Tilehouse Street Baptist Church, Hitchin Tilehouse Street Baptist Church, HitchinWe're a medium-sized Baptist church (with a membership in the ~120 region), with a traditional congregation but looking to serve the Lord in the 21st Century. We've quite a bit of history behind us (the chair in the pulpit was given to the congregation by John Bunyan himself!) – but that doesn't mean we're not forward-looking, and we hope that the warmth of our welcome and the praise in our worship will support our witness of today.
If you want to know how to find us, see our location map page.
Like many Baptist churches, Tilehouse Street is member of the Baptist Union of Great Britain, which in turn is a member of the Baptist World Alliance, joining Baptists around the world in Christian fellowship.
If you've ever been to a Christian church service, you'll find that fundamentally ours are no different: praise, prayer and preaching. There's no fixed schedule to our services, but these elements are always present.
We sing hymns in praise to the Lord. If you ever watch Songs of Praise, you'll be familiar with the range of Christian hymns and songs that we sing, all the way from ancient to modern. Singing is accompanied by our magnificent historic organ, piano, or a small music group.
We read the Bible in our services. Fundamental to our Baptist beliefs is the fact that all authority comes from the word of God as enshrined in His Book.
Our prayers are less formal than in many churches, and we usually sit for prayer.
Preaching is regularly carried out by our Minister, John, but we frequently have guest preachers for special occasions. Our ministers don't wear robes – though some wear an academic gown and many wear a 'dog-collar'. Baptists also ordain women and a number of Baptist churches in Hertfordshire have lady ministers.
In common with all Christians, we commemorate the Lord's last supper with his disciples (Matt. 26:26-29) by celebrating communion regularly.
In keeping with the example of John the Baptist, many Baptists do not drink alcohol. For this reason the wine at our communion services is non-alcoholic (actually a rather tasty grape juice) and is served in individual glasses for hygiene reasons. We use real bread, rather than communion wafers.
We often work together with other local churches that are members of "Churches Together in Hitchin", (which is part of Churches Together in England).
In particular, we hold occasional joint services with Walsworth Road Baptist Church, which, like Tilehouse Street, is also a member of the Central Baptist Association and the Baptist Union of Great Britain.
We also have a sister church in the nearby village of Stondon (Bedfordshire).
