Andy Baker may have been baptised, met his spouse, and got married at his humble local church in Blackwood but after leaving for London to train as a minister he never imagined he would return. But now, 35 years after leaving his hometown, the 57-year-old is returning to preach at the same church in Caerphilly.
Andy, who was born in Markham, said he first attended Mount Pleasant Baptist Church as a teenager after his parents encouraged him to come along with them. It was there that the then 15-year-old met his future wife, Julie, who was 16 at the time. After a year of friendship the pair got into a relationship before they married aged 21 and 22 in September 1986.
Around a year later the couple left for southeast London where Andy attended a Baptist training college while Julie worked at the Sainsbury's headquarters. Following four years of studies the pair moved down to Downton in Wiltshire where Andy ministered at a church for 23 years. It was there that Julie gave birth to their son Jason and daughter Joanna two years later.
