A Year of Growth and Renewal for Carluke Baptist Church : “God Has Really Blessed Us as a Fellowship”
2025 was a very exciting year for Carluke Baptist Church. In June 2024 Trevor Wilson, our pastor for the previous 14 years announced he would be retiring in June 2025. Trevor had been struggling with health issues after his brush with COVID and felt God was leading him to retire and move back home to live in Northern Ireland. Under Trevor’s leadership the church had totally changed from being very traditional to becoming a “Centre for Hope” for broken people in our local community. We embraced the local community as doors opened to us and our Centre of Hope Café on a Monday morning became such an important part of our outreach. 
We offer a free café with home baking where anyone can join us for a cuppa and a chat. Prayer and counselling are on offer as well as free food to take away as we partner with Greggs and Tesco in the Fairshare scheme. Food bank referrals are also provided and some of the clients have been known to go away with a bag of clothes too.
As we entered 2025 God’s blessing became evident as people of all ages from 14 – 70 came forward in faith looking for baptism and to join the fellowship. In March, 4 were baptised and this was followed up with a second baptismal service in June when another 6 were lead through the waters of baptism. The following week we had the joy of 13 new members joining the fellowship, what a day that was.
Trevor departed at the end of June; however, God has continued to bless us. Another 3 people joined the fellowship in November and we currently have one more candidate for baptism and membership, once baptism classes are completed.
Our fellowship now stands at 68 members with around 40 regular adherents and others in regular attendance. Our Sunday School has more than trebled as we now have around 20 young people when they are all present.
Sunday morning services are well attended and are joyful times of worship and praise. We have been blessed by the support and guidance from Rev Steve Cobbin who is our moderator and the Scottish Lay Baptist Preachers Association have provided us with excellent preachers who bring God’s Word as we need it.
The Leadership Team has two new members and we also have a full-time social care worker and a part-time children’s worker who are keeping everything running in the meantime.
As a church we also offer a Toddlers group which is well attended, a new Ladies Craft group which has been a great success and we are developing a Men’s Group who will tackle some church maintenance and gardening in this Spring time.
Our monthly family meals are well attended by families from the community, and from within in the church, giving them an opportunity to be served with a sit-down meal where they can spend valuable family time. These events are inclusive with families supporting children with special needs.
Our Parents Autism Support group is well attended and provides a space for parents to share experiences and provide support for each other.
Turning Point, a national charity who are dedicated to providing high quality, evidence-based treatment to people adversely affected by alcohol, drugs, and gambling, use our premises on a Friday night. We also have links with Social Work who use our accommodation to allow families to meet.
The Alpha course which ran in September saw one soul saved, baptised and brought into membership and the attendance at the Bible Study remains consistent.
God has also led us to refurbish our sanctuary, with most of the work being done by the fellowship and friends. We have removed the old pulpit and pews and the church is now very open, warm and welcoming. With God’s grace we have further plans to upgrade our hall and provide accessible facilities so everyone can make use of the building.
God has really blessed us as a fellowship and continues to do so. Every week it seems someone new drops by to join us and we have new families who have moved into the area coming along too.
If you have the opportunity to worship with us you are guaranteed of a very warm welcome.
Please pray for us as we continue to develop God’s work in our local community, please pray for our search for our new pastor, that God would provide the right person at the right time to join the team here and support us in proclaiming the saving Power of the Lord Jesus in Carluke.
