Baptist Centre - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Baptist Centre is a building which houses the Association of Baptist Churches in Ireland

Association of Baptist Churches in Ireland

The Association of Baptist Churches in Ireland is a Republic of Ireland and a United Kingdom based Baptist Christian denomination. It is a group of 121 autonomous Baptist churches on Ireland working and fellowshipping together in evangelism, training and caring ministries...

(ABC), its departments (Baptist Missions

Baptist Missions

Baptist Missions is a Baptist mission organisation and a department of the Association of Baptist Churches in Ireland . It is located in the Baptist Centre and is shared with ABC...

, Baptist Women, Baptist Youth, and others) and the Baptist Theological Centre which includes the Irish Baptist College

Irish Baptist College

The Irish Baptist College is a college, a department of the Association of Baptist Churches in Ireland and a Queen's University Belfast centre. It is part of the Baptist Theological Centre which is located in the Baptist Centre and is shared with ABC...

(IBC), the Irish Baptist College Library and the Irish Baptist Historical Society Archives.

Located at 19 Hillsborough Road outside Lisburn

Lisburn

DemographicsLisburn Urban Area is within Belfast Metropolitan Urban Area and is classified as a Large Town by the . On census day there were 71,465 people living in Lisburn...

, it was built in 2003 and opened on 10 May 2003.

Role

The building has an important role in the life of ABC and the community. The building is an example of a 21st century multi purpose church centre and is visited by other denomination leaders regularly from across Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

. The centre is the largest Christian resource in Lisburn

Lisburn

DemographicsLisburn Urban Area is within Belfast Metropolitan Urban Area and is classified as a Large Town by the . On census day there were 71,465 people living in Lisburn...

and is used by many evangelical

Evangelicalism

Evangelicalism is a Protestant Christian movement which began in Great Britain in the 1730s and gained popularity in the United States during the series of Great Awakenings of the 18th and 19th century.Its key commitments are:...

churches in the area.

Building

It is a 4,300 m² (14,000 ft²) purpose built complex housing the training

Training

The term training refers to the acquisition of knowledge, skills, and competencies as a result of the teaching of vocational or practical skills and knowledge that relate to specific useful competencies. It forms the core of apprenticeships and provides the backbone of content at institutes of...

and administration

Academic administration

An academic administration is a branch of university or college employees responsible for the maintenance and supervision of the institution and separate from the faculty or academics, although some personnel may have joint responsibilities...

facilities. It is situated just off the M1 motorway

M1 motorway (Northern Ireland)

The M1 is a motorway in Northern Ireland. It is the longest motorway in Northern Ireland and runs for from Belfast to Dungannon through County Down and County Armagh...

at Moira

Moira, County Down

Moira is a village in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is in the northwest of the county, near the borders with counties Antrim and Armagh. The M1 motorway and Dublin–Belfast railway line are nearby. The settlement has existed since time immemorial...

Baptist Theological Centre

The Baptist Theological Centre makes up part of the Baptist Centre and contains the Irish Baptist College

Irish Baptist College

Future expansion

The waste ground to the back of the centre provides ample space for expansion. The association and college continue to grow in size and plans are in place for future explansion for the "proposed extension to the Baptist Theological Centre, to provide additional library, archive, storage and study space" since 25 July 2008, application number 0738/F. It was passed on 6 October 2008.

Expansion plans for a new purpose built library complex where mothballed in 2009 due to IBC and ABC financial constraints. The decision is controversial among students, some IBC staff and Baptist Theological Centre users.

County dispute

The Baptist Centre is in a situation in which it can be said that it is in three counties

Counties of Ireland

The counties of Ireland are sub-national divisions used for the purposes of geographic demarcation and local government. Closely related to the county is the County corporate which covered towns or cities which were deemed to be important enough to be independent from their counties. A county...

. Due to the Centre being in Moira

Moira, County Down

, in County Down

County Down

-Cities:*Belfast *Newry -Large towns:*Dundonald*Newtownards*Bangor-Medium towns:...

, it can be said that it is in County Down (used most frequently by ABCI and its departments). Due to its post town

Post town

A post town is a required part of all postal addresses in the United Kingdom, and a basic unit of the postal delivery system. Including the correct post town in the address increases the chances of a letter or parcel being delivered on time. Post towns are usually based upon the location of...

being Craigavon

Craigavon

Craigavon is a settlement in north County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It was a planned settlement that was begun in 1965 and named after Northern Ireland's first Prime Minister — James Craig, 1st Viscount Craigavon. It was intended to be a linear city incorporating Lurgan and Portadown, but this plan...

(the Centre's full address is "19, Hillsborough Road, Moira, CRAIGAVON, County Armagh

County Armagh

-History:Ancient Armagh was the territory of the Ulaid before the fourth century AD. It was ruled by the Red Branch, whose capital was Emain Macha near Armagh. The site, and subsequently the city, were named after the goddess Macha...

BT67 0HG, UK" ) it can be said that it is in County Armagh. Due to the Centre's location within County Antrim

County Antrim

County Antrim is one of six counties that form Northern Ireland, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of 2,844 km², with a population of approximately 616,000...

, it can be correctly said that it is in County Antrim.

External links