About us
We are a gathering of believers united in our love for Christ, where all are welcome to come and join us for worship, where we hear the Word of God preached faithfully. We confess the Reformed Faith as outlined in the 1689 Baptist Confession, holding to holy scripture as the only certain rule of faith and practice and seeking to glorify God in the town of Ramsbottom.
IRBS UK Study Week : Pastoral Theology 1 With Dr J. Ryan Davidson : 7-11th July, 2025
Building upon the “Theology of Ministry” course, “Theological Pastoring” studies the preparation, identification and work of the pastor / elder in the New Testament. Various topics of systematic theology will be integrated into a “whole counsel of God” theology for pastoral thinking and practice, thus preparing the man of God to be able to “teach” and “rule.” A part of this course is meant to help the student to understand that all pastoral work is theological, which enables the pastor to apply the Word of God accurately to each church and person.
J. Ryan Davidson, PhD, is Associate Professor of Pastoral Theology & Dean of Students at IRBS. Ryan has been serving as the Pastor of Grace Baptist Chapel (Hampton, VA) since August of 2008. He has been married to his wife Christie for nearly two decades, and they have four wonderful children. Ryan is a graduate of Samford University (BA), The College of William & Mary (MEd) in Counseling, and Southern Seminary (ThM) in Louisville, KY, and received his PhD in Early Church History/Pastoral Theology from The Free University of Amsterdam, Netherlands. He has contributed to various academic journals and has had the opportunity to teach pastoral theology around the world.
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Featured Updates
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Trinity Grace Conference For Young People September 2025
On Friday 12th and Saturday 13th September 2025, we will be hosting the Trinity Grace Conference. This time we are extending the age range to not only include late teens and 20s, but also those in their 30s. The theme of the conference will be "The Providence of God". Mike Judge, Oliver Allmand-Smith and Tony Flanders will be opening up this subject from various angles. More details available through the links below. The conference is free of charge to those who attend (although a donation would be helpful), but registration is required so that we can know numbers for catering, etc. If you know of people in this age group, please encourage them to come along. Likewise, if you are in that age group yourself, it would be great to see you.
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Abortion Up To Birth Being Promoted In Parliament
Stella Creasy MP has tabled an amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill which would allow a woman to kill her unborn baby at any stage of pregnancy without sanction. A similar amendment has been tabled by her Labour colleague Antonia Antoniazzi. A vote on the Bill is expected later this month.
The architect of Westminster’s assisted suicide Bill, Kim Leadbeater, also welcomed the proposal, arguing: “Whatever stage we are at in our lives, it is important that we are allowed to make choices about our own bodies, free from the fear of criminalisation or judgment”.
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MPs blast Leadbeater’s ‘deeply flawed’ assisted suicide Bill
MPs have continued to highlight striking flaws in Kim Leadbeater’s increasingly unpopular assisted suicide Bill.
Despite repeated warnings of the danger to vulnerable patients, the House of Commons voted to allow limited advertising for assisted suicide, and to allow doctors to raise it with patients. But MPs did ensure that it could not be discussed with 16 or 17-year-olds.
Under the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, patients deemed to be terminally ill and with less than six months to live would be allowed to receive help to kill themselves. The House of Commons’ final vote is expected to be held on Friday 20 June – at least 28 MPs would need to switch their vote to stop the Bill proceeding to the House of Lords.
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Ministers: Remember Your Family
Welcome back to Set Your Hand to the Plough: Practical Advice for Gospel Ministers — a 10-part video series offering grounded, pastoral wisdom for those entering or persevering in gospel ministry.
In this second episode, we address a quiet but essential truth: your family carries the weight of your calling—even when they weren’t called.
The ministry belongs to the minister—but the family walks beside him. Your wife, your children—they don’t enter the pulpit, but they feel its burdens. They support the ministry without being publicly recognised by it. And they often pay a high cost for something that is not their own personal calling.
This episode calls ministers to honour their home life as part of their ministry, not a competitor to it. We explore how to love, defend, and nurture your family even as you serve the church—especially when challenges arise from within the very body you’re serving. When your family faces trials or criticism because of your role, you must stand with them, not behind the congregation.
If we neglect our families in the name of church service, we risk disqualifying ourselves from both. True gospel ministry begins at home.
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The Value Of Catechism
Catechism. For some, this word conjures up dead orthodoxy and high church ritualism. For others, it is seen as an essential tool to be used in their family and church life. Whatever the idea of catechism brings to mind, why should you consider using catechism? Throughout God’s Word, we are warned of being led astray with the error of the wicked. To give just one example, the Apostle Peter says, “and consider that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation—as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you, as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures” (2 Pet. 3:15-16). So there are those who will twist Scripture which leads us to destruction.
