Our ministers
Dr Bochenski!
Dear Friends in Christ,
I am very pleased to be able to say that - following examination of my doctoral thesis by Professor Christopher Rowland (Oxford University) and Dr Timothy Grass (Spurgeon's College, London) - I have now been awarded my doctorate in theology.
For those of you interested in such details this is the title of my thesis: Transforming Faith Communities: a comparative study of radical Christianity in sixteenth-century Anabaptism and late twentieth-century Latin America.
This has taken over 40 years to achieve with the last 7 being the most significant!
Philippians 4:13.
IHS,
Revd. Dr. Michael I Bochenski
Our Minister
The Revd Dr Michael I Bochenski became our Minister in July 2009. He writes:
Michael BochenskiMy wife and I are much enjoying living back in the Midlands. We are both Nottingham born and Jane also works part-time at the Zoe's Place Baby Hospice in Coventry.
Rugby Baptist Church is clearly committed to town centre ministry in a local community that is developing rapidly in changing times. I have served as a local church Minister for over 25 years, most recently in St Albans. More recently, I have been working, teaching and preaching in my father's homeland of Poland as the Rector of the Warsaw Baptist Theological Seminary.
Since moving to Rugby I have concentrated on getting to know God's people here and on developing the Church's worship and midweek life in some new directions. I am also pleased to chair Hope 4 - a charity working with homeless and badly housed people here in Rugby - www.hope4.org.uk.
Over the course of my ministry to date, I have been privileged to preach and teach in churches and colleges across Britain and internationally. Always I have strived to keep this preaching and teaching rooted in local church life and ministry. Why? Because my conviction is that in heaven most people will prove to have been saved through the life and ministry of local churches such as RBC.
Our Associate Minister
Ronnie Hall
Rugby Baptist Church has recently inducted the Revd Ronnie Hall to be its Associate Minister. See the photos of the induction service. Ronnie writes:
We as a family have recently moved from Glasgow to Rugby where I served as a team pastor in a Baptist church in Glasgow city centre. It was a unique type of ministry as people gathered from all over the city to be a witness in the city centre. This is not dissimilar to Rugby where many also come into the town centre to be in church. The mission field is throughout the borough but the gathering is in the centre - a lovely symbol.
My focus in ministry has been enabling God’s people to tell others about God. I have always been mission-minded and look forward to developing links with the various groups that are part of the Rugby Baptist Church. I have always had a heart for people and hope to build good relationships with people of all ages within the church.
Nicola, Simon and I have been made to feel very welcome by the church and we are very grateful for that. We believe that God has truly called us to Rugby. May God bless us all as we continue to take this step of faith together.