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JUL - SEP ’12 Life Baptists at 400 5 PAGES OF STORIES CELEBRATING THE REMARKABLE LIVES AND TESTIMONIES OF BRITAIN’S GREATEST BAPTISTS BAPTIST READ ONLINE AT WWW.BAPTIST.ORG.UK/BAPTISTLIFE Working towards to the future of the Union 4 PAGE PRAYER GUIDE inside

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Monthly magazine about life in the UK Baptist denomination.

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JUL - SEP ’12Life

Baptists at 4005 PAGES OF STORIES CELEBRATING THE REMARKABLE LIVES AND TESTIMONIES OF BRITAIN’S GREATEST BAPTISTS

BAPT

IST

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

Working towards to the future

of the Union

4 PAGEPRAYER GUIDE

inside

4 00 years is a long time! 400 years of amazing successes, shattering disappointments, and of people faithfully working out their Christian discipleship in the context of constant change. It

has been good to have the opportunity to look back this year and to tell our Baptist story again.

It is a muddled story like every chapter of history, but amidst these 400 years are many stories that we need to hang on to – stories which can build our faith and inspire us to reach further for God.

This edition of Baptist Life deliberately looks back and reminds us of some of the people who have played a particularly significant role in our history. Like Oscar winners they would all have wanted to say that anything they achieved was only possible because of other people. And although that is absolutely right, it is still important to remember those who played particularly important roles.

Their example should inspire us as we serve God in the 21st Century. Why not allow this 400th Anniversary year to encourage you to dig deeper into our Baptist history? I have

no doubt that such reading will give you a fresh vision and determination for your work for God here and now.

It is good to look back, but it’s also important to look out for the amazing new things that God is doing in our own day. The story of Brick Lane in the East End of London is an important one. Read about this exciting new development, very close to the place where the first Baptist church was founded in 1612. This is a bold initiative and we cannot possibly know how it will work out.

But our Baptist history has been built precisely on this kind of daring faith and I am proud that you don’t need to travel far in this country to find Baptists reaching out in new and imaginative ways.

We are living through immensely challenging times but, as we face them with the sort of courage and faith that Baptists have shown through the past 400 years, we can look forward with hope and confidence.

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

Baptists at 400by Jonathan Edwards - BUGB General Secretary

Being Baptist: Called, Gathered, Sent is now available to watch on YouTube at www.youtube.com/baptistuniongb

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As a Baptist Community, we have a longstanding heritage as a Gospel people. This has found expression through the provision of care for the poor and disadvantaged; campaigning and

standing for freedom and justice, and most of all seeking to make known the life-changing message of Jesus within our communities and neighbourhoods. Many of our organisations and structures have served us well in this commission, but we have increasingly recognised the need for change, as we seek to adapt to the challenges and possibilities of our contemporary world.

This came into sharp focus when, like many other organisations, the current economic climate forced us to ask searching questions about how we use our resources and finance. Through a process of consultation that has included online surveys, sessions at ministers’ conferences, discussions with key networks and representative groups, association consultations, letters and email, we have sensed a growing desire for change amongst Baptist Christians and local churches.

As plans have developed, some have been warmly received; others have been challenged and thus refined to better reflect the concerns and aspirations of God’s people. We are a diverse family, and it would be impossible for every perspective and idea to be fully embraced; our desire has to be that through and in the midst of all those human voices, we hear and discern the purposes of God and are led by his Spirit. This is why throughout the

process, along with regular updates of progress, we have repeatedly invited engagement through prayer. (Futures Prayer Focus updates can be downloaded from BUGB website)

At May’s Baptist Assembly, along with some important concerns about progress to date, a number of key perspectives emerged:

• We should not be afraid of change, God may be doing a new thing among us.

• Love must be the hallmark and defining element of our shared life together.

• Inspiring and equipping local Christians to work together in mission should lie at the heart of our organisations and structures.

• It is vital to re-kindle a sense of shared identity and mutual support between churches.

Please pray for and play your part in the Futures Process. Pray particularly for those who are involved in developing its work, and those who will be most affected by the outcomes.

