Two Local Churches
The greatest delight of my life is to spend time with local churches. I’m not complaining about the conferences, committees and executives that I attend. They have a vital part to play in life, but the time I spend with local churches is, for me, what it’s all about. I loved being a local minister and I have never taken any initiative to leave local ministry – you need to blame other people for that, and if you need their names I can supply them!
Last month I had the pleasure of worshipping in a number of local churches and I was blessed by them all – but let me tell you about two of them. The first was in Karlovac in Croatia. I was one of the speakers at the Croatian Baptist Assembly, and after the end of the Assembly I was driven across the country to Karlovac, a town of about 50,000 people. The Baptist Church there is one of nearly 50 churches in Croatia, most of which have grown up since the War of Independence (1991-5). Karlovac Baptist Church was in existence before the war and the pastor described to me the gruelling experience of the years of conflict. Karlovac found itself very close to the front line with Serbia and had a huge military garrison. As a consequence the town attracted over 14,000 Croat refugees. The Baptist Church had only about 100 members but the local authority looked to it to provide relief for 2,000 of the refugees. In my innocence I suggested that presumably the local authority provided the money that was needed, but I was wrong. The church had to find all the provisions themselves and with the help of Christians in other European countries they did just that. It was clear to me that the war had been a desperately demanding experience for the Karlovac Baptists but that, through it, they had become stronger for God. I was impressed by the spiritual vitality of the church and they welcomed me and my message with huge enthusiasm.
The following week I was preaching in Berkshire – my recently adopted county. After a splendid centenary service at Anderson Baptist Church in Reading on the Sunday morning I travelled in glorious autumnal sunshine to Finchampstead to preach at a Cluster Service. Fifteen years ago Finchampstead Baptist Church had fewer than twenty members and it was only able to have a minister with the support of Home Mission. But that was fifteen years ago. Fast forward. Earlier this year the church opened a superb new centre costing over £4 million. It is a wonderfully attractive and large facility embracing a sports centre, children’s centre, library and cafe as well as a range of attractive meeting rooms. Finchampstead Baptist Church finds itself right at the centre of its community. The project has been an immense one and it has not only needed vision but a willingness to engage in a robust partnership with the parish and borough councils. It’s an amazing story and I would warmly recommend a visit. The church fellowship, meanwhile, has grown by leaps and bounds and is full of confidence as it looks to the future.
Two local churches. Neither church has had it easy. But both churches have trusted God and have been able to do immeasurably more than they would have been able to even imagine 20 years ago. Personally I find such stories enormously faith building – and I hope you do too.
| Bible Gateway's Verse of the Day |
|