was always aware of His existence, His love and presence during those years of my spiritual wilderness when I trained as a nurse, met and married my husband and eventually had four children. Looking back, I realise that I needed that vision of Jesus to be a constant reminder that He was real and that He loved me.

When I was in my early 30s I was invited to the opening of the new building of a local church in east London by a neighbour. We had just moved to the area. All part of God’s amazing plan! I not only rediscovered my childhood faith, but also grew in my understanding of His overwhelming grace, His wonderful mercy, His unfathomable sacrifice and His unconditional love.

The church was Anglican, but vibrant, evangelical and had a baptistery pool. I teased the vicar and said it was a quasi Baptist church!

After a few years at the church, I enquired about being baptised, again, and was allowed to do so as a renewal of my faith. What a truly wonderful occasion which meant so much to me as an adult. I also grew in my understanding of the Holy Spirit and His fruits and gifts.

I helped in the children’s work, helping to run Scramblers, Sunday school for the under 5s, joined in with their holiday club, was part of home groups and became a PCC member. 

I learnt more about the Holy Spirit and became part of a small group of ladies who prayed for others, with toddlers at our feet, and blackcurrant and crackers for communion.

I qualified as a teacher at 40 and eventually became involved with inclusion, children with additional needs and safeguarding.

There have been personal setbacks since then, including my husband leaving me with four children, one of whom had brain tumour surgery at age 20, and my own health issues leading to early retirement from a job I loved. I then moved to Epping and eventually joined Theydon Bois Baptist Church.

Throughout all of this, with God’s amazing love, provision and guidance, and lots of prayers by many dear Christians, I have been led to Bishop’s Stortford and to this church. I moved during the pandemic and joined in activities online, including life groups, prayer meetings, and church meetings since becoming a member. What a delight during lockdowns to be part of Julie’s and Mary’s quiz nights! I'm so grateful for their friendship and care.

I’m still on my continuing journey with God, and am often overwhelmed by His love and His goodness. I love being in His presence and praying for others in their time of need. I rejoice that Jesus is my saviour, and He is still my friend!

What a friend we have in Jesus
All our sins and griefs to bear
And what a privilege to carry
Everything to God in prayer