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

BAPTISTS AT 400

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Baptists at 400: Baptists you should know about We are celebrating our 400th birthday! Back in 1612 the first Baptist congregation was established in Spitalfields, London, and we have been planting churches ever since. In this issue of Baptist Life we look back to see how far we have come over the last 400 years. Baptist historians Ian Randall and Stephen Copson have chosen some prominent people from our past who have helped shape us as a movement: Baptists you should know about.

>JOHN SMYTH: a Puritan clergyman and then a leader of the Gainsborough Separatist congregation that emigrated to Amsterdam, where in 1608 he became convinced of believers’ baptism. He constituted his congregation as a Baptist church. Smyth wrote extensively, and produced a Confession of Faith.

>THOMAS HELWYS: a lawyer by training, Helwys was in Amsterdam with Smyth, but returned to Spitalfields, London, and formed the first Baptist church on English soil, in 1612. His Mystery of Iniquity included an early appeal for religious liberty. Helwys espoused General Baptist views.

>WILLIAM KIFFIN: apprentice, soldier, wealthy merchant, alderman, pastor and author. Kiffin was an influential Calvinistic Baptist minister in London. He defended closed communion against John Bunyan.

>JOHN BUNYAN: known for his outstanding Pilgrim’s Progress, Bunyan was by turns Parliamentarian soldier, tinker, evangelist, pastor and author. He was held in Bedford Gaol for several years, from where he wrote many works and led his church.

>ANNE STEELE: belonged to an established Wiltshire Baptist family in the 18th century. At a time when women’s qualities were not formally recognised in ministry, Steele wrote poems and hymns to nurture Christian devotion.

Working towards the future

5

BAPTISTS AT 400

>ANDREW FULLER: pastor at Kettering, Fuller was the most gifted theologian among 18th century English Baptists. His works helped to encourage a vibrant evangelical Baptist witness. He was Secretary of the Baptist Missionary Society.

>DAN TAYLOR: a convert of the Evangelical Revival, Taylor became the main shaper of evangelical General Baptist life. His New Connexion was founded in 1770. Taylor was a renowned writer, preacher and organiser.

>ROBERT AND JAMES HALDANE: from a land-owning Scottish family, these brothers contributed significantly to the spread of evangelical and Baptist life in Scotland in the early 19th century. Robert was involved in revival in Geneva.

>WILLIAM CAREY: after experience as a shoemaker, teacher and pastor, William Carey’s vision became world mission. He was instrumental in forming the Baptist Missionary Society in 1792. Two years later he went to India where he was a pioneer in Bible translation, education and communal enterprises.

>WILLIAM KNIBB: a BMS missionary in 1820s Jamaica, Knibb supported the cause of the oppressed slaves. He was a passionate advocate of liberation, putting the cause of the slaves to audiences in Britain. He was able to celebrate liberty in 1838.

>C H SPURGEON: after moving from Cambridgeshire to London in 1854, C H Spurgeon’s ministry meant that he became the most famous preacher of the 19th century. His Metropolitan Tabernacle had a congregation of 5,000, making it the largest Protestant church of its time. Spurgeon also founded a college and an orphanage.

>JOHN CLIFFORD: in his long ministry in London, from 1858 until the First World War, Clifford established himself as the leading Baptist figure proclaiming a message of individual conversion and socio-political reform. He embodied the ‘Nonconformist Conscience’.

>TIMOTHY RICHARD: born in Carmarthenshire, Richard began missionary service in China with the Baptist Missionary Society in 1870. He began to concentrate on reaching Chinese literati and governing officials, and took up other posts outside the BMS.

>F B MEYER: in addition to his significant work as a pastor and evangelist, and his involvement in large-scale social initiatives, Meyer was the leading international spokesman of the Keswick Convention.

>J H RUSHBROOKE: in the early decades of the 20th century Rushbrooke was the leading British Baptist engaged in European-wide and then global affairs, for example campaigning regarding religious liberty. 1928 he was appointed General Secretary of the Baptist World Alliance.

>VIOLET HEDGER: after training for Baptist ministry at Regent’s Park College, Hedger obtained a BD and settled as minister in 1926 at Littleover, Derby. Her war-time pastoral service left her disabled. She was one of the first women in Baptist ministry.

>ERNEST PAYNE: following pastoral ministry and teaching at Regent’s Park College, Payne became General Secretary of the Baptist Union in 1951. His work included major ecumenical involvement. From 1968 he was a President of the World Council of Churches.

