baptist life 12: april-june

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APR - JUN ’12 READ ONLINE AT WWW.BAPTIST.ORG.UK/BAPTISTLIFE Life Stories of inspiration MEETING THE NEEDS OF STUDENTS, MIGRANT WORKERS AND THOSE STRUGGLING WITH DEBT BAPTIST Looking to the future of the Union 4 PAGE PRAYER GUIDE inside

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Baptist Union of Great Britain's Quarterly magazine on life in the Baptist community in the United Kingdom

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Page 1: Baptist Life 12: April-June

APR - JUN ’12

READ ONLINE AT WWW.BAPTIST.ORG.UK/BAPTISTLIFE

Life

Stories of inspirationMEETING THE NEEDS OF STUDENTS, MIGRANT WORKERS AND THOSE STRUGGLING WITH DEBT

BAPT

IST

Looking to the future

of the Union

4 PAGEPRAYER GUIDE

inside

Page 2: Baptist Life 12: April-June

T here was nothing narrow about Jesus’ ministry. We instinctively think of him as a great preacher and rightly so. But he also spent much time healing

people and when he was faced with people with rumbling tummies, he made sure they were properly fed. As we serve Jesus today we are called to do nothing less than continue Jesus’ ministry to the world, and that is bound to involve reaching out to people in a wide variety of ways. This edition of Baptist Life will give you some inspiring illustrations of the way in which we are doing just that as a Baptist family.

It’s vital that we share these stories together, because I believe that the Holy Spirit uses such testimonies to give us not only new ideas but also new courage as we serve him in our own communities. Probably none of the stories that you will read in this edition will be completely transferable to your own church and community – but, with imagination and adjustment, it may well be that God will use one of the ideas to spark new thoughts and possibilities in your locality.

It is well known that we are facing major financial challenges at the moment as a

Baptist Union. I was at a meeting in London yesterday with other denominational leaders and all of us were reflecting on the same thing. Much as we might like to escape, it is clear that we have got to be realistic and face the facts of a significant gap in our finances. Some have written to me and have suggested that we need to encourage the Baptist family to dig deep and give more money. It may well be that some are in a position to do this and for this we are truly grateful, but we are more than conscious that many churches are struggling at the moment, and it would be unfair for us to place on them an additional burden.

The simple consequence of this is that we need to look at our priorities afresh. The fact is that we cannot do everything that we would love to do, and some precious activities and ministries will not be able to continue. This is agonizingly difficult, and I invite you to be deeply prayerful and supportive as we seek to make the best possible decisions. And above all let’s never lose sight of the fact that what we are doing is nothing less than continuing the ministry of Jesus – of meeting people’s needs in his name.

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Credits: Baptist Life is edited by Chris Hall. Design by Alex Baker.

Like the Baptist Union of Great Britain on Facebook www.facebook.com/baptistuniongb

Follow us on Twitter twitter.com/baptistuniongb

Meeting the needby Jonathan Edwards - BUGB General Secretary

Page 3: Baptist Life 12: April-June

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The world in which we live has changed beyond recognition in recent decades. Something like a quarter of the goods we once purchased in our High Streets are now summoned to

our homes through internet shopping; we are likely to know our Facebook groups better than we know our next door neighbours, and will think nothing of engaging in an online gaming session with someone who lives on the other side of the world. Coupled with this, many of the certainties that successive generations have come to expect of our financial institutions and systems of government and welfare provision suddenly seem to be in question.

Yet in the midst of all of this, we believe that humanity has an unchanging need to encounter and embrace the Gospel message which lies at the heart of our identity as Baptist Christians. The challenge for us as we look to the future is this: what kind of Union do we need to be in a very different environment to that in which many of our structures and ways of working were first devised? The answer to this question needs to be shaped by the needs and vision of local churches and their leaders, and through carefully exploring the mission opportunities and challenges that are emerging around us. The Union is not an end in itself, it exists to support, equip and release the ministries of local Christians as they seek to follow Christ’s call to discipleship.

