About Us

At Islington Baptist Church our primary purpose is...

To make more and more disciples of Jesus, who are growing more and more in love for God and one another

A Little More About Us

Islington Baptist is a diverse multicultural community sharing the life transforming message of Jesus with the beautiful city of Newcastle. We value people of all ages and cultures and believe that our church should be the sort of community that displays the love and unity that can only be found in Jesus. We want to be a community that is devoted to God as we love God's Word, love God's people and love God's mission.

Our gatherings include various elements that reflect our diverse community of people who are united in commitment to Jesus and the Bible. For example, we might sing a contemporary song, then recite an ancient creed, before hearing a Bible explanation talk engaging with contemporary culture, and then finally spend half an hour or so in conversation, prayer and fellowship over coffee and morning tea. We love this, and hope you might also!

Some of our distinctives... 

We believe that God works in people through the renewing of our minds (Romans 12:1-2). We use the Bible in our preaching, discipleship, evangelism, and worship, believing that God works through his word and by his Spirit to change lives.

We're protestant and evangelical, which means we treat the Bible is our highest authority. It also means we hold fast to the core claim of the gospel – that people are completely justified (accepted by God) through faith alone in Jesus, thanks to God's gracious work of redemption in the death and resurrection of Jesus.

We are a Baptist church. That basically means that we believe the church is made up of people who share genuine faith in Jesus, ideally marked out by a public profession of personal faith (i.e. not just the faith of their parents) through baptism. We believe baptism is a wonderful sign of being personally united to Jesus in his death and resurrection through our own faith in him as Lord and Saviour.

Another aspect of being a Baptist church is that we are a congregation led/governed church, which means every member has a voice that matters and a role to play. In Biblical language, that means we value the priesthood of all believers (not just people with a title like "priests"). 

But we don't see ourselves as 'independent' - we are part of the broad network of Baptist Churches in NSW and the ACT, sharing resources and working together to further the cause of the gospel in our part of the world.

Meet Our Pastor

Matt Kennedy (Lead Pastor)

Matt leads the church in our mission to make disciples of Jesus who are growing in love for God and one another. He leads the leadership team and provides oversight of all the ministries of the church. He preaches most weeks in our Sunday gatherings and is involved in various ways in the life of the church.

Matt and his family (wife Anna, with 3 school age kids) moved to Newcastle in mid 2022. He previously served for over 9 years at Chatswood Baptist Church as a Youth Pastor, then Associate Pastor. He studied at Morling and Moore Theological Colleges, Sydney, and is an Accredited Pastor with the Baptist Churches of NSW and the ACT.

He enjoys roasting, brewing and drinking coffee, attempting to surf, and just generally getting outdoors. He'd love to meet you and have a chat about Jesus and what he means to you!

(Staff, Elders & Deacons) 

Other Leaders Church Leadership Team

Matthew Kennedy, Graham Murray (Elder), Marcia Heyne (Secretary & Safe Church Compliance), Marco Li (Treasurer), Khalil Emseis (Deacon), Jessie Agbola (Finance Assistant), Graham Harle (Deacon), Pauline Yeung (Deacon), Ken Callan (Deacon). 

Members of the Church Leadership Team are appointed at the AGM by the members, and the team represents and serves the membership, primarily through ensuring the good governance of the church. 

The various ministries of the church are lead by members of the church appointed and supported by the Pastor. 

Members meetings are held quarterly to discuss and vote on matters relating to the direction and activities of the church. Church membership is required in order to vote, as outlined by our constitution. For membership enquiries, please contact the pastor or the secretary.

Get in touch