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Walking along Brick Lane one Sunday morning Baptist minister Paul Unsworth (pictured) looked around him. Thousands of people

thronged the East London street close to Spitalfields where the first Baptist community started meeting in 1612. Passing tarot card readers and Muslim evangelists, one thought immediately struck him: there is no Christian witness here at all.

Paul felt convicted to do something about it but soon realised that the age group most attracted to Brick Lane (those in their 20s and 30s) would not find a traditional church appealing. It would require a different way of doing church, more innovative where belonging before believing was paramount.

A youth pastor at Frampton Park Baptist Church and training for the ministry at the time, Paul tried to get a cafe church off the ground two or three times but obstacles stood in his way. He was about to give up when he visited Pat Took, the then Regional Team Leader for the London Baptist Association, to enquire about potential places to settle in ministry. There weren’t many and Pat suggested looking at the cafe church idea again.

This time things began to happen. Paul left Frampton Park in 2011 to start a church plant in Brick Lane. Starting with eight people,

today 15 people meet every Sunday morning before going out on the street to chat with people and invite them to pop-up discussions in a cafe in the afternoon. It is leading to ‘great conversations’ says Paul.

Paul’s dream for a cafe church has become a reality too. Money has come in, including a

Mission Project Grant from Home Mission, which has allowed Paul to make Brick Lane his full time ministry and enabled him to purchase the lease on a building in a prime location. The building will be converted into a cafe called Kahaila (mix of Hebrew words for ‘life’ and ‘community’) selling quality coffee and food. It will also hold arts events, discussions and be a hub not only for the faith community but the wider community around Brick Lane. The cafe was due to

open in June 2012.

Paul is excited by what God is doing through the project and feels that the timing, 400 years since the first Baptist ‘church plant’ in Spitalfields, is perfect. “It is obvious that God is in this. I am excited about what he is going to do next and how he is going to bring people into the cafe for us to share his love and good news in the bohemian environment of Brick Lane.”

See Paul Unsworth share more about the Brick Lane project and how Home Mission

has supported it in a short video online www.baptist.org.uk/homemission

BAPTISTS AT 400

Baptists at 400: From Spitalfields to Brick Lane

PrayerGuide

’Listening for the voice of God’

God of the future, God of the present and God of the past;You have called us to walk in ways known and ways yet to be knownTo watch over one another in love and unityTo trace the pathways of Your Spirit,And to follow where they lead.Help us to hear your voiceWhether you speak in the familiar or the unexpectedAnd give us the courage and common purposeTo walk Your way togetherThat You may be glorified in all of our endeavoursAMEN

Prayer by Phil Jump, Regional Minister Team Leader, North Western Baptist Association

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

1-7 July Baptists at 400

Thank God for all those who have served Baptist churches in the UK over the last 400 years, well known (p4) and not so well known. Pray for the current Futures Process (p3), that God through the Holy Spirit will guide us as we consider how to serve him in the coming decades and beyond.

8-14 July Associations: Working togetherfor mission

Many church plants, youth, community and schools initiatives are made possible by churches working together and sharing ideas and resources. The support of association staff can be vital in offering consultancy, guidance and inspiration. They can also help in accessing resources including those of Home Mission and identifying further strategic opportunities. Please pray for this vitally important work.

15-21 July European Baptists

www.ebf.org Pray for European Baptists who we partner with through the European Baptist Federation (EBF). Pray for the International Baptist Theological Seminary of the EBF in Prague, as critical decisions are taken concerning its future. Pray for the meeting of the EBF Council in Elstal, Germany (26-29 September) that this may be an experience of koinonia and unity growing out of the rich diversity of the EBF. Pray for the situation regarding religious freedom for minority churches in Azerbaijan and Central Asia.

22-28 July Olympics

www.morethangold.org.ukPray that the 2012 Games will be peaceful and that any plans to harm would be thwarted. Pray that the many churches and individual Christians involved in mission and service this summer would be encouraged and their work fruitful. Pray also that the Holy Spirit would be at work in our communities drawing people to Jesus.

