About Us

Our Statement of Intent

We must present the Good News of Jesus Christ to a community that desperately needs to hear it. May God’s Holy Spirit inspire us as we work for him.

Jesus said: ‘But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria and to the ends of the earth’.

We are a family church and our congregation is an outward-looking friendly mix of all ages and backgrounds. We are just ordinary people representing a wide cross-section of the life in our area. We believe the Bible to be the Word of God, and we have found in Jesus a real Saviour and Friend. We would like to introduce you to Him.

Where to find us
Our church is located on Tredegar Street in Risca opposite the Spar supermarket and at the edge of Tredegar Park. Have a look at the satellite image below. Our postcode is NP11 6BU.

History of Moriah
Moriah Baptist Church was formed on Christmas Day in 1835. Two preaching services were held that day and were conducted in the Welsh language because of the predominancy of Welsh speakers in the area at the time.

Great changes came about during the last quarter of the nineteenth century, with the sinking of coal mines, steel making and tin-plate production. The area became very much anglicized with the influx of people from the English border counties seeking employment.

It was just before the turn of the century that the members made a bold decision to build a new chapel to accommodate the increase in population. It was in April 1894 that the existing chapel on the main Western Valley road was opened.

The seating capacity was 1,100 and in its heyday had a book membership of over 600 people. It was from this time that the services were conducted in English and was essentially a preaching centre. Over the last 170 years the message preached and taught has remained the same; we have shared the same Good News of Jesus Christ to each succeeding generation.

Deacons
The Deacons of Moriah Baptist Church, together with the Minister are responsible for the spiritual leadership, oversight and general running of the Church. They act on behalf of the Church in between Church Member meetings.

The current serving Deacons (as at 2nd july 2011) are:

  David Cooper
  John Harris
  Harold Holloway
  John McDermott
  Jorge Pinheiro
  Chris Powell (Minute Secretary)
  Sylvia Ware (Correspondence Secretary)
  Josephine Williams (Financial Secretary)