John was born in Wigan in Lancashire but spent his childhood on Merseyside.
At Southlands College in South London John trained to be a secondary school teacher before teaching Business Studies at schools in London and Milton Keynes. In 1980 John went to Northern Baptist College and whilst in training, was student minister of a church in Bradford. He was ordained in 1983 and has been the minister of churches in Burgess Hill, Dorchester and Southampton before coming to Loughton Baptist Church.
John and Jenny have three children who are now adults and live in different parts of the country. John enjoys reading, walking, cycling and travel. He loves watching cricket and his favourite football team is Liverpool. There is no other team to support when you have lived on Merseyside.
John says,
“My emphasis in ministry is to affirm people in their faith, enabling and resourcing them to serve God in the church and in the world. It is important for the whole church fellowship to experience a sense of belonging and to know that they are precious in the sight of God and to one another.”
A great commitment to the Great Commandment and the Great Commission will grow a great church.
David Gregory (Team Minister)David has been a minister at Loughton Baptist Church since the autumn of 2004. He moved to Milton Keynes in the summer of 2001 with his wife Carolyn and their two children to be student minister at St. Andrew’s Baptist Church, Bletchley. Before this, he was part of the leadership of Easthampstead Baptist Church in Bracknell where for 4 years he led a new congregation of the church based in a local school.
In Bracknell, David carried out research into weather forecasting and climate change for 15 years at both the Met Office and the European Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting. In his spare time he is interested in science, especially astronomy, history, science fiction, cooking, walking, caravanning, cycling a little and is constantly trying to learn to play the guitar!
David says,
“I am glad to be a part of Loughton Baptist Church. The past years five years has been an exciting time for the church, with many new folk coming to share in its life. I enjoy the wide age range of people from all over Milton Keynes, as well as the gathering of people from many different cultures across the world. In an expanding city, we face fresh challenges of sharing God’s new life and love in Jesus with those already living here and others who are new to the city. Whether you have been in Milton Keynes for some time, or have just arrived, you would be very welcome to come along and share with us.”
“Loughton Baptist Church is a friendly, welcoming community with a focus on helping people to discover how Jesus can impact upon their lives today, in good and bad times, giving a purpose for living today and hope for our future. Christians aren’t perfect people – we have successes and failures in our lives like everyone else. But through faith in Jesus, God’s Son, we have discovered that God loves us and helps us in our lives. Church isn’t about buildings but building a community where God’s life and love are shared. We want that same life and love to flow from our lives to others, in Loughton and across the city wherever life finds us – home, school, college, work or in retirement!”