July

29 July - 4 August Summer

During the summer holidays pray for a time of refreshing for leaders throughout the BUGB. Pray for holiday clubs happening this month at Baptist churches and that God will bless those going away to Christian festivals like Soul Survivor, New Wine and Greenbelt.

5-11 August Home Mission

Home Mission is all about helping Baptist churches and individuals to reach their mission potential and bring the love of God to their communities. It funds various grants, the work of associations and the support provided by the national resource. Pray for wisdom for those who decide how the money is spent.

12-18 August Associations Training

Through associations, local churches share expertise and experience as they receive and provide locally based training eg for deacons, church secretaries, treasurers to help them in their tasks, in evangelism, for local preachers, for children’s workers and child protection etc. Pray that this training might benefit the life and mission of our churches and their members.

19-25 August Baptist Colleges

Give thanks for the fine partnerships between associations, churches and colleges in preparing students for ministry. Pray for wisdom for colleges in their relationships with universities who validate their courses. Pray for students and staff returning or starting at Baptist colleges next month and the families and churches supporting them.

26 August-1 September London 2012 Paralympics

Pray for all churches using the BMS resource Undefeated, that it would be a catalyst for change for people with disabilities internationally. Pray that our churches would have courage, sensitivity and grace as they embrace people with disabilities within their communities as they reach out in response to the 2012 Games.

August

2-8 September All Praying Together

www.hopetogether.org.uk gdoplondon.com All Praying Together (7-9 September) is a weekend of prayer and fasting for individuals and churches of all denominations as part of HOPE – the national mission movement. It links with the Global Day of Prayer on Saturday 29 September when thousands of Christians will be praying all together at Wembley Stadium. Pray God’s blessing for these prayer events.

9-15 September Associations: Building issues

Buildings are a significant mission resource, but their care and maintenance can also be a major challenge for local congregations. Through associations, individuals with relevant expertise are able to offer frontline advice and support. Some associations act as trust bodies or offer loan funds for churches to use for building projects. Pray for this aspect of church life.

16-22 September The Big Welcome

Pray for those coming to a Big Welcome event or church service organised by a Baptist, Methodist or Elim church next weekend (see p10). Pray that these events and services will make people welcome, that they will feel there is a space for them in a Christian community. Pray it will lead visitors to building relationships with the people they meet over the coming weeks and months.

23 September-29 September PeacemakingSunday

Churches will be marking the United Nations International Day of Peace this Sunday. Pray that the church will rediscover a call for all disciples to make peace, not just in warzones, but in scarred neighbourhoods, broken cities, occupied squares and restless cyberspace.

September

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In 1961 Moss Side Baptist Church in Manchester (North Western Baptist Association) was a church with a proud history finding it hard to attract a new pastor. Their Area Superintendent, N

B Jones, recommended that a young Baptist minister who had recently graduated with a distinction from Regents’ Park College, Oxford, should go to the church as a short term measure. In January 1962, 28 year old Sam Reid moved with his wife Carmen (above) to Moss Side becoming the first Jamaican minister ever in Manchester.

Beryl Goodwin, a member at what is now called Trinity Community Church, vividly remembers Sam coming to Moss Side. “I was very impressed with his deep Christian faith and strong conviction which enabled him to take up many challenges facing him and our church. Some people were not quite sure he would manage the situation but how wrong they were.”

In his three years at the church, Sam encouraged the church to be outward looking and to be involved in their community. “It was not surprising to see Sam on a cold winter’s day, carrying a bag of coal to elderly people,” says Beryl. Sam got the church members decorating old people’s homes and moved the pews into the school room to overcome a dry rot problem in the church. A road was

named after Sam in Moss Side which illustrates his impact on the area. “He taught us that our church building was not as important as serving the people of Moss Side,” say Beryl.

Sam had the ability to attract a range of people to the church and unite them. The population of Moss Side in the 1960s was a mixture of West Indian and English. A report on the church in The Baptist Times in November 1962 said ‘West Indians and Englishmen are truly brothers

here... each element brings special gifts and attributes to the total task of ministry. And the bond between pastor and people has grown stronger throughout, as each has sought to encourage the other.’

In 1965 Sam and Carmen moved back to Jamaica where he became a prominent pastor and politician. Karl Johnson, General Secretary of the Jamaica Baptist Union, in a recent trip to the UK in May, described Sam as a ‘watershed’ in their Baptist history. Sam retired in 2003 and still lives in the Montego Bay area but sadly now has advanced dementia.