Recognising the reality of our current situation a consultation process called ‘The

Futures Project’ was agreed by BU Council in November 2011. This process is an invitation for Baptist Christians to pray, reflect and participate in defining the shape, values and priorities of our shared life and mission for the years ahead. It was prompted by the realisation that our present ways of working were unsustainable in the present financial climate, and a desire to be effective stewards of the resources generously released through Home Mission and other streams of financial support. But while this has to be a serious consideration, it is by no means the only factor.

Thanks are expressed to over 1600 people from our churches who took the time to complete the online consultation, and many others who have contributed through letters, emails or through the various networks, associations and colleges who are engaged with the process.

Please pray for the Futures process and all those involved and affected by it. You can follow developments through the regular Futures Updates and Prayer Focus resources, which are available through the Baptist Union and many association websites.

Phil Jump on behalf of the BUGB Futures Steering Group

www.baptist.org.uk/about-baptists/bugb-futures.html

Working towards the future

OUR FUTURE

Page 4: Baptist Life 12: April-June

Just imagine…. helping churches to discover mission in a new way

Just imagine if churches intentionally worked together and shared all their resources in a spirit of openness and generosity.In the Yorkshire Baptist Association I have the privilege of encouraging churches to serve God in mission through relationships. The search is on for more community and less committees, more meals and less meetings, more mission and less maintenance!The reality on the ground for us is that some churches are struggling to do mission because of the burdens of maintenance and would love to be free of this! In Huddersfield we have recently launched Christian Communities Network which has seen three Baptist churches put everything on the table. In a spirit of openness and generosity they said ‘we want to share our resources with you’. An Anglican church called ‘The Net’ is also part of this community and together they are looking forward to what God will do as they serve God together and focus on mission.Just imagine if Home Mission didn’t support this.

Jane DayRegional Minister (Yorkshire Baptist Association)

Just imagine... helping students to explore and express Christian faith

University Chaplaincy at Southampton offers the opportunity to engage with both students and staff in an institution that is about educating and shaping the lives of thousands of people. The predominant group are the 17,000 undergraduates, many of whom have left home for the first time and are beginning to live independently with all the excitement and vulnerability that this brings. These are formative years and it is a privilege to be involved as a pastor in the highs and lows that such formation brings. Add to these the 5000 post-graduate students many of whom come from more than 130 different countries and it feels like Home Mission and BMS World Mission merge into one! The opportunity to bring the kingdom of God near to all these people is great. The third group I encounter are the 5000 staff. Higher Education is experiencing much turbulence at the moment and ministering to people in their workplace seems to be much appreciated. Funding this ministry (in part) is a Home Mission grant and I for one think it is money well invested!

James NeveFree Church Chaplain, University of Southampton (Southern Counties Baptist Association)

HOME MISSION

Just Imagine ...The following stories are taken from the new Home Mission booklet Just Imagine due out in May. To get a copy of the booklet contact BUGB Communications on 01235 517718 or email [email protected]

Find out how you can give directly to Home Mission and watch the Just Imagine Home Mission video at www.baptist.org.uk/homemission

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Page 5: Baptist Life 12: April-June

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In 2008 the Mission to Migrant and Seasonal Workers was set up by Baptist churches in Gorsley, Hereford and Ross on Wye (Heart of England Baptist Association) to provide support and to share God’s love with

migrants coming to the UK from countries like Poland, Romania, Bulgaria and Latvia. The project is partially funded by a grant from Home Mission.

Since 2009 Ania Talalaj has been working with the mission as a Polish speaking pastor/evangelist. “My passion is to help migrants to know Jesus and to help them to deal with the everyday problems they face living in a foreign country,” says Ania. “The most common ones are loneliness, a sense of inferiority, language barriers, discrimination, frustration, lack of care and hope and uncertainty about the future.”

