Broadfield Christian Fellowship

Thought for the Week – from Caroline (20th September 2020)

WHY BAPTISM?

Becoming a Christian means you have to first believe that God and Jesus exist and that Jesus really was who He said He was, and that the Bible and everything Jesus taught is the truth. When that “penny” has dropped the next thing is to decide that you actually want Jesus to be Lord of your life, that means giving God the reigns and trusting His perfect guidance, His Love, His Fatherhood, His Wisdom, His Authority – the list is endless – and that you want to obey him and turn from your wrong ways and say sorry for the things you have done. The wrong ways in our lives are called sin, it hurts us and it hurts others. You see if you read the creation story in the Bible it tells you the story of the first man and woman, Adam and Eve, and how their disobedience caused a severing of their spirit from God’s Spirit and we are all born into this world in this condition, there is a kind of “God hole” in our lives. People try to fill this hole with their own solutions; sex, addictions, money, power, wrong relationships, hedonistic lifestyles, greed and so on, but it’s fleeting and they are on the road to destruction. But all was not lost as God had a plan all along, He would send His own son into the world to teach us how to live and save us. Unfortunately the religious leaders of that time didn’t believe Jesus; they hated Him because Jesus exposed them for the hypocrites that they were and they didn’t like it because He mixed with sinners, rabble and undesirable people. They were jealous of His popularity and felt threatened He would upset their relationship with the Romans, so they plotted to kill Him and thought they had succeeded when they crucified Him. They put his body in a tomb, probably clapped their hands with glee that the problem was done and dusted but they “blew it” because on the third day Jesus rose from the dead and is very much alive, in fact He is with us in this room even though we can’t see Him.

What they didn't realise when Jesus was dying on the cross was that this was God’s redemption plan for mankind all along. You see sin requires a punishment. Before you become a Christian you are carrying the burden of your sin and it requires punishment but as soon as you give your life to Jesus and say sorry He says, “You are forgiven, my death was in your place and you are free from guilt and condemnation, I died in your place.”

So you see Baptism is not only your public commitment to Jesus, the church and the family of Christians but it’s also the gospel, because as you are being baptised, you are also saying, “I died with Jesus Christ, I was buried with him and now I am raised with Christ to brand-new life.” (1) As you stand in the water waiting to be baptised, you symbolize Jesus dying on the cross. (2) As you are lowered into the water, you symbolize Jesus buried in the tomb and (3) as you are raised from the water, you symbolise Jesus rising from the dead.

So that is why we are baptised.

Welcome to the Broadfield Christian Fellowship Website

Broadfield Christian Fellowship is a local church made up of people from all backgrounds. We are based in the Broadfield Community Centre, which we share with the Church of England and Roman Catholic churches. We are adjacent to the local shopping parade, which includes a large free car park, and opposite the library and Neighbourhood Hub, ideally situated for the local community.

Broadfield is the largest neighbourhood in the new town of Crawley in West Sussex, situated in its south-western corner within the triangle formed by the A23, A264 and A2220. It is predominantly made up of estates of council, housing trust and former council housing, with private housing estates around the perimeter. Broadfield has a population of over 13,000. Click here for a map showing our location.

Broadfield Christian Fellowship is a Link Church within the Ichthus Christian Fellowship, which is based in South London, and a member of the Evangelical Alliance. We are in fellowship with other evangelical churches in Crawley and have links with various local Christian groups, such as The Lighthouse Project, a Christian ministry to the children of Crawley, The Christians Against Poverty Crawley Debt Centre, Holmsted Manor near Cuckfield, run by Youth With A Mission, the International Bible Training Institute in Burgess Hill, and The Easter Team, a local Christian charity that serves people who are homeless or in need in and around Crawley.  We also support and have a number of members actively involved with Street Pastors Crawley.

We meet every Sunday morning at 10.30 am (10.00 am for refreshments) in the Community Centre Social Hall for worship and teaching. Our worship style is informal and generally led by people from within the Fellowship, with occasional visiting speakers. We normally celebrate communion on the third or fourth Sunday in each month and at other times as arranged. We have weekly house group meetings, usually on Tuesday evenings.

Every Wednesday at 9.30 am we run the Triangle Coffee Shop in the Social Hall, at which coffee, tea, biscuits and cakes are served for a nominal donation. Second-hand clothes and other items are also freely available. This provides an important service to the community and many people drop in during this time. We also host the Friday Meal, a free drop-in cooked meal at 5.00 pm every Friday. The Coffee Shop and the Friday Meal have been awarded the highest 5-star Food Standards Agency rating for Food Hygiene by the local authority.

On the first Sunday of each month at 7.00 pm we join with other churches in Crawley for celebration, teaching, prayer and fellowship at Crawley Baptist Church, Crabtree Road, West Green.

Email Contact Details

You can contact us by email at fellowship@broadfield.org.uk with any queries you may have about our activities or this web site. If you wish to contact one of the leaders, please use the same address and your message will be passed on. Thank you.