| Revd Simon Clay, Senior Pastor at Upton Vale Baptist Church in Torquay, spent 15 years as a teacher before answering a call to ministry. The transition wasn’t easy — as the family’s sole wage earner with three children under ten, stepping into training meant relying on others for the first time. “Idols never fall easily,” he reflects, but says God’s faithfulness and the generosity of His people carried the family through. |
| Simon studied a BA in Theology for Mission and Ministry at St Hild, alongside Baptist Ministerial formation at Northern Baptist College. He was drawn to St Hild by what he calls a genuine “practitioner/teacher dynamic” among staff — a close-knit community where it was impossible to tell lecturers from students at coffee breaks. The college’s emphasis on church planting left a lasting mark: Upton Vale’s small groups are now becoming “mini church plants” as part of a wider multiplication vision. Since arriving at a congregation recovering from a difficult interregnum, Simon has watched previously divided members reconcile over communion. The church has since grown substantially — more than 100 people attended a recent Alpha course, including 27 young people, and what was planned as five Easter baptisms became nine. Space has run short even in the group supporting adults with additional needs. For Simon, though, it isn’t the numbers. It’s watching the congregation “rediscover confidence, hope and excitement” about the gospel — and then carry that into their everyday relationships, at home, work, and in the neighbourhood. St Hild left him with more than academic training. Early feedback on his first essay taught him a lasting lesson in humility — a reminder, he says, that there’s “a bigger, wider world out there” beyond his own opinions. He credits classmates from other traditions, including friends from the Church of England, with sharpening his Baptist convictions. “I can’t quite believe…they’ve made me a better Baptist,” he jokes. “In all seriousness, the real blessing of St Hild is that each student has a unique journey, background and destination and walking that together adds a real vibrancy and richness to your own formation.” |
A Yorkshireman’s Journey from the Classroom to the Pulpit
Student & alumni stories
Early feedback on his first St Hild essay taught him a lasting lesson in humility — a reminder, he says, that there’s “a bigger, wider world out there” beyond his own opinions.
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