The Mission supports workers in a number of ways including English classes, partnering with other agencies like the council, police and NHS to provide health care and support for migrants. It also provides spiritual and pastoral care and shares the Gospel through evangelistic events like Polish

Christian concerts, Polish Alpha courses and Christian movie nights with Polish/Romanian subtitles.

Besides the seasonal workers working on farms the Mission also works with the permanent Polish community helping them with problems like homelessness, unemployment, alcohol addictions and family

problems. The Polish Church planted in Hereford that meets twice a month has a growing congregation.

“I am really thankful to God for the last three years of ministry among Eastern Europeans and for all he has done among migrants,” says Ania.

“Migrants here are more open to the Gospel than in their own countries. People receive Christ and their lives are changed. More and more people have come to Christ and we pray for their different needs and problems.

“We have experienced miraculous healings, delivery from addictions and family relations restored after domestic violence. God is working in an amazing way bringing salvation to these people together with healings, freedom and hope for the future.”

MEETING THE NEED

Helping the migrantWhen thousands of people from Eastern Europe started to move to Herefordshire to work on the farms in the county, three Baptist churches saw a real need to help them acclimatise to a new country and culture.

Page 6: Baptist Life 12: April-June

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‘I wonder how many religious people in our churches are stopping the community outside from getting to know Jesus because of who we are, because of what we are?’

That question in a Back to Church Sunday bible study by North Western Baptist Association Regional Minister, Phil Jump, really challenged Roy Cullen, minister of Home Mission-funded Grange Baptist Church in Birkenhead. “It was as if God was speaking to me personally about this, saying ‘maybe you are the problem, get into the community’.”

Since that study a few years ago Roy and his church have been doing just that, getting involved in their community in various ways including the local residents’ association, helping run a drop-in centre for the homeless and a community youth club. It was building these community contacts that has led to their latest project: Wirral Foodbank.

Launched at the end of November 2011 Wirral Foodbank operates from different distribution centres, mostly based in churches, that provide a bag of emergency food to those in need who have been given a voucher by a frontline agency like the Citizen’s Advice Bureau or a housing association. People can have up to three vouchers at a time. It is then the responsibility of the frontline agency to show how they can help individuals or families long term before any subsequent vouchers are given. “The voucher system works in such a

way so it is a crisis management thing,” says Roy. “The idea is that it takes up to three days for a statutory agency to help someone in crisis and we cover the three days.”

Foodbank is a national initiative conceived by the Trussell Trust who stipulate that it is ‘a tool for churches to reach into their community’. Roy, together with Jane Branch Murray (Community Officer of Riverside Housing who financially supported Grange Baptist on the youth club and drop-in centre), has encouraged local churches and community agencies to get involved.

In the three months since the Foodbank opened it has helped more than 325 people, 134 of which are children. “We have had some wonderful reactions, people are overwhelmed sometimes. We’ve had people in tears,” says Roy.

The public have been very generous providing food donations at supermarkets and giving monetary gifts to cover the Foodbank’s costs.

“The wonderful thing is that it is not about our church, it is not about our minister, it is about the people we are seeking to serve,” says Roy. “It is only an offshoot but our churches have become well known and the people involved have become well known in the local community, in the local authority. Have we seen people pouring into our churches? No we haven’t. Is the church’s presence now being felt in our community? Absolutely.”

MEETING THE NEED

Helping in an emergency

Page 7: Baptist Life 12: April-June

PrayerGuide

We pray for all those who come as outsiders to our communityfor the refugee who is desperate to use skills to contribute to societyfor the anti-social family constantly moved from place to placefor the child with autism who struggles to relate to others in his class We pray for ourselves that we might become good neighbourswalking the extra mile and not counting the costcaring for others, making them feel included in our communitychallenging poverty and injustice wherever it is found.