Don’t miss that these men will teach from Scripture. They will maintain that what they are saying is biblical. And there are some things in God’s Word that are hard to understand! How can you prevent falling prey to their deception? By learning faithful summaries of biblical truth that have stood the test of time. Knowing catechism questions and answers can keep you from false teaching.
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Updated Leadership Page
Biblical leadership is vital to the health and wellbeing of any local church. We thank the Lord for the elders and deacons he has given us at Trinity Grace Church. The leadership page of the website has just been updated, and we encourage you to read through the testimonies of our men so that you can know them better and pray for them with greater understanding. Paul outlines healthy relations between leaders and members in a local church in 1 Thes. 5:12-13, "We urge you, brethren, to recognise those who labour among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, and to esteem then very highly in love for their work's sake. Be at peace among yourselves." May we enjoy such peace and edification here at Trinity Grace as leaders and members serve faithfully together.
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Geoffrey Muketi Internship Report May 2025
ELDERS NEEDS:
I humbly ask for your prayers for our elders:
brothers Muketha, Tito, Murungi, and
Dominic. These men labor faithfully every
Lord’s Day to ensure we are spiritually
nourished. With Elder Murungi currently on
sabbatical, the remaining three elders –
greatly assisted by our deacons – are
working diligently to carry out all pastoral
responsibilities. Please pray especially for
Mzee Muketha; this past Sunday, he lost his
voice while preaching, and one of the elders
had to step in to finish the sermon.
SCHOOLS MINISTRY:
As mentioned in my previous report, two
primary schools have opened their doors to
us for ministry. I am actively involved in
this work, teaching the children three times
each week. The schools resumed this month,
and we have fully resumed our sessions.
Please pray that these evangelistic
opportunities will prepare me for future
ministry – and most importantly, for the
salvation of the children.
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Fathers: Provide Spiritual Leadership For The Family
The best way [for a father] to lead his family verbally in spiritual worship is to talk to them in all the natural settings God gives to him. He can discuss God’s role in creation as he explores with them the natural world around them. As they learn of events in the world he can talk to them about how the Lord is not only the Creator but also the Sustainer and Controller of all events. When they see and experience the sinful world around them, he can talk to them about original sin and the effects of the fall of man. As they see hopelessness and despair among people, that can lead to discussions about how Christ came to redeem us from the curse and to bring about genuine hope. As they hear of people who have died, he can talk to them about the blessed hope of the resurrection. This type of spiritual instruction and leadership is an excellent means to reach the individual members of his family.
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IRBS Newsletter June 2025
James Renihan writes: Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
It is good to give thanks to the Lord, and to sing praise to your name, O Most High (Psalm 92.1).
We give thanks and praise the Lord for His wonderful works among us. On May 17 we watched as six students received their degrees and certificates. Each of these men worked hard and earned what they were granted. We will miss them, but we trust that the Lord will use them in His service.
We also announced that Daniel Scheiderer PhD has been appointed to serve as a full-time faculty member with the rank and title Assistant Professor of Theological Studies. Many have commented on what a great choice this is, and expect that Dr. Scheiderer will make significant contributions to IRBS. He will begin his labors for us on July 1, 2025.
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House of Ants Update June 2025
Simione says: I'm writing to share some news from the Casa das Formigas (House of Ants), during the first half of
2025. Our activities with the children have run well and we have witnessed God's care for us all. As
you know, we started the year in a tense climate politically due to the demonstrations and disputes
over last year's election results, but thank God the country is calmer, despite the negative impacts,
such as the exaggerated increase in the prices of basic necessities.
Our children, teenagers and young people are doing well, they take part in the activities and
programs at the Casa das Formigas, and this year in particular we've had the joy of seeing some of
them at church the services and celebrations, which has been a joy to serve God with them.
The Second London Baptist Confession of Faith (1689)
In 2011 we made the decision to officially adopt the Second London Baptist Confession (1689) as our confession of faith. We exhort you to read it.
What's on?
There is always something going on here at Trinity Grace Church, learn more on our ‘What’s on’ page.
Resources
Here you can find a vast array of helpful, encouraging and edifying resources to further your understanding of the Christian faith.
Churches & Organisations
Here you can find the Churches and organisations we support as a fellowship. We support these works with resources which God has blessed us with and prayer for the glory of God.
Overseas / Missions
Trinity Grace Church has supported overseas missionary ministries for many years. We first began our involvement in the early 1970s and since then have expanded our gospel outreach to a needy world. We believe it is the responsibility of local churches to engage in this ministry, and we have rejoiced to play our part in the building of God’s kingdom throughout the world.
