What does it mean to belong to a church today?

For me, as the new pastor of Downs Baptist Church, it means being part of a shared journey. It is a journey shaped by hope, honesty, and a desire to live well. It is a real privilege to serve this church family and to walk together as we learn, grow, and share life, with all its joys and challenges.

At the heart of Downs Baptist Church is a simple purpose: to know God and to make Him known. Not as a slogan, but as a way of life. We are a community, learning step by step, to place God at the centre not just on Sundays, but in the ordinary moments of everyday life.

When we gather, we do more than attend a service. We worship. We pray honestly. We open the Bible and reflect on it together. We do not treat the Bible as a book of quick fixes or easy answers, but as a living story that helps us make sense of life, hope, and faith in a complex world.

Jesus once said, “I am the way and the truth and the life.”
Those words shape everything we do. Faith, for us, is not about having everything worked out or pretending certainty where there are real questions. It is about getting to know Jesus and in that relationship, finding direction, meaning, and life.

But faith does not end inside church walls.

Downs Baptist Church is a church that looks outward. What we believe must shape how we live: in kindness, compassion, and care for others. We want our faith to be visible not only spoken, but lived. Love, when it is real, always takes action.

Jesus put it simply: “Love the Lord your God… and love your neighbour as yourself.”
These words guide who we are, how we worship, and how we serve our community.

So, whether you are exploring faith for the first time, returning after time away, or simply curious and carrying honest questions, you are welcome here. Downs Baptist Church is a place to belong, to reflect, to grow and to discover life shaped by faith, hope and love in Christ.

Revd Jeryl G Bayona, BTh (Hons), MSc (RCM)

“He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.  And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”

Micah 6 v 8 (NIV)

Consider: Do you in your life reflect something of God’s character? We can’t do this by ourselves, but by God’s grace and help we can!

The verse of the week is usually inspired by the teaching the previous Sunday and you can listen to any recordings by clicking on the link below:

https://downsbaptistchurch.org/resources/sermons/10.

Revd Jeryl G. Bayona is our new part-time minister. His preaching reflects a commitment to inclusive worship and multi-voiced service, shaped by theological study at Oxford, performance science at the Royal College of Music, and current doctoral research into autism-inclusive aviation services.  His ministry time is usually focused between Thursday and Sunday. 

At present, Jeryl will preach on the 1st and 3rd Sunday of the month.

Please pray for Jeryl and his family at this exciting time as they prepare and plan for the big move to Woodingdean.

Thursday Fellowship will reconvene for its spring session on 5th March, 2026 and the programme for the first couple of months is listed below. Further dates will follow shortly.

In the meantime, there is an opportunity for fellowship on Thursday 19th February, 10.30-12 noon, for a Winter Coffee Morning to be held at Faith’s. 

Please do consider joining us at 2pm in the Parish Room of the Holy Cross Church unless stated – we can assure you of a very warm welcome! 

5th March – Sue Cunningham (Motto)

12th March – Ann Dracott

19th March – Graham Dawson

2nd April – Maundy Thursday Service

9th April – Dr Ruth Butlin (Leprosy Mission)

16th April – Rosemary Kemp

23rd April – Jane Leaver

30th April – Praise and Share

For further information head to the following link:- Thursday Fellowship

To know God and to make Him known

A WORSHIPPING CHURCH OF PEOPLE WHO PRAY AND FOLLOW THE TEACHING OF THE BIBLE.

Jesus said: “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14 v 6

A WITNESSING CHURCH OF PEOPLE WHO SHARE OUR FAITH IN WORDS AND ACTIONS.

Jesus said: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbour as yourself.” Luke 10 v 27

A group of merry carollers joined together outside DBC Community Greengrocers on Saturday 13th December to spread some festive cheer to passers by.  This year, as it so often does, our event coincided with the Rottingdean and Saltdean Lions collecting at the crossroads. 

It was a beautiful sunny day and we were rather warm dressed in our winter attire.  It was lovely to welcome some new singers this year to swell our number and a visit from our Councillor, Jacob Allen was a nice surprise and encouragement! 

It was a happy and joyous occasion as we sang our way through the Bethlehem Carol sheet with the traditional carols that people are so familiar with.  A few stopped to listen from a distance! 

This event seems to be a firm favourite with singers and the many passers by who waved from the buses and the car drivers who tooted their horns!

A big thank you to Mark who arranged a super backing track and to Sue who supplied us with tea and coffee.

Thursday Fellowship finished the autumn session with it’s Carols, Candles and Cake service – a very fitting end and a beautiful lead in to our Christmas celebrations.

It was lovely to welcome a few visitors as we enjoyed singing familiar carols and heard the retelling of the Christmas story.   

