Church Life
The morning service is at 11:00 am on a Sunday and, whilst based on a standard Baptist format, will display the flavour of the worship team who are responsible for the leading of that service. Communion is a regular part of morning services.
An adult Bible class precedes the service and a children’s Sunday school operates as required.
Holy Ground is our monthly evening event which is informal and interactive in style. The focus is on worship through a variety of mediums and each month revolves around a theme.
There are several homegroups and other small groups meeting regularly.
Our Church Prayer
Our God and Father we come into your presence in the name of Jesus, our Saviour.
We praise you for who you are and for all that you have done for us.
We worship you because you are the Almighty God and there is none like you.
You are the Creator of everything and we glorify your name in this place.
You have saved us and redeemed us through your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.
You have filled us with your Holy Spirit to empower us in this new life.
We come before you humbly recognizing that we are sinners saved by your grace.
We come before you thankful for your promises to us and your faithfulness.
We bring our thanksgiving to you now –
Thank you, Lord, for…
In your presence, we confess our sins to you
and ask for your forgiveness –
Forgive me, Lord, for… (silently)
Our heart’s desire is to know and to do your will in our lives so we ask you to reveal your will to us and your plans for us, knowing that you are a loving God.
We ask that you would pour out your Holy Spirit on this town, on this congregation, on our families, and on our lives.
We ask for your healing and your miracles to be let loose in this church.
We ask that you would help us to pray and to recognise your voice.
We ask that as we seek to draw near to you, you would indeed draw near to us.
Father, we are a foolish people, have mercy upon us and hear our prayers.
A Brief History of DBC
An early church, founded in 1803, closed after a few years, and it was not until 1863 that a more permanent witness was established. In that year the Glasgow industrialists and philanthropists William Quarrier, Thomas and William Coats and James Wilson founded the church, although it was only a summer church, catering for holidaymakers coming “doon the watter” from Glasgow.
On 12th December 1883, the early pioneers were happy to hand over the reins to the local congregation and Dunoon Baptist Church was formally constituted, although ill health forced the first minister, R. C. Sowerby to retire after two years. His successor, Revd Duncan MacGregor had an outstanding ministry from 1886 to 1909, during which time he oversaw the building of the new church in John Street (the existing church adjoining the new building became the church hall). MacGregor also formed the Dunoon Baptist College at Dhallingmhor and one of his outstanding students (who was also a member and deacon of the church) was Oswald Chambers.
In 1961 the United States Naval Base opened on the Holy Loch and, with it, a fostering of relationships which played a major role in church life and beyond. The unexpected announcement in 1990 that the base was to close had one very major repercussion as the American YMCA building was put up for sale in 1991 and Dunoon Baptist Church, with the unanimous approval of all members, has been able to move from John Street to its present beautiful strategic waterfront premises.
About Our Pastor
Our pastor is Revd Dr Alan Wright who is originally from Northern Ireland but has been with us now for seven years.
Alan was born at a very early age. He has a background in Mathematics & Engineering and his PhD is in Wave Energy. Prior to coming to Dunoon, he worked for eight years as a Youth Pastor & Community Outreach Worker in Greenisland, Northern Ireland.
Alan loves sports and games and is very competitive. He also enjoys music and dancing (badly) and he plays the guitar and leads worship. He has recognised that he is not a blogger and therefore has renamed his additional notes as ‘snippets!’
He can be contacted by email at pastoralan@dunoonbaptistchurch.org.
If you are considering coming to church, we hope you will find a warm welcome and enjoy the systematic teaching we get from the pastor.
His favourite bible verse is Nehemiah 8:10:
“Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is sacred to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”
Nehemiah 8:10 (NIV)
Our Missionary Partners
Greg and Diane Henderson
Greg and Diane Henderson work with Wycliffe Bible Translators and SIL International, a sister organization. Both are involved with HR work: Greg helps SIL managers advertise their personnel needs and then, as people come to fill those roles, guides them through the onboarding processes required as they take up their position; Diane provides member care for members of Wycliffe UK & Ireland (principally the Scottish, Irish, and Northern Irish members) both while they are overseas and while on Home Leave or remote assignment. In each case, the goal is to support those who are working to make God’s word accessible to everyone in the language that speaks to them best.
Do take time to visit the Wycliffe website to find out more about the 1.5 billion who are still waiting to receive the Bible in their language.
Simon and Annika Flanagan
Simon and Annika Flanagan work with New Tribes Mission. They were in Papua New Guinea planting church and translating the Bible for the Mengen people but returned home when having their third child, Karis. They currently teach at New Tribes training College in North Cotes and are looking forward to a new mission field in the New Year. Click here to go to their website.
The Raven Trust (Malawi)
John and Sue Challis are our contacts for the Raven Trust- a missionary group set up in Malawi. You may find their website here.
Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) (Uganda)
Andy and Heather Swanson are our contacts for Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF)- a missionary group set up in Uganda. You may find their website here.
Biternes Afloat (UK)
“For over 70 years we have provided the adventure of becoming immersed in living, eating and sleeping on boats, learning to sail during the day. Around this, we seek to develop a greater understanding of Christianity, sharing together through teaching, worship and time together. We have always run a cruise at Easter and for the last ten years, a summer version for older young people, focussing on leadership as well as faith development. This year we have provided all of this bar the actual sailing with a programme of online activities and teaching during Easter week that has run on into a 16-week teaching and discussion series during the lockdown.” Nick Smith is our contact for Biternes Afloat- a missionary group set up in the UK. You may find their website here.