Connect LEAD Academy Learning Community Messengers of Hope March 2017
Messengers of Hope Throughout the Bible there is a concept of God using messengers to communicate with his own people and others. Whilst he speaks directly to key individuals, those individuals are regularly used to convey the message to a larger audience, like Moses and Jonah. As the New Testament unfolds, John the Baptist s message of repentance prepares the way for Jesus. Progressing through the New Testament, we encounter a variety of messengers who take messages between churches. People like Paul, Timothy, Titus, Epaphroditus, Tychicus and many others. In Acts 15, the church in Antioch selects some messengers to go to Jerusalem to explore the key question of gentile conversion. By the end of the council, the church in Jerusalem selects Judas and Silas as messengers who travel to other churches, telling them what has been agreed. This year at our Assembly, October 26-27, we are asking churches to think of the people they send as messengers rather than delegates! People whose primary role will be to share an encouragement, challenge, story or opportunity that flows from the ministry of your local church. Messengers who can also return to your church with news, challenge and opportunities that have been discovered during our time together. Each church will be given the opportunity to share a key message via a 1 minute video, recorded on a phone and uploaded on our YouTube channel. Churches can also choose to write a letter, or tweet a message on social media to Assembly. Every messenger will be given a chance to share key stories and challenges from their local church with other messengers. We also want to ensure that we begin to hear some younger voices at Assembly. To encourage this we have decided that for this year, church messengers under the age of 30 may attend for free. We hope this will encourage many churches to entrust the responsibility of speaking on behalf of the local church to one younger adult among their team of messengers. I pray that in recapturing this Baptist tradition of sending messengers to meet one another, we might increase our vision for being intentionally relational, and that each of our churches will be encouraged by the stories we hear of God at work in our nation. Rev Alan Donaldson General Director
Stirling Baptist @ Callander In Callander, and throughout the Trossachs, there is so much to do during the daytime but what do you do in the evening - especially if you are a Christian and it is Sunday evening? Well, since October 2016, there has been an exciting new answer...sundays @ Six! Sundays @ Six is the new weekly service held by Stirling Baptist @ Callander. The numbers of those attending varies between 25 and 40 gathered from Callander and the surrounding area taking in Doune, Aberfoyle, Thornhill and as far north as Balquhidder. Each Sunday the service includes sung worship, Intercessory prayer, Bible reading and teaching and communion. Pastor Brian Gooding leads the group but God has blessed them with a range of people with abilities to lead worship, prayers etc so that the team are all involved in church life. Of course there is more to Stirling Baptist @ Callander than Sunday evenings! Monday evenings the group meet to pray and on alternate Wednesday evenings there is a Home Bible Study in Callander and on alternate Tuesday evenings there is a Similar group in Doune. Stirling Baptist @ Callander has been supported by a grant from the Baptist Union of Scotland and initially focused on pastoral care and healing for the Christian community. Good progress has been made and, having established the regular Sunday service the group are now turning their attention to outreach to our community. Visitors are always welcome so if you are in the Callander area you should include Sundays @ Six in your itinerary - it is held in St Andrews Episcopal Church Hall in Callander.
LEAD Academy Learning Community We have just finished the first session of our new Scottish Baptist learning community. What is a learning community? you might ask. Here s the recipe. Take 44 people from the leadership teams of nine Scottish Baptist Churches. Let them spend two days addressing some challenging questions about their churches: What s working? What s stuck? What s surprising? Dare to ask, Why does God say we exist? Why do we say we exist? Why does our community think we exist? Start exploring what the culture of our local church is, and how that helps or hinders our fruitfulness. Boldly imagine where we could be in 2022 and what the journey from here to there might look like. Do all this with the help of input from experienced practitioners, live and on video. Add substantial time for working together with your own church team and a lavish helping of interaction with peoplefrom other churches. After two days, let each team prepare an action plan for the next six months. Pray for one anotherand go home with new insight, refreshed ambition, sharper clarity and energy to lead change. Dothis four times over a two year period and taste the results. And the good news is, your church can have a slice. We are starting a new learning community in the autumn, open to all Scottish Baptist Churches. There is a taster day on Saturday 4 March at Granton Baptist Church, Edinburgh, More information on the website or from martin@ scottishbaptist.org.uk
Prayer Link March March 5th Ron Flett (City Centre Chaplain, Aberdeen) Cambuslang Baptist Church Campbeltown Community Church Canonmills Baptist Church March 12th George Hunter (P/T Chaplain, Auchlochan) Carbrain Baptist Church Carluke Baptist Church Carnoustie Baptist Church March 19th Cliff Jackson (Lead Chaplain, Auchlochan) Castlehill Baptist Church Castlemilk Community Church Cathcart Baptist Church March 26th John Jamieson (Army Chaplain) Central, Edinburgh City Gates, Edinburgh Cleland Baptist Church John Jamieson I am over in Kenya in Africa serving with the British Army as a Chaplain in the RAChD (Royal Army Chaplains Department). I am over half way through a two-year posting. Please pray 1. That I can continue to show the love of God and the challenge of the gospel to soldiers and their families here in Kenya. 2. That the Christians serving in the Army here might experience the comfort and challenge of God. 3. That my wife Jeannie and I can continue to grow in our faith and love for God and each other in this challenging environment. 4. Direction for those deciding what my next posting will be which could be end of this year. Central At Central we re giving thanks for 4 new church plants that were launched this year along with many new Missional Communities many people in our community are living as family on mission together! Please pray for these new church plants; that their foundations would be established firmly and that they would flourish in their communities as they seek to see God s kingdom come where they are.