AMEN

Adapted from Good Samaritan in Crumbs of Hope – Prayers from the City by Clare McBeath and Tim Presswood from Openshaw Baptist Church, Manchester (North Western Baptist Association), available from BUGB Publications www.baptist.org.uk/store-prayer.html

If you would like more prayer resources, contact your Baptist association or go to www.baptist.org.uk/prayer.html where you will find a range of materials including monthly prayers of intercession.

Welcome to the second quarter of the 2012 Prayer Guide – your opportunity to pray for the Baptist family over the next three months.

Page 8: Baptist Life 12: April-June

1 – 7 April Easter

www.sheringhambaptistchurch.co.uk/?page=ugandaDuring this Holy Week pray for churches meeting together to mark Easter, that their often public witness will inspire non-Christians to think about what Jesus did for them on the cross. Pray for safety for those from Sheringham Baptist Church, Norfolk and Brixington Community Church, Devon going to Uganda to lead an Easter mission and building project this week.

8 – 14 April Meeting the Need

Pray for churches that are serving their communities and trying to meet the needs of people that live there. Pray for Ania and the migrant workers project in Herefordshire (page 5), for Roy Cullen and the Wirral Foodbank (page 6), and for Richard Leadley and the Money Management course in Shoebury (page 7).

15 – 21 April Associations: Pastoral Care

Association staff provide pastoral care for ministers, their families and churches in all aspects of church life. Sadly this can include managing conflict. Pray for regional ministers and for the difficult church situations they are supporting this week in their association.

22 – 28 April President Chris

Please lift Chris Duffett up in prayer as he prepares to serve as President of the BUGB. The planned Big Hearted Tour throughout the next 12 months will mean lots of evangelism with different Baptist churches, clusters and associations.

29 April – 5 May The Baptist Assembly

www.baptistassembly.org.uk The Baptist Assembly is meeting in London this coming weekend. Pray for all those attending that they will feel God’s presence and refreshing. Pray for the future of Baptists in this country and where God is leading us (page 3).

April

Page 9: Baptist Life 12: April-June

6 – 12 May Jamaican Baptists visit

Praise God for the way he has worked through the 2007 BU Council apology for the transatlantic slave trade and how it has strengthened relationships within the BUGB and with the Jamaican Baptist Union. Pray for the visit of Jamaican Baptists this week (see page 10), that this will help us on our ‘Journey’ to being a more inclusive Union.

13 – 19 May Associations: Assemblies

Over the next few months many associations are holding their annual assemblies (see Transform for more information), an opportunity for fellowship, worship, decision making and training. Pray for those organising and attending these events. Pray that they will be fun and inspiring. Pray for all associations as they encourage local Baptist churches in their mission.

20 – 26 May Colleges

Pray for those students nearing the end of their time at college who are now looking to settle in their first pastorate. Pray for recruitment at Baptist colleges as staff retire or move on at this time, particularly at the Northern Baptist Learning Community. Pray too for discernment for those approving September student applications.

27 May – 2 June Queen’s Jubilee

www.baptist.org.uk/diamondjubileePraise God for the Queen and her 60 year reign being commemorated this coming weekend in the Diamond Jubilee celebrations across the country. Pray for Baptist churches marking the occasion like Walmer Baptist Church holding the Big Lunch and those who will be lighting beacons on 4 June.

May

Like the Baptist Union of Great Britain on Facebook www.facebook.com/baptistuniongb

Follow us on Twitter twitter.com/baptistuniongb

Page 10: Baptist Life 12: April-June

3 – 9 June Euro 2012

www.youtube.com/baptistuniongb As the European football championship begins in Poland/Ukraine pray for the way that Baptist and other churches are using the opportunity to connect with young people through the More than Cup evangelistic project in Ukraine. Pray for churches like Hivings Free Church in Chesham who are using football to give young people on a deprived estate hope.

10 – 16 June Momentum Baptist Assembly in Wales www.baptistassemblyinwales.org/momentum/Home.html On 15 to 16 June delegates at the Baptist Assembly in Wales will have the opportunity to hear inspirational teaching and share in worship and seminars. Pray that they will be blessed as they find out more of what it means to ‘run the race’ that God has set before us, encouraging each other with what God is doing.

