Our History
Our Church had its roots in services held in a private home in Pontesbury led by Rev Joseph Lakelin. (There are still relatives of Rev. Lakelin in our church today!) He already conducted local Sunday services in Minsterley, Wrentnal and Snailbeach, so he started meetings in Pontesbury on a Monday evening with just 7 people.
In 1828 the building was erected and Pontesbury Baptist Church was born. The building cost £300 and included housing at the far end for the Minister. Rev John Francis was the first Minister and through his work and others after him there were 240 people attending services by 1851 and 60 Sunday School children. There was a free school held in the building during the week.
Our original building still stands to this day. During World War 1, in order to conserve heating, The Baptist and Congregational Churches shared evening services, alternating buildings each week.
During World War II part of the building was commandeered for military purposes and returned to the Church in 1945 following “Victory in Europe”.
A new Manse was bought in 1962 for the Minister to live in and the rooms at the end of the building were now to be used for vestries and the Sunday School. In 2006 an extension was completed at the other end of the building, creating space for a foyer, modern kitchen and new toilet facilities. The main church hall was renovated in 2016, with the stage area of the main hall being removed and the baptistery re-dug, in addition to new carpets and paintwork, and a church office being created in the back cottage.
Following Rev Francis’s ministry there have been a further twenty-five different ministers who have led Pontesbury Baptist. From 1907 till 1948 Pontesbury Baptists and Lord’s Hill Baptists shared a Minister and from 1949 till 1966, Brocton Baptist Church joined the group. However in 1966 the tripartite group of churches was disbanded and each church reverted to its own Minister from then on. Our current minister is Mike Wells, who was called to be the church’s pastor in March 2014, being formally inducted four months later on Saturday 5th July.
On Monday 16th March 2020, the church was officially closed in accordance with the government’s emergency lockdown regulations due to the Covid-19 pandemic. While online ministry continued, all gatherings in the building itself were suspended. Following the relaxing of government regulations four months later, the church reopened in a limited fashion on Sunday 19th July 2020. The church briefly closed again during a second national lockdown later in the autumn, but has remained open for Sunday services since December 2020, with wider ministries gradually restarting over the subsequent 18 months.