Bio

When Clay was six years old, his family was invited to a vacation Bible school by a faithful man of God and member of a local Baptist church. At the end of that night's service the Gospel was presented, and Clay responded to the invitation. His soon-to-be youth leader led him to the Lord. Not long after his family also accepted Christ, and they started attending that church faithfully. As Clay grew up, the Lord put a burden on his heart to serve people, and eventually that sharpened into a desire for ministry.

After preparing at Bob Jones University and Bob Jones Seminary for ministry, Clay and Danielle began to ask the Lord where he should serve. When the door shut on a few other options, the desire for missions in England rose to the top of his heart. Clay had always had a keen interest in the UK. Clay and Danielle became convinced of the Lord's leading for their family to serve in the United Kingdom.

Danielle was saved attending summer camp at The Wilds while in middle school. After an evening service she went back to her room and lay on the top bunk thinking of the sins she had committed and realized that she was in desperate need of a Savior. That night Danielle asked God to forgive her sins and save her soul, and He did!

After her junior year of high school, she offered God her life for full-time ministry, not knowing exactly what that would look like. Following this dedication, she was able to attend a year at a Christian school, and there she learned about Bob Jones University where she attended after high school graduation. The United Kingdom, specifically England, has been a serious interest in her life since childhood. The Lord has turned that fascination and interest into a desire to serve and minister to a spiritually needy people.

Clay and Danielle met in 2004 at Acorn Ridge Baptist Church when Danielle began attending with her family. They began dating in 2005 after Clay finished his first year at BJU and Danielle graduated high school. They were married in North Carolina on June 14, 2008.

In December of 2012, they were able to take their first trip to England. They stayed with Pastor Martin Wickens, who pastored Brimpton Baptist Church in Brimpton, England. This survey trip solidified God’s calling on their lives. England’s need was great, and God showed them that it is not a typical mission field. There are thousands of churches throughout the United Kingdom; however, many of these churches are closed, while others have only a handful of members. Still other churches stay open but have long since moved away from believing and preaching the Bible. The need for bible-believing and clear bible-preaching churches in the UK has never been so great. The Lord pressed all of these things on their hearts as they prepared to raise funds to move to England.

In the summer of 2013, Clay and Danielle began deputation. It nearly took 4 years to raise the funds and then another year to process the visa. During this time, the Lord blessed them with three children: Eloise, Emory, Esmond. In April of 2021, the blessed them with another child, Edward. Shortly before moving to the UK the Lord closed the door for ministry at Brimpton Baptist and redirected their steps to West London. The Gibbons family arrived in London in January of 2018 and began searching for a place to serve. God’s plans are perfect, and He sovereignly guided them to settle within walking distance of Salem Baptist Church in Uxbridge, West London. This diverse, small, Bible-believing church had been praying for an assistant pastor but was having difficulty finding a suitable man because of the liberal bent of the seminaries in the UK. The Lord answered the prayers of that congregation and the Gibbons family by bringing them together.

Clay preaches often in both the morning and evening services, teaches the youth and children, leads two evening house groups, and takes care of some of the administrative needs at the church. Danielle likewise teaches children weekly, helps with hospitality needs of the church, and aids in one of the house groups.

Clay and Danielle’s long-term goal is to plant or replant a church in the London area and assist in the training of faithful men to become pastors. The need for biblically grounded churches is greater than it has ever been before. Many churches have closed their doors, many others have compromised on the clear doctrines of scripture, only a few of the remaining churches are thriving and reaching the community with gospel. Please pray for the UK.

To view Clay and Danielle Gibbon's photo gallery, click the picture below.