17 – 23 June Newly Accredited Ministers

A newly accredited minister (NAM) is one who is completing their probationary period as a minister, youth specialist or evangelist. Pray for those NAMs who will be attending a conference organised by the Ministry Department this week. Pray for those in the associations supporting NAMs through theological reflection days, mentoring and pastoral support.

24 – 30 June Baptist Union Council

www.baptist.org.uk/about-baptists.htmlPlease pray for the BU Council as it gathers this week for a special meeting to consider the Baptist Futures process. Pray for the Futures Group and Steering Group as they seek to guide and enable the deliberations and discussions. Pray for wisdom as amidst the many concerns and priorities representatives seek to discern the mind of Christ.

June

Page 11: Baptist Life 12: April-June

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When in 2009 Jim Hamilton, former minister at Shoeburyness & Thorpe Bay Baptist Church (Eastern Baptist Association), started

to preach on money as a response to the recession, church member Richard Leadley immediately responded. “I approached Jim after the first sermon and said what else can we do? Is there something practical that we can do to help people who have got financial problems?”

Two months later, when Richard read an article about Christians Against Poverty (CAP) in The Baptist Times, the opportunity to do something practical was realised. Together with his wife Denise and another couple, Richard attended CAP training in Bristol before starting a Money Management Course at the church in September 2009.

The Money Management Course is in three sessions with DVD material from CAP and opportunities for discussion. It offers help on budgeting, providing ideas on how people can both increase their income and reduce their expenditure to make sure that their budget balances. People are encouraged to create a budget and to discuss it with the leaders during the second and third sessions.“Bad finances sadly lead to a lot of other issues

like family breakdown for instance,” says Richard. “Money is not the most important thing but it is quite pivotal in many cases.

“Even though this is a practical course it is also trying to teach some basic Christian truths as well, like being content with what you have, being generous as an individual. It is not about keeping money to yourself, it is about using your money well.”

Richard and his team of trained volunteers are now running their fifth Money Management Course. More than 60 people have attended the courses since they began, and many have remarked how helpful it has been. His hope is that one day the church will become a CAP Debt Centre offering more services to those struggling with money issues.

He is also aiming to run a session at a local school for students about to go to university.

“I don’t know where this will take us but it is very much a practical outworking of what we want to do in our community, to help and serve. Our prayer is that this course bears fruit and that we would be able to make more contact with people in the community and show them that we care.”

For more on Churches Against Poverty go to www.capuk.org

MEETING THE NEED

Setting people free from financial worry

Richard Leadley

Page 12: Baptist Life 12: April-June

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MEETING THE NEED

Community ResearchWant to know how to meet the needs of your community? Baptist minister Chris Brockway recommends doing some community research.

It sounds surprising but sometimes we don’t know as much about our own communities as we think we do. Often the things we perceive are just those that happen to be the most visible, while the real

needs remain hidden. Many churches have planned one course of action, such as a children’s project, and have only much later discovered that the overwhelming local needs are those of another group within the community, those of older people, for example.

The purpose of community research is to discover more of the truth about a particular area, the people, their needs, their feelings, their attitudes, their relationships and about the environment the people inhabit; the housing, the public space, the facilities and so on.

Any agency which wishes to provide a worthwhile service to a community is well advised to carry out some community research. It is not a substitute for reflection and prayer but is complementary to them; they should inform one another. Together, they help the church to ensure that all its initiatives are appropriate and sensitive. They help it to see its own efforts in the context of the community as a whole.

Other advantages of community research:

• It may help you to assess the effectiveness of your work. It will provide some baseline data about

conditions before your activities commence. When the new activity has been going for a while, you can repeat the research exercise to find out what real impact is being made through your efforts.

• It can help you to campaign effectively. If you hope to put pressure on the local council to fund a playgroup or to put a pelican crossing on a busy road, then some facts and figures and a survey showing popular support may help persuade the authorities to take your proposal seriously.

