Northern Baptists on fire for Jesus
Wednesday 30 April 2008
By Mark Woods (Baptist Times)
Northern Baptists have been in the thick of the evangelistic action recently – and heard exciting stories about what God is doing in the region at their annual Assembly on Saturday.
Many of them have been in involved in evangelist J John’s Just 10 event, running until June at two venues - Tuesdays at the Gateshead Flower Festival site and Wednesdays at Preston Park, Stockton.
The high-octane evenings are a combination of music, drama, and a powerful presentation by the evangelist on each of the 10 commandments in turn, showing how relevant they are to a modern generation.
At the close of each evening the audience is invited either to respond to what they’ve heard in some way – at previous events gun and amnesties have been arranged for the ‘Do not kill’ evening and many weapons have been handed in – or to make a first-time commitment to Christ.
Future evenings will deal with subjects like ‘Affair-proof your relationships,’ ‘Manage your anger,’ and ‘Keep peace with your parents.’
The venues have been packed out, with around 6,000 attending evenings in Gateshead and 5,000 in Stockton.
As The Baptist Times went to press, and after only two weeks, around 370 people have responded, of whom around 150 were making first-time commitments. Some of their stories were told on Saturday at the Northern Baptist Association (NBA) Assembly, held at Stockton Baptist Tabernacle.
More than 200 people were present for a programme of teaching, fellowship and Association business. Eight pastors and preachers were welcomed into the Association. Three were ministers who had settled in new churches, including David Taylor-Black, assistant minister at Stockton. Four locally-accredited lay preachers and the president of the Independent Methodist Connexion, Shaun Newton, were also welcomed.
Morning worship was led by the NBA’s regional minister team leader, the Revd John Claydon, and NBA moderator the Revd Roy Merrin led communion at the end of the day.
The Revd Dr Steve Brady, principal of Moorlands College, spoke from the book of Nehemiah on ‘starting well and finishing strong as Christian disciples’. NBA regional minister the Revd John Singleton praised ‘his ability to speak to everyone, while demonstrating a deep biblical understanding’. He added, ‘There was a good general interaction between people. They were pleased to be there, and to see each other. Everyone was very fired up.’