In 1962 Sam Reid was a pioneer in working in an inclusive way, something that is central to our life together as Baptists. For Beryl, he was instrumental in the church’s history. “Although our church is very different now, Sam’s ministry was the beginning of why we are still here.”

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BAPTISTS AT 400

Baptists at 400: Sam Reid

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BAPTISTS AT 400

Baptists at 400: A Woman Minister’s View of the Church by Violet HedgerViolet Hedger was one of the first women to become a Baptist minister. Below is an extract from an article she wrote for The Baptist Times in January 1925 about women in churches and the challenges they faced. Have we come a long way since then? Do we have further to go?

‘Difficulties? Of course! And to a woman the problems of Church life loom very large. Most Churches, and especially the smaller ones, have a

larger membership of women than men. Yet generally the executive offices are filled by men, and the women’s point of view often is unexpressed.

Again, women are successful as doctors, barristers, politicians, merchants. A more liberal education has given them intellectual equality with men. Yet they are forced to listen continually to the Gospel expounded from the man’s point of view. It has been considered sufficient to permit a woman’s spiritual energies to be used in mothers’ meetings, children’s gatherings, or sewing classes for sales of work. Yet many Churches, in days of stress, have been kept alive by the devoted efforts of their women.

It is natural that we should think that some of these difficulties will be solved by the entrance of women into the fuller life of the Church. They should be given a larger share of responsibility. If suitably trained there should be no hesitation in offering them positions as deacons, secretary, etc. Where this has been tried new life has come to the Church.

There is a growing need for the woman minister. She can deal with some delicate

matters in a way not possible for a man. The ministry of the sick, the growing care of the Church for the child, the crying need of our social order – these things need the intuition and understanding which often only a woman can give.

Everywhere the Churches have given me hearty welcome. I have always found friends, sympathetic and encouraging. There are special difficulties which face any woman who dares to break the old bonds. But we expect them! Our work is new. Yet even these vanish when tackled with a smile. It is wonderful how deep an interest the Churches take, how comrades appear at least expected moments to cheer and to bless. Who minds difficulties? Are they not one of the chief sources of life’s zest?

Perhaps the ideal Church of the future will have both a man and a woman pastor; an officers’ council composed of equal numbers of men and women. So all gifts will be used to the full for ‘In Christ there is neither Jew nor Gentile, there is neither male nor female, there is neither bond nor free.’

For the latest news and views

from The Baptist Times visit www.baptisttimes.co.uk

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100 years of Home MissionWeeks after the sinking of the Titanic in 1912 there was a historic day for Baptist churches that still impacts us today. At the Spring Baptist Assembly held in London on 26 April of that year the establishment of a Ministerial Settlement and Sustentation Scheme was debated and passed. The Sustentation Scheme was the start of what we know today as Home Mission. The wording of a resolution passed by the 1912 Assembly illustrates the importance of Home Mission and is a challenge for us today as we raise money for it: ‘This Assembly realises that the sum required cannot be raised without concentration of effort, concerted action, the consecration of every available resource in the Denomination, and at the cost of sacrifice even unto blood. It is only as each member of Our Churches is prepared to endure self-denial in the sight of Christ for this end that this purpose can be achieved...’

The WEBA Home Mission TourArriving by bicycle can help you see a place in a new way. Approaching Calne along the old railway path, I pass the foundations of the old mill where dissenting Baptists met in secret in the 17th Century; and Calne Baptist Church’s first minister may have taken this route on horseback when he commuted to the Wiltshire market town from Bristol for 20 years during the 18th Century. In the 21st Century, Home Mission has enabled the church to call the

Revd Sam King, who is helping to bring inspiring creativity, deeper spirituality, and new friends to this historic congregation. Calne’s past and future will be the focus in the first of a series of videos that will take the form of a bicycle tour of West of England Baptist Association) WEBA. This is part of a pilot project to raise awareness of Home Mission in our churches. After all, we’re all part of the story.

