A bit more...

We are privileged to contribute a Christian ministry to the centre of Southampton, specifically the Polygon, where we want to provide a spiritual home for our all neighbours. We are a growing multinational family in the centre of Southampton.

You don't have to belong to any church to come to our services, you might not even believe in God, but we will still offer you a warm welcome as you join us for worship. We believe that the true church is people, not a building. We are an evangelical church by conviction, which is reflected in our strong emphasis on Biblical teaching. But we also offer a diverse approach to worship, using songs from across the generations and styles and various approaches to prayer. We hope that you won’t leave feeling that the Bible has been thrust down your throat, rather that you were able to connect with the love of God through the welcome of His people.

Our regular activities include a morning service each Sunday (with a fellowship lunch after the service on the first Sunday of the month); fortnightly bible studies and a prayer meeting weekly on a Thursday. We also host a coffee shop every Thursday, where you can pop in for free tea and cake and a warm welcome across the community. We are a drop-off point where people can donate food which is collected for Basics Bank, the food bank run by Southampton City Mission.

Our mission statement is:
As the body of Christ in the Polygon, we seek to love and obey God, to live out our faith by following Jesus’ example and to listen to the Holy Spirit as we share our faith with others.
• Together with the Holy Spirit we want to make disciples to the glory of God.
• Together we want to extend God’s kingdom here on earth in word and deed - by feeding both the spiritually and physically hungry.
• Together we want to be welcoming to the community, helping others to come in to contact with the love of God as they come into the building.
• We aspire to engage with our predominantly student community and help to introduce them to Jesus.

We have been serving the Polygon for over 100 years, but recognise that we now live in a very fluid community that is a student village serving the students of Southampton Solent University. We serve with Sunday services but also as a community space enjoyed by a number of different groups and charities but also partnering with a number of religious and non-religious organisations to host community building events. We reach out in a number of different and imaginative ways, working with a number of different partners. We want to make sure that the area where we worship in is a better place to live because we are here.

We are therefore in the process of developing our huge, Grade II listed building as a resource the wider community can make use of, and that the blessings of God can be appreciated by all.

What do we do for students?

What do we do for students?
Being located in the Polygon we have a huge number of students around us, so we have a history of supporting them in different ways. As a worshipping community we disciple, care for and encourage students to serve, such as in our music group and in the general life of the church. We have also offered room hire, the loan of equipment and the personal support that people may need as they balance life and study. Though we have no specific student group at the moment, we seek to actively support the students who worship with us and the wider Christian student family through the Chaplaincy and Christian Union at Solent University.

We are also privileged to partner with Friends International, a Christian charity that exists to welcome Southampton’s expanding number of international students coming to the city, but also share the good news of Jesus with them in culturally sensitive ways. One of our church members, Susan Caddy serves as the Southampton centre team leader.

When & Where

Central Baptist Church
Devonshire Road
Polygon
Southampton
SO15 2GY
SO15 2GY

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We meet on Sundays at 10.30AM, so why not come along and try us out – you are guaranteed a warm welcome!

Our building is in the heart of the city allowing for great transportation links. We are a two minute walk from Bedford Place and just around the corner from Watts Park.

If you have any questions, or need any more details, please don’t hesitate to call us on 023 8022 5473 or email us at centralbaptistchurch@tiscali.co.uk

From Southampton Solent University – from the main entrance on East Park Terrace, walk across East Park, cross over Above Bar Street at the war memorial, turn right and cross on to Bedford Place. Walk up a bit, and take the second left on to Henstead Road. It take about 8 minutes and we are the big red brick building at the end of Henstead

From Southampton University - the easiest way to find us is to get the U1C from the Highfield Interchange to the bottom of London Road. Alternatively, there are great cycle paths from the Highfield Interchange to Bedford Place.