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St John’s Stoke is a vibrant church family whose vision is to be a growing church at the heart of your local community. We believe that a growing church grows in three directions:
The church building is over 700 years old. We believe, however, that the Church is not about the building but about its people. We are a worshipping and a mission-led church, rooted in the Bible and committed to making a difference in our part of Guildford. We are of all ages and all backgrounds, joined by the love of Jesus Christ and by the desire to be relevant in the world. It is really easy to find us, on Stoke Road next to the Lido, Do come and meet us; |
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St. John’s Stoke
If you would like to send us a message please fill in the online form below:
If you prefer to send an email please click the following link: office@stjohnstoke.com Tel:: 01483 574562 Our vision is to be a growing church at the heart of the local community. Being a growing Church means that we seek to grow closer to God, each other and to the community we serve. We have five vision points that we believe God is calling us to do and to be:
For those who would like to give We encourage all committed church members to become ‘Partners’ in the vision and work of the church by considering how much they give financially and in time and gifts to the church family. Financial Giving St John's Stoke is entirely self-financing. It receives no money from the Church of England or Guildford Diocese central funds (although the Diocese does provide the Rector with housing). Apart from a little property income from hiring out the Church Centre, all our income is generated by the giving of members of the congregation. We do not formally teach that members of the church should tithe (that is give 10% of their annual income to the church each year). However, we do believe that regular financial giving is a very significant spiritual discipline and that God calls us to be generous givers of what we have. We do believe that we hold everything we own personally on trust for God and his purposes. Accordingly, we treat the tithe as only a good guide to a basic starting point in regular giving and call the congregation to be open to giving more as God might direct them. Equally we recognise that there may be occasions or seasons when people may not be able to give significant amounts financially. There are tax efficient ways of giving and details are available from the church office : Giving of Time and Talents We believe that we are the body of Christ, equipped with gifts and skills to use in the service of God. Therefore, we want to encourage all church members to discern their gifts and put them to good use in building up the body of Christ in the parish of Stoke. Each year we conduct a gifts and talents survey and invite all existing and new church members to offer their gifts and skills as an act of worship. If you want to get involved and offer your time and skills alongside your financial gifts, please speak to : Our monthly church prayer meeting is called 'Engage'. Prayer is at the heart of all that we do at St John's. We encourage all church members to attend as we seek to engage with God and lift the needs and concerns of the church, the local community and the wider world before Him. Engage is always held on the 1st and 3rd Wednesday of the month at 8pm in the Church Centre; please do join us if you can. Our weekly prayer meeting is on Thursdays 9.15am-10am in the Stoughton Chapel Hi I’m Ruth,
I’m now 17 years old and I’ve been going to St John’s Stoke all my life. Growing up at Stoke has played a big part in my faith growing in strength with all the support from people there, who have become like my second family. There is a warm and welcoming atmosphere, you can be sure that when you’ve had a rough week there is always someone there who cares and that you can talk to. Growing up in St John’s Stoke I have worked my way through the different groups for youth; Scramblers, Climbers, Explorers, Pathfinders and now I’m having the time of my life in Switch our new teenage youth group. Switch meets every Wednesday and once a month our new youth worker Jez runs a “Big Youth Nite” for Young People in school years 9 to 12. This is so much fun and there are plans to make things bigger and better which should be great. St John’s Stoke has so much planned for young people; we have trips away with other churches and plans to help on work projects around the area. We have a youth band and several of us help with the younger groups and at Holiday Clubs there is something for us all to get stuck into. Maggie 
At St John's Stoke you will learn how much God loves you and cares for you. You will meet new friends and receive a friendly welcome as my husband and I did when we first moved to the area and were looking for a new place to worship and we very quickly felt part of the parish. There is something for everyone - fellowship groups, prayer support, praise and worship, lunches for the over 50's, Sunday groups for the children and evening groups for teenagers, ALPHA courses to help you learn more about the meaning of life and where God fits into your own life. Crispin
I grew in my faith whilst at Bristol University and then a year after graduating I married Hannah and we moved to Guildford where we had both secured jobs. It took us 6 months before we stumbled across our parish church, but once we attended St John’s Stoke for the first time, we never stopped! The teaching of God’s word is clear, sound, relevant and powerful and combining this with a great feeling of family and community amongst the congregation, provides a strong base and a real encouragement to my faith. Our Church Centre (the Stirling Centre) is used by many different community groups and activities and has very reasonable rates. If you would like more information about hiring the Centre please contact: Carol Robson (Church Centre Manager) at office@stjohnstoke.com Alternatively, you can download the form (below) and post it back to us with your details: |
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I became a Christian at the age of 17 whilst at school. I was studying the Reformation as part of my A-Level History course and it was clear that the teacher had a strong Christian faith. It angered me that anyone could believe in God as it seemed totally irrational and outdated and yet Christianity has impacted the world in so many ways. What followed was a series of discussions and I ended up looking at Jesus’ life in the Bible by studying Mark's gospel. Over the course of a couple of months my preconceptions were shattered, my views changed and I ended up committing my life to Jesus.