Ruth Whiter is Communications Coordinator for WEBA

HOME MISSION

In this feature, we focus on churches or ministries that have received a BUGB Mission Grant from Home Mission. Everything we feature in Baptist Life benefits from Home Mission in some way. For more on Home Mission go to: www.baptist.org.uk/home-mission.html

Find out more about this story in a Baptist Life film online: www.baptist.org.uk/baptistlife

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The BIG Welcome gets biggerwww.thebigwelcome.org More churches than ever before are expected to give a BIG Welcome to visitors this September. The BIG Welcome encourages Christians to ‘invite someone they know to something they love’. This could be a welcome event or service at a church or an alternative venue like a restaurant or gym. The BIG Welcome is due to take place on Sunday 23 September 2012 but the resources are undated so can fit into the church’s calendar when it suits them. The Methodist Church and Elim Pentecostal Churches are taking part for the first time, alongside Baptists in England, Wales and Scotland. “With resources based around the story of the prodigal, we are using the image of a puzzle piece to say to people, there is a space for you. We look forward to hearing the stories about how churches have used this exciting resource,” says Ian Bunce, BUGB’s Head of Mission.

Praying for Peacewww.baptist.org.uk/faith-a-unity-home.htmlChurches across the country will be praying for peace on 23 September, the Sunday after the United Nations International Day of Peace on 21 September. Trevor Neill, minister at Yardley Wood Baptist Church in Birmingham, (Heart of England Baptist Association) has produced resources to help Baptist churches mark the date with the theme ‘Peace in a world where it’s kicking off everywhere.’ “In the last few years we’ve seen riots in our major cities in the UK, a crisis in the Eurozone, public spaces occupied across the West and a wave of revolutions in the Arab world,” says Trevor. “What does it mean for us to bear the presence and hope and peace of God in a world which seems more divided than ever, not just nations divided from nations, but rich divided from poor, young divided from old?” Click on the link above to access the resource.

BUGB President endorses National Day of Prayerwww.gdoplondon.com On 29 September thousands will be gathering at Wembley Stadium for a National Day of Prayer organised by the Global Day of Prayer London. President of the Baptist Union of Great Britain, Chris Duffett, is attending and encouraging Baptists to join him. “The Global Day of Prayer isn’t just about a jolly in Wembley to pray! I’m hoping to meet with God afresh and to ‘get hold’ of his heart for the nations and then go and do something that will change people’s lives. Yes, it’s a day to stand with Christians from all kinds of churches and denominations showing that we are one, brothers and sisters in Christ, but it’s also about mission: praying for change to then bring change to the least, last and lost in our nation.”

IN BRIEF

BAPTIST Portraits

BETH CUTTINGS is Sports Development Officer at the FBC Centre, Finchampstead Baptist Church in Berkshire, featured on the 2011 BUGB DVD Be the Centre Favourite Bible verse Psalm 37:4 ‘Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.’

What will you be doing during the Olympics/Paralympics?Watching them whenever I can!  Apart from that I will be working at the FBC Centre delivering a full summer programme of 2012 activities and outreach events for the local community.  I also have tickets for the Paralympics to see the wheelchair basketball and athletics so can’t wait to see it all live in London.

What is your hope for More than Gold locally and nationally (Christian response to Olympics/Paralympics)My hope is that locally, churches will seize the opportunity to be engaged with the biggest sporting event this country will possibly ever have.  My hope nationally is that individuals and communities will experience the church as friendly and relevant to life, and that people will get to hear about the greatest news in the world – Jesus Christ!

JOHNY AKINYEMI is a member of Warrington Baptist Church. He will be representing Nigeria in the slalom competition at the 2012 Olympics in London.Favourite Bible verseJoshua 1:9 ‘Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.’

Are you hopeful of getting a medal at the Olympics?I am training really hard and my hope is that God will give me the strength and courage to perform to the best of my ability on race day. To qualify for the Olympics I had to beat Benjamin Boukpeti from Togo who was bronze medallist at the 2008 Olympics. People in the canoeing world thought I didn’t have a chance of qualifying but I had faith God would be with me at the race.

How does your faith impact your sporting career?My faith is so important in every aspect of my life including my sporting career. My race preparation involves prayer, worship and the Scriptures and I find that the process of racing makes me feel closer to God. I think it’s important that my canoeing is a form of worship to God.

Interviews with people from across the Baptist Union of Great Britain

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