Sue read a very thought-provoking story entitled, ‘Grandpa’s Christmas Tree’. No matter what state of disrepair the tree was in each year, Grandpa was always able to fix it and make it beautiful and serviceable so that his family could decorate it with lights, tinsel and baubles. Sue’s message to us was that no matter what state our lives are in, God is able to ‘fix it’ and transform us so that we can shine for Him in our lives.

How blessed are we that God sent His only Son to be born as one of us and to die for our sins that we might live! He is Immanuel, God with us.  No longer do we walk in darkness – a light has dawned, Hallelujah!

It was lovely to be able to linger a while, chatting and enjoying a cup of tea, nibbles and of course plenty of cake. We even got to take a piece of Christmas cake home beautifully made and packaged by Lis!

Thursday Fellowship will resume on Thursday 5th March, 2026 but we are planning a Coffee Morning in February so watch this space for further details.

We wish you all a peaceful and blessed Christmastime.

A delightful in-house meeting this week as we came together to share our stories from Christmases past and to bring our Christmas cards to each other.  We were grateful to John who acted as the postman, sorting and personally delivering the cards – thank you John!

Sue brought along a nativity scene puzzle for us to complete – only 50 pieces, until we found that one was missing! Sue had deliberately hidden the piece in her pocket and of course it was the piece depicting the baby Jesus in the manger! Sue commented that for the most part, the majority of people leave Jesus out of Christmas – how sad and how thought provoking!

It was good to be together in a more relaxed setting, hearing about our friends’ memories of past Christmases ably led by Sue who encouraged all to contribute in some way. We sang, In the Bleak Mid Winter, While Shepherd’s Watched (Sweet Bells) and O Little Town of Bethlehem.

A cup of tea and a mince pie to close our time was most welcome and we look forward to next week with our Carols, Candles and Cake, our final meeting of the year.

Please do consider coming along to join us – we can assure you of a very warm welcome.

The first of our festive afternoons when we welcomed back, Tom, Rosemary and Mike from Seaford Baptist Church to delight us with some Christmassy music, and a short message from Rosemary to help us prepare for Christmas.

What a lovely afternoon we all had, plus the opportunity of joining in with the singing. 

Rosemary’ s message was entitled, ‘bitter and sweet, yet God’ and Rosemary posed the question, “What would we look for in the mother of God?” We would probably think about worldly attributes and yet God’s expectations are way beyond ours! Mary was humble and modest, not at all arrogant or proud. She knew the scriptures and God was at the heart of everything she did. And because of that, Mary found favour with God and was used to bring about God’s purposes.

Although Mary questioned the angel’s message in Luke 1 v 28-33, she believed and was able to respond, “I am the Lord’s servant, may it be to me as you have said.” ( Luke 1 v 38). Mary accepted God’s will for her life which would be bitter and sweet.

Do we always turn to God in every circumstance? Rosemary encouraged us to follow Mary’s example.  

The team then sang that beautiful song by Graham Kendrick – Thorns in the straw – the chorus of which reads:

And did she see there
In the straw by his head a thorn
And did she smell myrrh
In the air on that starry night
And did she hear angels sing
Not so far away
Till at last the sun rose blood-red
In the morning sky

These words remind us of the real message of Christmas – that Jesus, God’s Son, came as a baby to die on the cross for the sins of humankind that we might be reconciled to God and have eternal life.  

We enjoyed tea and homemade mince pies and the opportunity to share together.  What a great start to our Christmas countdown!

What an enjoyable afternoon we had at Thursday Fellowship this week! It was an opportunity to relax together and make some Christmas decorations guided expertly by Lis.

We do so enjoy these craft sessions and even those of us who admit we are not very creative or very good at this sort of thing, had a go and were pleased with their efforts.

Thank you Lis for all of your hard work in preparing the different activities.

On Thursday 13 November we welcomed back our friend Connie Croly as our speaker. Connie’s talk was entitled “Moving On”. Connie reminded us that this week we commemorated Remembrance Day, giving thanks for the sacrifice made by so many to defend our freedom. We too are called to fight – to wage war against darkness and the evils in our society.

The people of God in the Old Testament knew a great deal about war, and the trumpet sounded to call them to “move on”. Christians too need to be moving forward, not backward-looking or stuck in the past.

• Are we moving on in the power of the Holy Spirit? God has promised the strength and guidance of the Holy Spirit to all who ask.
• Are we moving on in believing prayer? We need to connect with God’s power in prayer, to recharge our spiritual batteries.
• Are we moving on in our commitment to share God’s good news whenever an opportunity arises?

Connie shared some examples from her own life of chance encounters which have led to interesting conversations about the Kingdom of Heaven.