• It can help to demonstrate your resolve to relate appropriately to the local community and can help you gain the goodwill of other local agencies.

• It can help you raise money. You may find that you need financial support from outside your own church in order to carry out the activities you have planned. Nearly all donors will want evidence that you have carried out research and will be meeting a proven need before they will consider making a grant.

Written by Chris Brockway, minister

of Christchurch Baptist Church and adapted from Mission Consultancy

resource Re:focus. To find out more on how to carry out research to help

you serve your community go to: www.baptist.org.uk/refocus

Page 13: Baptist Life 12: April-June

OPINION

I n the debate around welfare reform there has been much hype and many heated exchanges, often around partial information and wild statistics. The issues are complex and while reform may be required, the effects of the

proposed changes are far reaching. Perhaps most of all, the welfare reform bill should raise questions about who and what we value in society. What kind of society is imagined by these reforms?

It’s important that as Christian disciples we take time to think through these issues – especially around the values in society. Take time to look beyond the use and abuse of statistics and think about the values. We might say that it’s really about questions of fairness and justice.

It’s not surprising that Jesus had much to say on the subject. But the stories don’t always make for comfortable reading. The parable of the workers is a particular case in point. (Matthew 20).

The story paints a familiar picture of life at the time of Jesus and it doesn’t take much (if any) imagination to recognise the scene today. There’s much here about employment and

unemployment – about the workers who are at the beck and call of a rich landowner.

What is so scandalous about the story is the question of pay and receiving what was right. But in the end the story is not about unfair payments, but rather equality. Those who work all day complain that ‘you have made them equal to us’. Because those with no work are given a ‘living wage’ the landowner says something important about their value, their worth. And those in full employment are denied the privilege of a ‘big bonus’ and rather have their sense of superiority called into question.

Maybe Jesus told the story to emphasise how the Kingdom of God was different from people’s expectations. It is a story about

fairness and justice.

But there is a whole lot of difference between fairness and justice. Fairness is often based on self-interest, whereas

justice is founded on the needs of others.

These should be the values at the heart of welfare reform. And I’m challenged by the question: what would welfare reform look like in the Kingdom of God?

Stephen Keyworth is Head of Faith

and Unity

WELFARE REFORM – BEING FAIR OR DOING JUSTICE?

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Page 14: Baptist Life 12: April-June

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Jamaican Baptists to help BUGB on their ‘Journey’A special relationship between Jamaican and British Baptists will be strengthened this May when a delegation from the Jamaica Baptist Union visits the UK. They will be attending the Baptist Assembly and holding meetings with BMS World Mission and Baptist churches and associations. The trip is a response to the 2007 BU Council decision to apologise for the transatlantic slave trade which led to a group from BUGB visiting Jamaica to deliver the apology in 2008. Since then the two Unions have been on a journey working together on what the apology can mean as part of an ongoing relationship and helping the BUGB become more inclusive. “This is a great opportunity to sensitise our churches and associations to the ‘Journey’ – developing resources to enable and develop a culturally inclusive Union,” says Wale Hudson Roberts, BUGB’s Racial Justice Advisor.

Engaging with the issues at Assemblywww.baptistassembly.org.ukWith more and more young people disengaging from the Christian message, how does the Church cross the generational divide? What opportunity does the Big Society offer churches to be involved in their communities? Want to learn more about how to connect with your community in creative ways? These are just some of the questions being tackled in a series of day conferences at this year’s Baptist Assembly. The conferences – 13 in all – are a departure from the usual Assembly seminar programme, and offer participants the opportunity to engage in some depth with relevant issues. While some take place at the Assembly site – Central Hall, Westminster – others make the most of the capital location: a conference looking at the legacy of London 2012 features a visit to the Olympic site in Stratford. Those leading the day conferences include Steve Chalke, Joe Kapolyo and Chris Duffett.

