IT’S all change at Farnham Baptist Church as John Ross retires after 15 years as senior minister at the church.

Since John and his wife Daphne arrived at the church numbers have doubled, the number of Sunday gatherings has increased from one to three, and a large number of UCA students are now investing their time in the Christian faith.

On Sunday, July 16, about 300 people arrived at the church to celebrate the past 15 years while enjoying a barbecue.

Many, who wanted to wish John and Daphne well in their retirement, expressed their appreciation for coming to a true faith in Jesus Christ as they discovered the Bible being taught each week.

“Many families have changed their whole way of life, centring themselves on following Jesus Christ,” John said.

Each week as John and his team taught from the Bible, he highlighted the fact that the Bible’s storyline is all about the rescue which is only found in Jesus Christ.

Daphne also ran the extremely popular Farnham Baptist Toddler Group. The group started with one morning, then increasing to two when the premises were upgraded.

Up to 100 children and parents each day benefited from space to play, socialising, hearing Bible stories, singing and making crafts.

Farnham Baptist Church closes one chapter and looks forward to a new one opening in October when Graham Culver joins the team as senior minister, alongside the existing staff of Phil Sweeting, Dan Adams and Rachel Holton.