.png)
About us
Ogmore By Sea Church is a local church for a global community!
​
We are a growing family of people, of all ages and stages, whose lives are being changed by Jesus. We are here to serve our community -
we'd love you to join us.
​
On this page you can meet the Leaders & Trustees, find our Statement of Faith, see some of our partnerships, read our story, learn about our Jubilee celebration and the refurbishment of the Lighthouse Lounge.
Leader & Trustee
Mike Hill
Pastor & Trustee
Dom White
Leader & Trustee
Sue Francombe
Leaders & Trustees
Leader & Trustee
Paul Glenny
Leader & Trustee
Alan Fowler
What we Believe
As a church we believe in:
-
The one true God who lives eternally in three persons the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
-
The love, grace and sovereignty of God in creating, sustaining, ruling, redeeming and judging the world.
-
The divine inspiration and supreme authority of the Old and New Testament Scriptures, which are the written Word of God fully trustworthy for faith and conduct.
-
The dignity of all people, made male and female in God’s image to love, be holy and care for creation, yet corrupted by sin, which incurs divine wrath and judgement.
-
The incarnation of God’s eternal Son, the Lord Jesus Christ born of the virgin Mary, truly divine and truly human, yet without sin.
-
The atoning sacrifice of Christ on the cross: dying in our place, paying the price of sin and defeating evil, so reconciling us with God.
-
The bodily resurrection of Christ, the first-fruit of our resurrection; his ascension to the Father, and his reign and mediation as the only Saviour of the world.
-
The justification of sinners solely by the grace of God through faith in Christ.
-
The ministry of God the Holy Spirit, who leads us to repentance, unites us with Christ through new birth, empowers our discipleship and enables our witness.
-
The Church, the body of Christ both local and universal, the priesthood of all believers given life by the Spirit and endowed with the Spirit’s gifts to worship God and proclaim the gospel, promoting justice and love.
-
The personal and visible return of Jesus Christ to fulfil the purposes of God, who will raise all people to judgement, bring eternal life to the redeemed and eternal condemnation to the lost, and establish a new heaven and new earth.
Partnerships
Ogmore By Sea Church is an independent church, meaning we are not part of a denomination. However, we are not an isolated church! We partner with other local churches and a number of Christian organisations. We support many wonderful ministries from around the world but below you can see our official established partnerships:
Our Story...
The 'Church' at Ogmore by Sea was first established in the home of Denis and Mary Pells-Cocks in 1954. It was the only meeting place for worship in the village and began as a children's Sunday School which later gradually included parents and other adults.
​
In 1961, as numbers increased, a family service was developed in their large double garage and this continued for a further seven years.
​
The present church building was erected in 1968 on a plot of land acquired from a Christian outside the district at a nominal sum as he was keen for it to be used as a place of worship. In 1976, the first full- time Pastor was appointed.
​
Since its opening, the church has always been a hub in the village with toddler groups, a children's club and youth work. A Sunday service was also held in the residential home in Southerndown until its closure.
​
Now, more than 60 years later, the church continues to thrive in a growing village with many and various activities.
​
Most importantly, we remain a family of ordinary people who have been given an extraordinary hope in the love of Jesus, and we would love to share this with you.
Celebrating
our
Jubilee!
The church celebrated its 50th birthday in 2018 with a time of celebration and thanksgiving. This culminated in an exhibition telling the story of the church and the wider community.
​
The 'Ogmore-by-Sea Story' was attended by nearly a thousand people and a book with the same title is available for purchase. All the proceeds from sales go to four local charities and to date, £4000.00 has been donated.
The ‘Lighthouse Lounge’ was opened in Autumn 2021 following extensive renovations. It was originally built some fifty years ago by those who founded the Church in Ogmore by Sea and who wanted to create a warm, welcoming environment for children and young people.
Thus it was that ‘Lighthouse’ was launched on Friday afternoons and continued to meet for over 50 years. Also known as ‘Friday Club’, it has been a very special group for hundreds of children in the community. It has become a rich part of village tradition. At the end of the school week children come to ‘Lighthouse’ for fun, laughter, games, stories, song, outings and to discover God’s amazing love together.
​​
During the global pandemic (2020-2021), children were not permitted to meet in person and ‘Lighthouse Live’ was launched on ‘Facebook’, connecting and encouraging all the children who were in lock down, being home schooled and isolated from their friends...
...Meanwhile, over the years the building gradually fell into serious disrepair such that it became unusable. With funds raised through a ‘gift month’, a total renovation was made possible and the lounge also equipped with modern technology.
As the works took place, the builder discovered a mural on the back wall - lovingly painted half a century ago - of a Lighthouse! As a gift to the church, he photographed the original mural and reproduced it onto the adjacent canvas.
Do take time to look at it!...
​
...There remain many people in Ogmore by Sea Church and the local community who remember very happy times here as children. Now as parents and grandparents they bring their children and grandchildren along to ‘Lighthouse’ too. Wonderfully, there are many who attended ‘Lighthouse’ that discovered Jesus truly is ‘The Light of the World’.
Newly renovated and refurbished, the ‘Lighthouse Lounge’ is aptly named and is ready for a new season of use. We pray it will continue to be a great place for adults, young people and children to meet in the future.