A Big Lunch for the Queenwww.baptist.org.uk/diamondjubileeThere is a Royal incentive for churches to take part in the Big Lunch in June. The national event encourages neighbours to sit down and have lunch together in a simple act of community. In 2011 two million people took part, but that looks swet to increase dramatically as this year the event is part of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations, falling within a special four-day bank holiday. Walmer Baptist Church in Deal, Kent, (South Eastern Baptist Association) has hosted a Big Lunch the last two years by organising a barbecue on its church lawn. Pastor Seyan Tills says, “As a church we were pleased to take part in the Big Lunch initiative as it helped us fulfill our mission statement objectives to be ‘a Christian community, for the community, in the community’. We look forward to doing so again.”

IN BRIEF

Page 15: Baptist Life 12: April-June

BAPTIST PortraitsANN BROOME is a deacon responsible for pastoral care and prayer

support at Christ Church Baptist in King’s Langley, Hertfordshire (Central Baptist Association)Favourite Bible verseJohn 17: 20 ‘My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message...’ In the midst of going to the cross, Jesus was praying for us. He is continually in prayer for us as we are out in the world.Favourite place to think and be close to God?Whether driving or walking along God is with me. He is with me wherever I go. The quiet time alone with him in the morning is a special time. The sound of birdsong or stillness is very special when you are meeting with God. What do you like to do in your spare time?Sewing, photography – I am in the process of categorising my photos into memory sections of my life. I also do some voluntary work in a local school to support children’s learning, reading and wellbeing. What are you looking forward to in the coming months?There may be a big family reunion later in the year which I am looking forward to.What pressures and blessings are there in providing pastoral care at your church?Relationships can be bonded together in prayer and concern for each other. Ties of love have grown through this ministry. It is a privilege to be involved but it can be costly in time.What piece of advice would you give to a new deacon?Make sure you are refreshed by God. It is easy to be bogged down by meetings and paper work. At the heart of everything should be the heart of God. It is not us but him working through us, so times with him to be renewed and refreshed are very important.

PAUL HOBSON is the online editor of The Baptist Times website and Weekly Round-up emailFavourite Bible verseGalatians 5:22-23: ‘But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law’. This is such an uplifting verse that captures both a sense of God’s nature and his commitment to us.Favourite place to think and be close to GodHe’s so dynamic, everywhere at anytime, not just in quiet times or Sunday mornings; whenever I meet him it’s special. It’s happened with my sons and wife, in music, friends, when I write, in a sermon, worship. So many, there isn’t a favourite!What do you like to do in your spare time?Aside from hanging out with my family I love cooking and read too many sports blogs. What are you looking forward to in the coming months?Helping to shape the new Baptist Times website; the birth of our third child (due in April).What did you do before you became online editor of The Baptist Times?Sports reporter with the Kent Messenger, covering Gillingham, Crystal Palace and the delightfully but misleadlingly-named Tonbridge Angels.What is your dream for The Baptist Times online?That it is a must-read: stimulating and encouraging, drawing on a variety of voices and stories to become a real help to people on their faith journey.

Interviews with people from across the Baptist Union of Great Britain

Page 16: Baptist Life 12: April-June

FRIDAY 4 - SUNDAY 6 MAY 2012CENTRAL HALL WESTMINSTER | LONDON

FRIDAYNOEL ROBINSON | CHRIS DUFFETT

SATURDAYDAY CONFERENCES | TONY CAMPOLO

SUNDAYJANE DAY | AGU IRUKWU

BEYOND400

For further

information, to register or apply for session tickets see

baptistassembly.org.ukor contact the

Assembly Office 01235 517621

THE BAPTIST ASSEMBLY400 years since the first Baptist church established in Spitalfields

BUGB Communications will be announcing our yearly awards in May 2012 at the Baptist Assembly.

Vote for the winner of Best Website now at www.baptist.org.uk/commsawards2012 Voting closes on 26 April 2012.

VOTE FOR THE WINNER