Jesus be the centre - Cirencester Baptist Church

4 network events this autumn: see back for details
Jesus be the centre
!!
Summer 2013
“I wouldn’t go there, from here!” Living in
London, we were asking the directions to Kings
College Hospital – our problem, from the other
person’s viewpoint, was we were where we
were! It’s unusual, in Church life, to be able to
choose our starting place.
Jesus at the centre is the first of WEBA’s core
convictions, and that centre is always a good
place to start.
Following the BUGB futures process and the
WEBA review, with all their implications, some of which we may not have chosen,
we are going to refocus on this theme, Jesus be the centre, during 2013 and
2014 When our perception of reality dovetails with God’s knowledge of
reality, then we can move forward.. We invite you to join us for four special
events around the region this autumn when four invited speakers will explore this
theme with us. I’m personally very confident God is in control and we can afford
to trust him to lead us. God, who holds the future, is calling us to be his people,
for the sake of every generation.
There are some things that will now become more the norm than the exception.
Local leadership taking responsibility, and not assuming a new ‘Minister’ will
provide all the solutions. Ministers sharing responsibility for one another, and
embodying the covenant between them. Regional Ministers: taking responsibility
and not holding onto roles as if they were supermen and women. I’ve often said,
my role is not to provide any church with a vision, but it is to help, hold them
accountable to the vision and their part in the mission of God, they believe God
has given them. Are you taking responsibility for that?
Rev. Nigel Coles, Senior Regional Minister
Ministerial Recognition at this year’s Baptist Assembly, including Darren Smith, Sam
King, Chris Grant, Mark Cooke, Ali Boulton, and Emmanuel Asamoah from WEBA.
In this issue: The re-shaped WEBA staff team; WEBA’s AGM & BBQ; Table
Talk: An Evangelistic Experiment; 7 Deadly Sins of Women in Leadership; the
Jesus be the Centre events.
! The West of England Baptist Association: Changing the conversation about God in Bristol,
Bath, Swindon, Gloucestershire, Wiltshire, North Somerset, and the Forest of Dean
We’re finding it increasingly helpful to think of WEBA as a network, or a group of networks, both
geographical and electronic, which support and enable mission – whether that means two or three
ministers meeting over coffee, youth groups having fun together at IMPACT, or a grant to enable a
new church to be born. The WEBA staff team, with its base at The Old Forge next to Stapleton
Baptist Church in Bristol, aim to facilitate and encourage these networks in a variety of ways. As
we’ve just had a staff review, it seemed a good time to remind you who we are, and how we see
our priorities.
Following the recent review, Rev. Alisdair Longwill
was appointed Regional Minister with responsibility
for Missional Development:
“I'm here to try to help your church, your minister and
your leadership team to transition so that you make
the mission of God your primary purpose. I want to
work in partnership with you by developing missional
networks that will help us to encourage, support and
enable each other to live more effectively as
missionary disciples of Jesus. I'd be delighted to
visit your minister, your leadership team and your
church to help you explore and pursue this.”
Alisdair can be contacted at
[email protected]
Rev. Nigel Coles is our Senior Regional Minister:
“My conviction is, if Baptists in Britain are to ever regain a
sense of becoming again a movement, we need to
become far more intentional.
Ironically, or within God's plans, however you view it, our
recent, imposed, budget reductions may help us. Certainly
within WEBA, there's a much bigger overlap now between
the roles of Regional Ministers, as we are refocusing our
primary role as being one of missional consultants.
Working in partnership with Churches and their leadership
has always been our remit. However, drawing upon the
gifts of Ministers and others around our region means we
need to be much more intentional about that in the future.
Nigel works from home, spending about one day a week at
The
Old
Forge.
You
can
contact
him
at
[email protected]
Photo: Emily Coles
facilitating your networks:
the weba staff team
Gary McFarlane is WEBA’s
Association Manager.
Gary works at The Old Forge 9am
to 1pm Monday to Friday. He is
the best first point of call for any
query and will signpost you to the
most appropriate channel for
issues including safeguarding and
Ministerial Recognition, and Gary
can also provide relationship
counselling, conflict issues, and
workshops/ seminars on such
issues.
You can contact Gary at
[email protected]
or 0117 965 8828.
Rob English,
Trust and Property Manager:
“I’m ready to listen to your property
and related issues, and look into
them, research them, or point you
to someone who can - to enable
you to use your resources
effectively for Kingdom purposes.”
Rob is usually at The Old Forge on
Thursday mornings, and you can
contact him at
[email protected] or
on 07854 852301.
Ruth Whiter,
Communications Co-ordinator
“ I’m convinced that we learn more
about following Jesus from each other
than from almost anywhere else, and
I’m committed to opening up channels
of communications within our networks,
using the internet, email, video – and
even good old fashioned letters, so that
we can inspire, encourage, and support
one another.”
Ruth works at The Old Forge weekdays
9am -3pm and can be contacted at
[email protected] or
0117 965 8828
…facilitated by you:
The support provided by the WEBA staff team, grants to churches, and the National Resource at Didcot are only possible
because of your gifts to Home Mission. Many of you will be aware that there have been wide sweeping staffing reviews
within the Baptist Union at both National and Association level. Now that WEBA, as well as BUGB, are moving forward
with a re-shaped staff team, it’s been calculated that just a 3½ % increase in Home Mission Giving across the board would
mean that we could have a sustainable, balanced budget for the future. Please consider this when setting your church
budget and giving for next year. Cheques should be made payable to WEBA Home Mission and sent to The Old Forge,
Broom Hill, Stapleton, Bristol BS16 1DN. To set up a regular standing order for your church, please contact the office.
