Laleston

Bethel BAPTIST ChURCH

The Bethel Baptist Church was built in 1848 at a cost of £200 by Mr William Roberts of Bridgend and occupies a 65 square meter site. The Bethel Baptist Church,  Laleston, is located, as the name suggests, in the village of Laleston, just outside the town of Bridgend (Pen-y-bont Ar Ogwr). It is an historic and evangelical church, originally founded in 1848 by Ruhamah Baptist Church in Bridgend itself. The cause of this was that a large number of members of Ruhamah were living in Laleston, and in 1848 a branch Church was formed at Laleston. This became independent of Ruhamah in 1892, and in 1905 it was placed under the oversight of Rev. W. Hill. In 1911, together with the Baptist Church at Corntown, the congregation at Bethel called Rev. Evan Jones to a joint pastorate. He served for five years. The first pastor of Bethel alone was Rev. J.H. Jones, a graduate of the Cardiff Baptist College. The present minister is Rev. Jim Grindell.