High Blantyre Baptist Church

High Blantyre Baptist Church is a small, local fellowship committed to Christian principles. We help the community through our involvement in Hamilton District Foodbank. Their phone number is given below.

We are a family Church with 24 members situated in the community of High Blantyre. The Church was formed in 1896 by Walter Wilson, a clerk to a local Mining company. Walter Wilson pastored the Church for 50 years. Over the years the Church has remained faithful to its original witness and purpose as a local Church. It is in full membership of the Baptist Union of Scotland.

The current Minister is Rev. Steve Younger. Born in 1959, he settled in High Blantyre in 1986. He continues to work full-time for the Church, while completing a PhD part-time at Glasgow University (in Education), as well as occasional lecturing and training for Education Authorities on 'Religious Observance'. He is a co-opted member of the Church of Scotland's Education Committee (2015-2017). The Church has a very active Children’s Programme and works closely with Scripture Union.

Membership is normally by Believer’s Baptism by Immersion though it is also possible to join us by Declaration of Faith if you are an active Christian coming from a different tradition. With friends and adherents attending we average a congregation on Sunday mornings of 35. We also have an informal Sunday evening felowship at 6: 30pm with about a dozen attending. This is led by the members themselves each taking a turn.

The Church has a full programme of events for all ages and groups. We run two Scripture Union groups - one in the Church’s building and one in Calderside Academy; we have a monthly Men’s breakfast group; a Sunday Club; a Ladies’ Fellowship Meeting; regular Coffee Mornings and a midweek Bible Study. The members of the Church all live in the community or nearby and the Church actively participates in joint services and work with Blantyre’s other Churches and Chapels.

Our main service of worship is open to all and is at 11: 00am on Sundays. Communion is part of this service except on the first Sunday of each month. On the first Sunday there is tea and coffee and home baking after the Service for a time of informal friendship and fellowship. Our building fully complies with the requirements of the Disability Discrimination Act. There is a ramp to the front door and internally the building is on one level. A toilet with wheel-chair access is situated off the main hall. All corridors have handrails. A loop system is in use and large-print copies of the Orders of Service are available.