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Girls' Brigade


Who are we?
Girls' Brigade (GB) is a uniformed youth group for girls and young women from all backgrounds. It's a safe environment where members can relate to one another, have fun, learn new skills, make a difference in their community, and discover more about the Christian faith.

Our GB group (1st Orpington) currently has around 35 members, ethnically diverse, and aged between 5 and 18.

There are around 400 GB groups in England and Wales made up of around 9,000 girls and young women (primarily) and led by 2,000 volunteer leaders. As well as this GB works in more than 51 countries around the world.

Our Vision
Girls' Brigades Ministries' vision is that lives and communities can be transformed and enriched as generations seek, serve and follow Jesus Christ.


Girls' Brigade Section:
  • n:vestigate (5 - 8 years old)
  • n:gage (8 - 11 years old)
  • n:counta (11 - 14 years old)
  • n:spire (14 - 18 years old)
 
Investigate   engage
     
encounter   inspire


N:vestigate and N:gage:
Every Tuesday from 18:00 - 19:30 during term time.


N:counta and N:spire:
Every Tuesday from 18:30 - 20:00 during term time.


The 1st Orpington group is a branch of OBC's youth work and outreach into the community and works across 4 age categories. Our work is delivered, by trained volunteer leaders motivated by their faith, through provision of a weekly programme of activities. Members earn programme awards as well as taking part in additional activities such as fun days, sleepovers and residential events.

Our programme is varied but recent topics have included looking at the members’ health and wellbeing including mental health, healthy eating, the importance of physical health, and the importance of rest.

Our weekly activities enable girls and young women to grow and develop in confidence, resilience, wellbeing and life skills, whilst developing strong friendships, a sense of belonging, taking part in social action, and having great fun along the way.

We also equip and empower young women with leadership skills. Young women aged 14 plus can also participate in the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award scheme, and/or GB’s structured three-stage leadership programme.

 

For more information about the Girls' Brigade, please follow this link and fill out the contact form.
Glenys
Hello and welcome to our church. If you are a new visitor, we have a page for you to get to know us and learn more about planning a visit.
Click here to see more.

Planning your Visit

A Warm Hello 

Group 1

The following information is specifically for those planning a visit, so that you know, beforehand, what to expect on a Sunday morning. If you would like to get a taste of the Church and its services, we broadcast and upload them online to YouTube and Facebook, you can also find and watch past services here.

Where and When

We meet at the Church Building (details here) for our Sunday Service starting at 10:30am. For your first visit, we recommend arriving 10-15 minutes early to ensure you get a parking space and find somewhere to sit before the service begins. When you arrive, you should be greeted by someone on our Welcome Team.

We serve tea, coffee and biscuits after the service. It is a great way to meet people, or simply take time to feel at home. All refreshments are free.

Accessibility: There is wheelchair access, and a sound loop for anyone who needs it. Please let one of the Welcome Team know on your arrival and they will help you to get set up. There are disabled toilets in the main foyer.

Our Service

The main service begins at 10:30am with a warm welcome from one of our team members.
Each week a member of the leadership team will lead the service with the worship group, along with other elements from the congregation, ranging from prayers, to family talks, readings and testimonies. 
Our main celebration has a time of all age worship every Sunday before children and young people leave for their age appropriate groups. Our worship is contemporary and diverse, fitting with the vision of the Church. We are a growing and thriving Church with a very multi-cultural congregation which is something we delight in.
We also have other services throughout the calendar year. Ranging from all age celebration to golden traditional services, to youth services and baptismal services. 
We don't abide to a dress code here, please come as you are. 

Worship R2

What about my kids?

We have a great programme lined up for young people of all ages:

  • Creche (0 - 3 years) children under 6 months are welcome but must be accompanied by their parent/carer at all times
  • First Steps (3 - 5 years)
  • Livewires (5 - 11 years)
  • Academy (School Years 7-13) 

Children stay with their parent or grown-up at the start of the service for the welcome, songs and notices. We really value worshipping God all together as a family. At the end of our time of all age worship, someone will announce that it’s time for the younger members to go to their various groups. Please go with your children to their groups and register them as part of our child safety policy. 

The children's group activities vary depending on the age but usually there are Bible stories, testimonies, praying, music, craft, drama, fun games free play and always with a friendly welcome! Please pick your children up once the service finishes.

Like the children, the youth will stay in the service until someone announces it is time to go out. We meet out the back of the building in the lower hall and the youth room, and there will be lots of people around to help show you to the right place. We often start with an icebreaker game while having our own refreshments and snacks. We then break into age groups for Bible study, discussions and a time of prayer.

Children

Getting Connected


Small Groups

While Sundays are a great way to meet new people, it is often in smaller gatherings that you can really get to know someone. Being part of one of our small groups allows you to make new friends, share together and support each other. We have a variety of groups that meet throughout the week, some afternoons and some evenings. Check out Small Groups and see if there’s one that you would like to join, or we can put you in touch with a small group leader who will be more than happy to invite you along to their group.

Serving and Volunteering

If you want to get involved in the life of the Church and help us make Sundays run smoothly, you can sign up to serve on a team. 

Other Ministries

We also have many other groups and ministries running through the week. If you'd like to know more, do get in touch or see the Church life tab. 

  • Men's Ministries
  • Women's Ministries
  • Youth groups
  • Night Shelter
  • Foodbank
     
Get in touch with us to plan your visit
If you would like to come and visit the Church beforehand you are more than welcome! Get in touch and we can arrange a time that suits you. (*Mandatory Fields)
 
*Name:
Telephone:
*Email Address:
Comments / Questions or anything you would like to say?

Next, we will contact you by email to say hello and help arrange anything necessary for your visit.
 

Leadership 

Martyn Travers Profile 2   profile pic
Senior Minister - Martyn Travers   Minister in Training - Phil Dyal        
Contact here           Contact here
 
We love having new friends and families coming and joining us at Church. We warmly invite and welcome you in, and we hope that whoever you are, you will feel at home at our Church.

God Bless

Martyn Travers & Phil Dyal