GRACE BAPTIST CHURCH PORT ERIN

Our Recent History

The Church can trace its origins back to 1975 when a number of believers began meeting in Castletown.  A plot of land in Port Erin was purchased and our current building constructed in the early 1980s. Two extensions have subsequently been made to the building.

Our first pastor, Pastor Brian Jones, was called to the Church in 1990, initially with financial assistance from the European Missionary Fellowship. Over the next 16 years, Pastor Jones worked tirelessly to build up the Church. Meetings for children and young people were established and an annual Holiday Bible Club was held. In addition, for a number of years a summer Beach Mission took place on the beach at Port Erin. The Beach Mission ceased several years ago mainly because of the decline in the numbers of children and adults on the beach.

Other evangelistic activities also took place such as regular coffee mornings and evenings for ladies, quiz nights, BBQs, Harvest Suppers and so on. At all of these the message of forgiveness of sins through repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ was explained. Pastor Jones was also able to speak at assemblies in local primary schools on a regular basis.
The Church distributed Christian literature around the village of Port Erin at least twice a year.

Port Erin beach and front

In December 2006 Pastor Jones was unexpectedly called to Glory after a short illness. Since then the Church has sought to continue with the work he began, and most of the activities mentioned above have been maintained. The Church is now in the process of seeking a new pastor to lead the work.

One of Pastor Jones’s last actions was to get the Church to agree to change its name from Port Erin Evangelical Church to Grace Baptist Church (Port Erin). He felt, and the Church members all agreed, that 
the new name more correctly identifies what the Church stands for. We believe that forgiveness is a free, unmerited gift of God and that those forgiven through faith in Christ should identify with that through believer’s baptism (full immersion). The new name does not indicate that the Church is part of any denomination. There are other churches with similar names, but we are all independent churches.