Welcome to Harpole Baptist Church

A Church growing quickly

Join us for church this Sunday

4pm – 5.15pm, with coffee and chat afterwards.

Baptist Chapel
68/70 High Street
Harpole
Northants
NN7 4BS

Harpole Baptist Church

On Sunday

Our Brazilian congregation meet at 10am on Sunday morning for a lively time of worship in Portugese.

Our English congregation meet for worship and Bible teaching at 4pm, followed by a time of fellowship with tea and coffee afterwards.

In the Week

We have a house group at 7.30pm on a Wednesday evening. We meet on the first and third Wednesdays of each month in the homes of our members, which are located in Harpole, Flore, Upton and Northampton. Send us a message on the contact page for further information.

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07759 120182

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People

Rev. Derek Punchard Moderator

After preparing for Baptist ministry at Spurgeon’s College, began his ministry in 1964 at Drummond Road Baptist Church in Bermondsey, part of the group of churches in fellowship with the Metropolitan Tabernacle. In 1968 he moved to Brazil where he served with his wife Joanna for 36 years with BMS World Mission, remaining there in ministry for a further 12 years before returning to England in 2015.

He is now an associate minister (Baptist) at Church on the Heath (Kings Heath Northampton), and has been a founder member and pastor/moderator at Harpole Baptist Church since its reconstitution in March 2020.

Julie Kilshaw

My name is Julie and I have lived in Harpole for 30 years. I moved here because I liked the village and I attended the Baptist church because my children were small and we wanted to be part of a lively church with a Sunday school for the children to go to. In 2010 the church decided to move premises from Harpole to the community centre on the St Crispin’s estate as an outreach church. I still attend the church but would like to see the Baptist church re-opened in our village.

Harpole Baptist church meets on Sunday afternoons so if people already attend a morning service elsewhere it is very convenient.

We would love to meet some new friends from the village as well as people seeking a church to attend.

Catherine Story DPS

Designated person for safeguarding , contact on 01604 580478

Michael and Margaret Tipler

We came to live in Harpole in 1969 as a newly married couple. Although we were married in a church in Duston and thought of ourselves as Christians, we did not really know the meaning of the word. The congregation at Harpole Baptist Church unbeknown to us were praying for us, and their prayers were finally realised and we became “born again” Christians and were baptised at the chapel in 1990. They were happy years for us and we were very disappointed when the church moved to another site and we left.

In the last couple of years we have had the opportunity to be part of Harpole Baptist Church again and were so happy to be moving forward in our Christian life – catching up with old friends and meeting new people.

Colin Wilkinson Church Secretary

My name is Colin Wilkinson and I received the Lord Jesus Christ as my Saviour during my time at Nottingham University. The Lord has been so good to me ever since, all through many happy times and many challenging times. I live in the village of Harpole and feel it is right to worship at a church in one’s immediate community. So I love being a member of this church and look forward to the day when we can worship using the village Baptist chapel where the Lord has worked so many blessings and miracles in recent years. As a parish councillor I believe this church has an important part to play in the life of this village. The chapel will form an excellent base from which to serve our growing community.

Our Style of Church

We seek to promote the saving message of new life in Christ. We are Baptist in structure, believing in the participation of all members in the life and running of the Church. We welcome contributions by all who seek to minister to the glory of Christ in the abilities given by the Holy Spirit. Whilst our meetings generally have a structure and are overseen by a designated leader and preacher from within the congregation, we endeavour to make space for individuals to pray, share or raise questions.

We do not usually have any collection or appeal for money as, at present, any needs are made known when our members come together for a church meeting.

We are always be happy to chat with visitors, and subsequently meet up to answer any questions or simply to explore deeper fellowship.

At present, we have two congregations, one Brazilian and one English, but we are all part of Harpole Baptist Church and we work together holding separate meetings with occasional joint services. We welcome all those who wish to pursue faith and learn about Jesus and what he means today.

History

In the late 1700’s revival of religion was in full flow in England, spearheaded by the likes of John Wesley, and in Harpole a group of dissenting believers met together in Chapel Barn in Glassthorpe Lane. In 1809 these dedicated believers decided to build a new chapel out of their own limited means, which still stands today. In 1823 eight persons covenanted together to form Harpole Particular Baptist Church. In the 1850’s there was a revival and the church grew rapidly, made up of village folk including many farmers. Rev Amos Smith (see photo) was minister for 25 years and led the growing congregation. Moving forward over 100 years later in 2010 the congregation decided to move their place of meeting to St Crispins new estate in order to serve the new population in that area. The chapel was then only used for minor events, and so in 2019 the Baptist Union Corporation decided it was time to sell the chapel and manse in Upper High Street and use the funds for other purposes. However when some of the previous members heard about the proposed closure they decided to re-convene the church, together with a number of other Christians in the area.

In March 2020 Harpole Baptist Church was officially re-formed and its members began the process of working out an appropriate constitution, undergoing training in safeguarding and appointing trustees and a leadership team which includes a moderator who is a retired Baptist minister with decades of frontline experience.

We have now received permission from the Baptist Union Corporation, who are the trustees of the Chapel building, to re-open it and bring it back into service of Christ, the Church and the local community.

Harpole is now a growing community with hundreds of new houses being built in the parish, and we believe Harpole Baptist Church has a future serving the present and future population.