At a recent members’ meeting, the church were happy to appoint
Rich Smith as a deacon at Rehoboth. Here is a testimony from him:

One of the greatest blessings I have had in my life is a continuous, lifelong exposure to the gospel. By God’s grace, I have had limitless opportunities to pray, meditate and contemplate his glory and majesty. While there have, inevitably, been extended times when my faith in God has been sideswept or smothered by pressures and distractions of life, there has never been a time when I have not believed. There has also never been a time when I can remember not knowing Rehoboth.
My foundations lie first and foremost in a strong and loving Christian family. I have had consistent involvement in church life from under the table at Sunday School at Abbey Baptist Church in Abingdon, to youth clubs at Whittlesey Baptist Church, baptism at Dorking Baptist chapel in 2003, a larger church experience at Chessington Evangelical Church and now a blessing to join the deaconate at Rehoboth.

I gave my life to Christ in 2001 at Pioneer Christian Camp after hearing a talk on the joys of heaven. Throughout my school years, those ten days were in hindsight a much-needed pool of Christian fellowship and teaching in what could be very arid times spiritually in school. After nine Pioneer Camps, the Lord led me to Royal Holloway Chris-tian Union where I was handed the role of Prayer Secretary which took me back to basics on un-derstanding prayer and leading a strong prayer life. At that time, I also linked up with Christ Church, Virginia Water. These were particularly blessed times as April was at university only an hour away and was able to join me at Christchurch on a regular basis and started to integrate herself into Christian fellowship for herself, culminating in her conversion at Rehoboth on a rainy New Year’s Day in 2012. How’s that for a start to the year…

April and I joined Rehoboth in 2016 and were blessed from the outset with a loving church family with whom we felt we could not only worship the Lord but also serve with and work amongst. We are particularly grateful that we have managed to find our own grooves to serve in the church via piano, pulpit, PA and pottering in the kitchen (I had to make that four ‘p’s).

With a background in music, Steve invited me to join the piano rota, and this set me in a more public, up-the-front presence in church. I do believe that regular worship involvement gave me a strong foundation for being at the front of the chapel and led to serving the Lord from behind the piano to behind the pulpit. I am acutely aware of the need for consistent service and for working with the church body tending the vineyard.

I am most blessed and humbled to be elected as a deacon. I pray that I will be able to take the tools that the Lord has blessed me with and bring them to a deaconate level and serving the people of God at Rehoboth.

Rich
May 2026

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