Cambuslang We give thanks for the inspirational Preachers who have led our worship over the last few months since our Minister retired in July. Also for our Interim Moderator, Rev Brian More and Rev Deans Buchanan who will be leading us during the vacancy. As we are now in vacancy we would ask for prayer to strengthen and encourage our fellowship as we wait for God s leading for the future of the church. Cliff Jackson Please pray for me as I settle into my new role as MHA Regional Chaplain for Scotland and the Far North of England. This involves the supervision of Chaplains in Penrith and Workington; Newcastle and Cramlington; Edinburgh, Glasgow, East Kilbride and the team here at Auchlochan, where I will continue to have my base. Please pray for a new member of the Auchlochan team (name to be announced) who will be appointed after this goes to print. Please pray for the new residents moving into Nethanvale retirement apartments. Give thanks to God for the privilege of drawing close to residents and staff through daily contact and times of crisis. We have so many opportunities to speak the name of God into places where He is not known, bringing spiritual comfort and challenge to people who have no Christian contact apart from the Chaplain. To be a Chaplain means to be on the cutting edge of God s mission to the world and there is no place I would rather be. Thank you for your prayers- we need them! Campbeltown We thank God for another year of Grace and for the new people and families that God has brought to us in our church life. We are grateful too for a more established youth group and for the first steps into a monthly united youth work with other local congregations. Please pray that the relationships and supportive networks built through our Mainly Music Parent & Toddler ministry would strengthen and bear Kingdom fruit. In 2017 we are bringing changes to our preaching schedule. We plan to Utilise the gifting within the congregation, and to build supportive links with the SBLPA. Pray with us over the logistics and practicalities of our partnership with SBLPA. Pray too for an inspired Spirit empowerment for the ministry of our own lay preachers, particularly through this year of change, as we experiment with different ways of doing things in 2017. Carnoustie Baptist Church Praise God for new ministries begun in autumn 2016 seeking to build connections with the community, and for the spiritual growth we re seeing and sharing as a churchy family. Pay for God to continue to establish the church in finance and leadership as we enter our seventh year since planting, and pray that we would continue to grow in mission and see people within the community coming to know the Lord.
Ron Flett As a team in Aberdeen we want to give thanks for the strengthening of connections in the workplace. We continue to break ground as the doors of opportunity open. Please pray for the team as we look at strategy for 2017. How we grow the team and how we position ourselves in the workplace, being sensitive and respectful in our conversations, showing that we care and support every person at their place of work. Castlemilk We give God praise for our Furniture Ministry Christmas Party. Over 150 people attended, many Muslim. Had we room we might have doubled the number. With the help of a translator each heard the Gospel. Please pray for clear guidance on how to take this ministry forward. The strength to move furniture, the patience to listen and find innovative ways to communicate with people of different languages. Finally but not least the finances to oil the wheels. Castlehill Baptist Church We are thankfu for good attendances at recent Christmas events and excited to see how we can build on our relationships with those in the community. Please pray for our future planning, that God would show us his will and plan and that people would be added to the church. Carbrain Baptist Church Give thanks for a few new people attending and for the encouraging ministry of visiting speakers while we are without a minister. We thank God for His sustaining grace and provision at this time. We ask for prayer for the refreshment of God s Spirit as we seek the way forward at a difficult time in the life of the church. Pray that we will be renewed in purpose and commitment. Pray also for a strengthening of links with the many community groups who use our building. Carluke Baptist Church Give thanks for the growing opportunities within the community. For increased opportunities within the high school. For those who have come to faith this year. Pray for funding to extend the post of Children and family worker for a further 3 years. That we would continue to grow in our love for God, each other and our community. An increase of faith as we move forward in the vision God has given us.
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