Bethel Evangelical Church, Clydach
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    Stories of changed lives
    • Hubert — If Jesus has done that for me, I will follow him
    • Lorna — I didn’t want to be a hypocrite
    • Nigel — God changed the whole direction of my life
    • Esther — It feels like I’m finally alive!
    • Friends of Bethel
      • Garin Jenkins — God has been with me all my life
      • Henry Olonga — God was calling me to speak out
      • Tamar Pollard — The freedom and power of forgiveness
      • Alison Stewart — The truth set me free from heroin addiction
Eleanor’s story

I couldn’t believe that I’d gone to chapel all my life but I wasn’t a Christian

My family have lived in Rhydypandy for more than 100 years, and we occupy six of the thirty or so houses in the village. As a child we attended Salem, the local Welsh Baptist chapel, which was such a big part of my life. We had such pride over the place because the chapel was built in 1777. My father played the organ and our whole family loved singing. I went to the services, Sunday School, and Band of Hope but I especially enjoyed the quarterly meetings.

At sixteen, when I started to earn money, they asked me, ‘Do you believe in Jesus?’ and I said ‘Of course, I do!’ because I did – after all, I had been to Salem all my life. So I was baptised and became a member. The problem was I believed in a Jesus that I didn’t really know. The only thing I knew of Jesus was that he was a good man who did miracles.

Then a young minister came to Salem and from the Bible he told us that Jesus died on a cross, and he had shed his blood so that my sin could be forgiven. As I listened I gradually started to realise just who Jesus was and what he had done.

He said it was like there was a big wall between us and God but Jesus breaks through that wall, forgiving us of our sin and making a way for us to reach God – he was preaching things I had never heard before and this really worried me. Every night that week I was crying, saying ‘What will happen now?’ I just couldn’t believe that I’d gone to chapel all my life but I didn’t know the Bible and I was not a Christian.

Over time I accepted what the Bible was saying so I confessed to God that I was a sinner and came to know that there was no hope without him. I felt such a relief. And the older I get the more I realise how totally undeserving I am of all that God has done for me. That is what it’s all about, all I had was religion but it’s not about religion, it’s about really knowing God.

Eleanor’s story is not unusual at Bethel. Many have found that God has given them lasting peace and happiness that they never expected to find. Why not come along to one of our meetings and see for yourself?
Children and youth
There's plenty in Bethel for children of every age. There's a Sunday school with classes for nursery, infants and juniors. On Sunday evenings there's an after-church meeting for teenagers. In the week there are children's clubs after school: Adventurers for children in nursery and infants, Discoverers for juniors, and Impact for those in High School.
More about Children and youth…

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Recent sermons

  • Heirs of the Kingdom on January 13, 2021.
  • Mark - a useful failure on January 10, 2021.
  • The Gospel of Jesus Christ on January 6, 2021.
  • Thy Kingdom Come on December 30, 2020.
  • The blood of Jesus on December 27, 2020.

 Bethel Evangelical Church, Heol-y-nant, Clydach     Tel: 01792 828095     Registered charity: 1142690