What makes us St Ives Baptist Church?
Historically,
Baptists trace their beginnings to the English John Smyth and Thomas Helwys.
Smyth and Helwys believed that people should only be baptised based on the faith they expressed themselves, as opposed to the common practice of baptising infants. The first Baptist Church was founded in Amsterdam in 1609.
The Baptist denomination soon spread from the Netherlands back to England, and later to the U.S. where the movement grew during the great revivals between the 18th and 20th century. Baptist Missionary organizations were established, and Baptist Churches emerged all over the world. The first Baptists reached Australia in the 1830s.
St Ives Baptist Church,
held its very first service on July 9th, 1961 in the Community Hall on the Village Green, with the support of members from Pymble Baptist Church.
Three years later, on November 21st, 1964, we celebrated the opening of our church building here at 28 Memorial Avenue, St Ives.
Throughout the years, we have seen and experienced God’s work in and through SIBC in many different ways and we are excited to see what the future holds!
As part of the Protestant Tradition,
we share many protestant beliefs. We believe that God’s love, expressed in and through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, is the very centre of the Christian faith.
We also believe in the importance of the biblical texts as the foundation of the Christian faith. We strive to interpret scripture faithfully, and to preach God’s love, kindness and truth through our words and deeds to everyone.
To be Baptist means,
to believe in the right and responsibility of every person to freely make their own decisions regarding their beliefs and affiliation with religious groups. We therefore stand up for religious freedom and practice believers’ Baptism.
We are organised congregationally, meaning that each local Baptist church is autonomous in regard to their finances, organisation, doctrine etc. It is up to us as a local church to discover our part in God’s story, to decide who we call to be our pastors and leaders and what we consider to be good and healthy teaching.
We are democratic in nature and depend on our members to be actively engaged at all levels of church life and ministry.
At SIBC, we don’t have all the answers.
In fact, sometimes we have more questions than answers. But together we are on a journey of discovery, seeking God in the biblical texts, in one another and in the world around us.
Welcome to St Ives Baptist Church!
Our Leadership
Lead Pastor
In February 2023, SIBC welcomed our Lead Pastor: Benedikt Exner.
Originally from Germany, Benedikt spent several years travelling across the globe until settling in Australia. He enjoys good company, good food and deep conversations about faith and theology.
Benedikt is married to Xheantelle and together they love to explore the multicultural world of the greater Sydney area.
Youth and Children
Hazel has been at SIBC for a long time! She serves as the Youth and Children’s ministry worker investing in the faith formation of our young people at SIBC and beyond!
Hazel is married to Sam and has beautiful kitten, Ebi.
Diaconate
We are led by a team of deacons that take responsibility for the health and vitality of this community.