This month: Passion please - ATS’s tenth anniversary - Web watch - ‘Let the people speak’ survey - Church twinning

Passion please

As we seek to implement our mission statement throughout the life of the church, we are looking for enthusiastic, passionate people to do something - in the areas covered by our mission statement goals:

Nurture Group

This group will look at the way in which the church seeks to: 'continue to be a loving, caring and worshipping fellowship following Christ, growing together in an ever deepening Christian faith led by the Holy Spirit.' It will offer support and appropriate input to:
* Worship and teaching programmes and content
* Midweek devotional groups such as After Eights and house-groups
* Methods and initiatives focused on personal and corporate prayer
* Methods and initiatives designed to encourage all participants in the life of the church to recognise and find their place in the body of Christ that is the church
* The work of the Pastoral Liaison Group
* Initiatives designed to welcome and retain contact with visitors.

Outreach Group

This group will deal with the manner by which the church seeks to 'Proclaim and nurture the love of God into the neighbourhood' through:
* Supporting and encouraging those church groups focused on making contact with members of the community, including Kanga and Roo, Friday Nighters, Friday People and the Social and Recreational Club
* Exploring and encouraging ways of making contact with ‘non-church users’ of the church premises.
* Supporting and encouraging the on-going contact with schools in the area, including initiatives such as Education Sunday
* Identifying and exploring appropriate ways of reaching out to the neighbourhood
* Considering the promotion and presentation of the church through its brochures and website.

Mission Group

This group will examine the manner by which the church seeks to 'Proclaim and nurture the love of God beyond the neighbourhood'.  It will seek to inform, encourage and enthuse the church in its prayerful and financial support of Christian mission beyond St Albans through:
* Broadening the church's understanding and commitment to the concept of ‘mission’
* Promoting the work of those mission and aid agencies that the church seeks to support, in particular: BMS World Mission, Christian Aid, Leprosy Mission, BU Home Mission
* Developing direct links and support with specific projects and individuals that the church undertakes to support
* Raising awareness and action in respect of issues of global peace and justice, through agencies such as Traidcraft.

Pastoral Liaison Group

This group will be responsible for the manner in which the church seeks to be 'A loving, caring, worshipping fellowship, following Christ'. The group will be concerned with:
* The provision and support of adequate home and hospital visitors
* Sharing in the provision of Home Communion with the minister
* Advising in ways of providing practical help to those in need
* The appropriate weekly distribution of church flowers
* Maintaining a flow of information on pastoral needs to the Minister, deacons and group leaders
* Providing support for pastoral visitors where necessary.

If you feel led towards any of these mission-steering groups, please speak to Graham Clarke.

From the church meeting.

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ATS’s tenth anniversary

This year sees the tenth anniversary of Against The Stream (ATS) - the Baptist Union’s stand to support the poor, needy and marginalised in our neighbourhoods.
Each year, one per cent of the money raised for Home Mission is put aside for ATS. Three times a year the ATS committee considers grant applications.
To receive a grant a project must be supported by a church in membership of the Baptist Union; it must aim to reduce poverty or its effects in the local community; it must have been researched and developed in consultation with other local churches and relevant agencies, and it must have the support of the local ATS representative.
If the grant is given, the church leading the project must produce a progress report six months later - and return any unspent grant money.
So far, ATS has made grants to 200 projects.  The 200th ATS grant went to the Ark-T arts centre at John Bunyan Baptist Church, in Cowley, near Oxford, to help it establish the Broom Tree Cafe.  The aim is to create an inclusive community, working creatively with people, regardless of their religious views or race.  Users include young offenders involved in arts and music projects as part of their reparation programme.  There are also plans to use the cafe for a ‘table fellowship’ to share the gospel in the evenings.

Adapted by Robert Little from the Summer 2004 edition of ‘Home Mission’ magazine.

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Web watch

Have you been to the Baptist Union (BU) website lately?

The site has been transformed and now contains a new, more user-friendly layout.  The website contains information on the BU - ranging from what the BU does and believes, to the latest news and events.     

There is even a range of downloadable resources for personal and church use.

Among the site’s new features are ‘ChurchFinder’, a service that enables users to search for the nearest BU church by county or postcode; a web-based directory of Baptist church contacts, and an online shopping area where you can order BU publications.

The site is at www.baptist.org.uk.

By Graham Clarke.

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‘Let the people speak’ survey

An organisation called Church Survey UK is undertaking research to try to identify why, in its view, church-going is currently in decline throughout the British Isles.
Church Survey UK is inviting you to take part in this survey - and the survey’s questions have been deliberately kept to a minimum and worded loosely so as to allow you to express your thoughts. The survey questions are:
1) If you attend church regularly, what are the main things that encourage you to attend? If your attendance is merely out of a ‘sense of duty’, what could be changed so as to make church attendance more appealing?
2) If you used to be a regular church-goer, but now attend infrequently or not at all, what were the main things which led to this decline? What could be changed in order for you to attend regularly again?
3) If you have never been a church-goer, what things would encourage you to begin?
4) The traditional custom of ‘clergy visiting’ has steadily declined despite the maxim that ‘a house-going minister makes a church-going people’. Although a combination of factors will have led to dwindling congregations, do you think the demise of this customary role is significant?
The results of the survey will be published in the late autumn.
Those wishing to take part should send their responses to: Church Survey UK, The Vicarage, Clayhill Road, Leigh, Surrey, RH2 8PD or email christian.survey@virgin.net,
The deadline for the receipt of replies is 31st August 2004.

From the Rev Jonathan Willans, chairman of Church Survey UK, and supplied by Ken Rankin.

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Church twinning

At the last church meeting I revealed some of the ideas discussed in the church’s ‘125th anniversary group’ and, subsequently, the missions group about ‘church twinning’. Hopefully, the church can make a decision at next month's church meeting on whether to go ahead with a twinning project.
We haven't selected a country yet - we are looking at possibilities in both Europe and Africa - but, until we have made the decision, there is little point in getting too far down that line.

So, what is twinning? It is a way of encouraging UK churches to build a long term relationship with a church in another country. Each church fellowship can learn about the other country; the situation of the particular church; the pattern of church life and ministry; the aims, joys and problems facing the members of both churches and, together, find ways of mutual sharing and encouragement.

What will twinning involve? It will probably begin in a modest way: writing letters, exchanging church magazines; sending reports of special events; sending greetings at Christmas, Easter and so on, which will help to build a picture for the twin church.
It will involve a financial commitment - so that, perhaps, one or two of us can visit our twin church or someone from our twin church can visit us. Such visits allow us to find out as much as possible about the other church, such as the size of the congregation; their way of worship; any specific work they're involved in - all sorts of things to help our understanding of how we can benefit each other.
As we learn more, we can ask ourselves: ‘how can our two churches work together?’
Maybe we could get to a situation where we could arrange joint activities - say a youth week or a conference. The possibilities will become apparent as the relationship develops.
One thing is important to remember: it will not happen instantly. A great deal of patience and perseverance will be needed - but the rewards will be great for both fellowships.
If we decide to make the commitment, twinning with another church will widen our horizons and bring a new knowledge of the wider Baptist family.
If you want more information, or to talk about anything to do with twinning, please contact Graham Clarke or me.

By John Baughan.