Logo

 

Banner Image:   National-News-banner-Purple
Template Mode:   Baptist Times
Icon
    Post     Tweet

'Encourage pioneers and pioneering' 

Baptists need to be more encouraging of pioneers and pioneering if we are to reach people and make disciples in these challenging times

 
Roy Searle pioneeringThat was the message from Roy Searle and Simon Goddard who led a seminar called 'Becoming Beacons of Hope - Playing Your Part in God's Missional Adventure.'
 
Roy explained that in his role as Baptist pioneer co-ordinator he has heard some great stories – but the overall narrative is of ‘not much happening’.
 
‘The reality is we haven’t caught many people. The reality is we’re an ageing denomination.  I’m not saying this to depress you, but to define reality.

‘Carrying on the way we’re carrying on is damaging, and wearying.’
 
But while we face enormous challenges, the problems can be opportunities: we need to allow the spirit of God to allow creativity and pioneering, Roy said.
 
And in order to do this, as Baptists we need to be more encouraging of pioneers.
 
He said God is raising up pioneers – these are our beacons of hope, but we need to give them more resources. Instead, we often try to put them in a box that won’t fit. Roy said he was aware of more than 80 Baptist pioneers who are no longer part of the denomination. ‘We’ve lost them,’ he said, before encouraging delegates to think if there were any pioneers in their church – people who think differently – and ‘be permission givers for experimentation.’ He also mentioned how the Anglicans had recently commissioned their 1000th pioneer – as Baptists we have only commissioned six.
 
Our task is not to build the church; it’s to go and make disciples. Jesus will build his church, Roy said. Pioneering is not restricted to age - it's about trying something different. 
 
Simon led the second part of the session, and encouraged delegates that in order to take risks and step out, they must be prepared to give something up, ‘something familiar, which may now be unhelpful.’
 
He focused on the example of Abraham. He said that being a person of faith means stepping into the unknown, as Abraham did. It means imagining what can be – God stirred Abraham’s imagination of what might be, and as the church today, we need to let the imagination ‘stir about how people can thrive and flourish.’
 
It also means saying yes to God, as Abraham did. Simon cited the example of the Tubestation in Polzheath, Cornwall. It began when three ageing members of Polzheath Methodist Church were willing to release their building in order to reach the skateboarders outside it. They advertised for someone to lead the new venture. Baptist minister Dave Matthews received the call, and the Tubestation is now a café church in the former Methodist building which saw more than 200 people worship there this Easter.
 
‘I believe we have the resources within the Baptist family we need to resource ministry for the next generation; but we need to be able to release it.’
 
Concluding the session, Roy said, ‘God is raising up pioneers in this space. I hope we can come back in a couple of years with stories of lots more pioneers.’
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Baptist Times, 13/05/2018
    Post     Tweet
Pictorial record of Baptist churches and chapels hits three figures
There are now 100 images of Baptist churches and chapels on a special page of the Baptist Historical Society website - and the Society would like this to grow further, it explains
'An excellent prompt for some important and encouraging conversations'
An account of a reading and reflection group created to help men be better allies in the wake of Project Violet
The Psalms and Hymns Support Fund - 100 years of help
April marks the centenary of the founding of a small Baptist charity that has been able to offer support in later years to those who have lived sacrificially in serving the Lord and his people and mission. By Ian Millgate
Baptist Assembly 2025 to begin a journey towards a national resolution on mission
Baptists Together Mission Forum will offer a resolution about mission aimed to inspire, unite and release us into God’s purposes
Baptists and Communion: Baptist Theology North 2025
Baptist Theology North, a one-day consultation which took place on 28 March, was packed this year, writes Sally Nelson
Churches ‘dismayed’ by the police raid on a Quaker Meeting House
Churches Together in England General Secretary Bishop Mike Royal has written an open letter to the Metropolitan Police Commissioner requesting a review and a meeting to prevent such an incident happening again
     Latest News 
    Posted: 07/01/2025
    Posted: 07/01/2025
     
    Text Size:  
    Small (Default)
    Medium
    Large
    Contrast:  
    Normal
    High Contrast