New Churches
Initiative 2013
This year 20 adults and children from ‘The Stowe’, WEBA’s
first ‘New Churches Initiative’ focus, stood on stage together
at the Baptist Assembly in Blackpool to be welcomed as a
church.
Our dream to plant 10 new churches in 10 years continues.
Each new project begins as a tiny seed and planting it will
always involve adventure and risk…
A young family who are currently in full time Baptist Ministry
are planning to move to Portishead with the aim of
eventually planting a church there. The Minister in question
will be seeking employment locally, but they will need help
with accommodation, which will mean renting a property
initially. This is a major commitment for this couple, who
have a baby daughter, and we would like to ask for your
help.
As in previous years, we suggest that each church gives
£200 or £75 for smaller churches. Individuals can also help
by setting up a standing order – just £6 per month would be
a great help. We will hear more about this couple and their
plans for Portishead at the WEBA AGM and the next WEBA
news this autumn, but please begin to consider how you can
support them as they follow God’s call.
Cheques should be made payable to WEBA and marked New
Churches Initiative. Standing order forms are available from the
WEBA office.
Photo of Portishead © Mattbuck
An evangelistic experiment
WEBA is partnering with the Ugly Duckling Company in an
experiment to explore how might we help people who have
no background in church explore Christian faith. Each
participating church will receive a free copy of the Table
Talk game if they commit to run the course during the next 6
months, attend a special training evening and a review
evening early in 2014.
Janet Bearne, who has tried the game with a small group at
Chipping Sodbury Baptist Church, said: “Each time we have
found it stimulated conversations and some heart-rending
stories. There were occasions of deep thought, laughter
and tears.” Come to one
of the training evenings
in June to get your free
copy – dates and venues
are on the back of this
newsletter
and
more
information is available via
www.webassoc.org.uk
7 Deadly Sins of Women in Leadership
WEBA is supporting this popular course which aims to affirm and empower
women in all kinds of leadership; whether in the church, in business, or the public
or voluntary sector. It’s taking place on Saturdays between April and November,
and while the first session (Deadly Sin: Limiting Self-Perceptions) was a great
success there are spaces available for women who want to come along for Day 2
th
on Saturday 8 June. (Deadly Sin: Failure to Draw the Line). We hope that
church leaders will identify and invite or sponsor existing and future women in
leadership to take part in the course.
Visit www.webassoc.org.uk (what’s happening), email [email protected] or
call 0117 965 8828 to find out more or book your place. The course takes place at
Bradley Stoke Evangelical Church and each day costs £45 which includes a
wonderful lunch cooked by Lesley Wynne and the team from St. Marks
Community Café.
th
This year’s WEBA AGM will be on Monday 24 June at Hanham Baptist Church, High Street, Bristol BS15 3QY. The AGM is
open to all and we hope that each church will send along at lease one representative. After all, you are our stakeholders,
who give to Home Mission so that we can make decisions with the gospel of Jesus at their heart. This year, come from 6pm
for a barbecue in Hanham’s lovely walled garden (and sneak a look at the rebuilt church entrance!) before the AGM itself,
which will begin at 7:30pm.
weba diary
Tuesday 4th June 2013 7:30pm
Saturday 8th June 2013 10am
Saturday 8th June 2013 9:30am
Thursday 13th June 2013 7:30pm
Tuesday 18th June 2013 7:30pm
Monday 24th June 2013 6pm
Tuesday 25th June 2013 7:30pm
Saturday 13th July 9:30am
Sunday 15th September 6:30pm
Sunday 13th October 6:30 pm
Sunday 20th October 6pm
Sunday 17th November 6pm
!
Send a message to [email protected] to sign up
for WEBA’s fortnightly email update, which includes links to
information about all these events and more. Please include
your name and the name of your church if applicable.
!!
Table Talk training evening at Brunswick Baptist Church
Lay Ministries Training Day at Amberley Road BC
7 Deadly Sins of Women in Leadership: Day 2
Table Talk training evening at Fishponds Baptist Church
Table Talk training evening at Calne Baptist Church
WEBA AGM and Barbecue
Table Talk training evening at Nailsea Church Centre
7 Deadly Sins of Women in Leadership: Day 3
Jesus be the Centre: Fishponds Baptist Church
Jesus be the Centre: Cirencester Baptist Church
Jesus be the Centre: Clevedon Baptist Church
Jesus be the Centre: Corsham Baptist Church
Jesus be the Centre
4 Network Events for all
West of England Baptists
WEBA is a network of missionary disciples linked by geography,
relationships, and technology. These four gatherings represent our
annual opportunity to worship together, share stories, and hear
from four specially invited speakers as we focus on the first of our
‘core convictions’ –
Jesus at the heart of everything we do.
We hope that all our churches will make one of these evenings a
priority, encouraging e ver yon e to attend, and cancelling local
evening services where appropriate.
15.09.2013
6:30p m
Fishponds
Baptist Church
(Bristol)
Ernie Whalley
BUGB President
13.10 .2013
20.10.2013
6:30p m
6:00p m
Cirencester
Baptist Church
(tea at 5:30pm)
Mark Greene
Director of LICC
17.11.2013
6:00p m
Clevedon
Corsham
Baptist Church
Baptist Church
Rick Lewis
David Shosanya
Author of Mentoring
Matters
Regional Minister
LBA
Find out more at www.webassoc.org.uk
WEST OF ENGLAND BAPTIST ASSOCIATION www.webassoc.org.uk
The Old Forge, Broom Hill, Stapleton, Bristol BS16 1DN Phone: 0117 965 8828 email: [email protected]
Registered Charity No. 1092443. Company Limited by Guarantee. Registered in England & Wales No. 4326752
A Member of The Baptist Union of Great Britain