Get to know us
We are delighted to extend a warm and heartfelt welcome to you as you visit our online home.
At Bethersden Baptist Church, we are committed to expository preaching from a Protestant Reformed Baptist position.
WHAT WE BELIEVE
We believe that through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, God has provided salvation for sinners and restoration of relationship with Himself. We deserve punishment for our sin against God. But He chose to save, not because we deserve it, but because of His grace. Grace is a free and unearned gift.
So, God sent His Son, Jesus, as an outpouring of grace for the world. Jesus, truly God and truly man, lived a perfect life we could never live and died as a sacrifice on the cross paying the price for sin that we could never pay. He stood in place for all who, although having fallen far short of God’s standards (sinned), will seek God’s forgiveness and place their faith in Him.
He rose from the grave three days after Good Friday and then ascended to the right hand of God, the Father. He has promised to come again and will one day make all things new. Meanwhile he has sent the Holy Spirit to indwell and empower the church for Christian life and witness.
OUR AIM
The aim of Bethersden Baptist Church is to worship God, as we grow together in Christlikeness and spread the good news of Jesus Christ to others for the joy of all the nations.
Leadership
Pastor Gavin Peacock
ELDER
Gavin is married to Amanda, father of Jake and Ava, and a grandfather to Charlie, Ellie, and Lily, and is the Director of International Outreach for CBMW (The Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood).
He was converted to Christ at age 18 and was a professional footballer for 18 years. After retiring from playing football in 2002 he worked for the BBC for six years as a sports broadcaster/commentator on television and radio. In response to God’s call, he and his family moved to Canada in 2008 where
Gavin completed his master’s degree in theology. He then pastored in Calgary,
Alberta for 13 years.
In 2016 he co-authored ‘The Grand Design’, a book on biblical manhood and
womanhood, published by Christian Focus. He has also co-authored a trilogy of
books on sexuality. He speaks widely on these issues. Most recently, Gavin has written his biography, ‘A Greater Glory: From Pitch to
Pulpit.’
Gavin and his wife returned to England in February 2025, where he has since been
pastoring Bethersden Baptist Church in Kent.
Contact: Gandapeacock@aol.com
Ian Jemmett
ELDER
Ian and his wife, Margaret, joined BBC in 2008. He was appointed an elder in 2012. They have four adult children and seven grandchildren. When, as a teenager, Ian first heard the gospel, he thought the idea that he might ‘ask Jesus into his heart’, was laughable.
"I thank God that he didn’t leave me in my arrogance but forced me to face realities about myself and my need of him, drawing me to himself in a saving way in 1970, when I was 17. Everything I now am and have (apart from the sins that I still struggle with) including the promise that I will one day see him, be like him and be with him for ever, has been given to me by Jesus."
Stuart ONeon
DEACON
Stuart is a deacon at BBC. He is married to Sandra and they have four daughters. He grew up in a non-Christian household and was saved as a teenager through a youth group. He spent many years serving the Lord in his home town before coming to BBC in 2020.
Richard hyde
DEACON
Richard is a deacon at BBC, married to Heidi with 4 children. Richard became a Christian at the age of 32 and has been at BBC ever since.
Simon Newcombe
DEACON
Simon has worked for over thirty years as a biomedical scientist at a local hospital. He is married to Angela – they have two married daughters and two young grandchildren.
Simon became a Christian as a young teenager through the witness of a friend and has attended at Bethersden for over fifteen years. God has proved a faithful companion through all the highs and lows of life.
Edward Hyde
PASTORAL INTERN
Edward is married to Ros and they have four children: Reuben, Katie, Ellie and Grace.
He became a Christian in 2005 and joined Bethersden Baptist Church in January 2026 as a pastoral trainee. He is in his third year of studying part time at London Seminary.
He also works part time as a Carpenter/joiner.
