Mark Gladwell was born and brought up on the south coast in Sussex. It was there, at the age of fifteen, that he came to know the Lord through the witness of a school friend. It was during 1983 that his home church, the Baptist Tabernacle in Brighton confirmed that God was calling him to the Christian Ministry. He spent two years training at the London Theological Seminary, and in 1985 he became Pastor of Walthamstow Central Baptist Church in London. Following this, he was called to two further pastorates. The first was to Portslade, where he was pastor from 1989-94 and the second Cheltenham, during the years 1994-2002. It was during 2002 that Mark took up the pastorate of the church worshipping at Free Grace Baptist Chapel. Welcome services were held on October 12th 2002 - Since Mark joined the church has known a time of real blessing, with many new additions to the fellowship. The church currently has 45 members.