Baptist Union of Great Britain
The basis of this Union is:
- That our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, God manifest in the flesh, is the sole and absolute authority in all matters pertaining to faith and practice, as revealed in the Holy Scriptures, and that each church has liberty, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, to interpret and administer His laws.
- That Christian Baptism is the immersion in water into the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, of those who have professed repentance towards God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ who ‘died for our sins according to the Scriptures; was buried, and rose again the third day’.
- That it is the duty of every disciple to bear personal witness to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and to take part in the evangelisation of the world.
During his ministry the membership increased to upwards of five hundred, and it soon became imperative that a change of environment should be obtained. To quote from the Bristol Daily Post of September 9th 1861, “This new site faces Stokes Croft Road, branching off from which is the new City Road….”
The new building was opened on Wednesday, September 11th 1861. The preacher on that occasion was the Rev. C.H. Spurgeon who preached to a crowded congregation in the afternoon, and in the evening in a large wooden structure situated in Back Fields. This building was crowded by an audience of 2,000 and it is said that, “The meeting was greatly disturbed by an enormous crowd who clamoured for admittance, all eager to hear so great a preacher”.
Unfortunately the Rev. Evan Probert did not survive long after he had seen his church installed in the new building, and in 1867, after 32 years of fruitful labour, he was called to his rest at the age of 65. Many other great ministers have exercised ministry over the years at City Road Baptist Church in its long record of witness and mission in the centre of Bristol. These are the names of the ministers who have served at City Road:
Rev. Evan Probert: 1834 – 1867
Rev. J.R. Wood: 1867 – 1873
Rev. Walter J. Mayers: 1874 – 1889
Rev. J.J. Doke: 1889 – 1894
Rev. J.T. Briscoe: 1895 – 1913
Rev. E.W. Mills: 1913 – 1922
Rev. W.F. Grey: 1923 – 1932
Rev. Wilkinson Whiteley: 1934 – 1938
Rev. P.A. Clements: 1940 – 1944
Rev. Joseph Sutton: 1946 – 1950
Rev. C. Markham Jones: 1951 – 1962
Rev. Harry Whyte: 1963 – 1972
Rev. Ivor H. Tomlin: 1973 – 1984
Rev. Andrew Kellett: 1984 – 2002
Rev. Steve Conchrane: 2002 – 2011
The current minister of the church is Rev. Eric Aidoo (2012 – )