Just Imagine... God calls us to use our imagination. We all know how easy it is to get stuck and to believe that nothing can ever change, but God is constantly leading us in new ways and to new places. This booklet will show you some of the wonderful initiatives that are being supported by Home Mission right now. My hope is that as you read these pages it will inspire you and encourage you to build up your imagination of what God could do in your life, your church, your community and in our society at large. These are challenging times. It isn’t easy to be a Christian and we all face many pressures. Financially we are confronting the painful reality that we don’t have enough money to do all that we long to do for God. In this situation we need to stand back from what we are doing and to capture a vision of how he wants us to work for him in the future. Home Mission is a wonderful way of expressing our commitment to God and to one another. Through Home Mission we give our yes to God, and we show our desire to be part of his plans. It won’t take you many moments to read this booklet and when you have finished it I invite you to sit still for a few minutes and to ask God to fill your imagination. Let’s pray that through Home Mission we will see his kingdom grow. Just imagine!
Jonathan Edwards, General Secretary
Just Imagine...
helping to unlock the potential of small churches with big visions The support of Home Mission has allowed us at Headland Baptist Church, Hartlepool, to grow in several ways. Financial help toward my stipend means I can now be a leader that can give dedicated time and energy to helping us extend God’s Kingdom in this area of the north east. Through contact with local schools the church youth work has been revitalised. We now run three separate youth groups each week catering for the lower and upper primary and secondary age ranges. Numbers attending and enjoying art, craft, games, pizza and an even more generous helping of the gospel have increased ten-fold on some weeks. Home Mission support has made this possible. The fellowship has grown numerically with several baptisms. Home Mission support has helped make this possible. We want to say a big THANK YOU to you for giving to HOME MISSION and helping us as a small church realise God’s big vision for our area. We have been truly helped in ‘unlocking the potential’ God has given us. Thank you.
Kieran Banks
Minister of Headland Baptist Church, Hartlepool (Northern Baptist Association)
Just Imagine...
helping churches to have their first full-time minister for many years With no minister the church at Radford Semele were struggling to have an impact and felt the church really needed ‘a face’ to help it reach out effectively. With Home Mission’s help I became the full-time minister at the church after 35 years without one. Now instead of being closed six days each week we are open five days a week with a Baby and Toddler group, Prayer Group, Women’s Fellowship, Bible Study and a Friday morning café. Upwards of 100 people now use the church building in an average week. The members and I are involved in all these activities and more, running craft fairs and art exhibitions, working with the village school and getting involved within the community. Home Mission has empowered the church to step out, to arise and shine. Just Imagine a church without a full-time minister for 35 years – with Home Mission’s help you no longer have to!
Katherine Pickford
Minister of Radford Semele Baptist Church, Warwickshire (Heart of England Baptist Association)
Just Imagine...
helping to reach out to isolated rural communities In April 2009 at 3 o’clock in the morning, God woke me up. One minute I was fast asleep, the next minute I was wide awake and all I could think of was Breconshire. I was aware of the spiritual decline in Breconshire and the very real need there. I felt that God was calling my wife Penny and I to go to the towns and villages of Breconshire, to seek those that are spiritually open. We spoke to Peter Thomas at the Baptist Union of Wales and Nick Bradshaw at the South Wales Baptist Association. Both of them felt this was a calling of God and have funded us as a joint project. Because of Home Mission and Baptist Union of Wales funding we are able to spend all the time focusing on people in the community, building relationships and doing the work that God has called us to do.
Ifor Williams
Breconshire Missioner (South Wales Baptist Association)
Just Imagine...
helping people from a minority ethnic background worship and witness together I would like to express my word of thanks to the Baptist Union of Great Britain and Home Mission. The grant that we received from Home Mission is very helpful. We are a very small congregation, most of our members are students, those who only can work for a few hours a week. Our weekly offering is not enough to support our pastor. When we got a grant from BUGB, it was very helpful for our pastor’s accommodation. Currently, we have around 40 members who live in the west and east of London. We worship God in Myanmar dialects every Sunday afternoon. We have two separate home cell prayer meetings. The cell group from London run their prayer meeting every week and Birmingham cell group meets every two weeks. In the special worship services of Easter Sunday, Father’s Day, Mother’s Day and Christmas Day, we invite the Burmese Buddhist community to worship with us and cook them a special Burmese meal. Thank you so much for the grant from BUGB.
Thawng Khua Kai
Myanmar Christian Fellowship (London Baptist Association)
Just Imagine...
helping to provide specialist support for churches going through tough times The following story illustrates one of many ways in which staff working at Baptist House, Didcot provide support for local churches like mine. Many staff working at the National Resource come from ministerial or professional backgrounds and are eager to serve God and the Baptist family by providing guidance on a range of issues relevant to the life and mission of Baptist churches. All this work is funded by Home Mission. One morning in 2009 Ralph Millward, a local homeless man was brutally kicked to death close to our church. As the news of Ralph’s death began to break, we received many calls from the media all wanting our response. Following a call to the BUGB Communications Department, we found ourselves skilfully supported by Chris Hall, who took responsibility for dealing with the relentless enquiries from the media and others. He arranged many interviews and managed the media presence during the Memorial Service. The support we received was simply outstanding and freed us up to be the missionary people God calls us to be in such a crisis. It reminded us that Home Mission is vital to the mission of the whole Baptist family.
Richard Burfoot
Minister of West Cliff Baptist Church, Bournemouth (Southern Counties Baptist Association)
Just Imagine...
helping small churches to grow and bring love to an ignored estate With the help of Home Mission we were called here in 2009 so that I could be the first full-time minister since the church was started 50 years ago. Our calling to serve the missional needs of this deprived estate coincided with our dream to change the perception of young people and show them that the church still is good news whatever age, race or gender you are. At the moment we are working with 60 youngsters each week through our football club and youth club. Recently, we hosted a health fair which saw the highest number of elderly people attending any event ever organised on this estate. We now have pastoral surgeries on Thursdays where we are continuing to see increasing numbers attending including members of other faiths. All of this has been possible through God and the support of Home Mission. Thank you for making our dreams come true. May the God who gives seed to the sower and bread to the eater continue to bless you so that you might continue to be a blessing to others, like Hivings.
Sam Owoo
Minister of Hivings Free Church, Chesham (Central Baptist Association)
Just Imagine...
helping to keep God’s light shining in our cities Imagine a Church with no building to maintain a Church with no traditions to uphold a Church where God’s future is an unwritten story.
Imagine God’s story told with ribbon and string Jesus’ parables explained by puppets The Holy Spirit burning in candle-lit prayers.
Imagine mission in a Children’s Centre worship in a home learning in a variety of places.
Imagine fruit juice shared toast buttered friendships built from around the globe.
Imagine old people exercising together young and old playing together ministers leading worship sitting on the floor.
Imagine remembrance poppies sewn on a building site prayers spoken on an allotment God’s Word outside the museum. Imagine bread broken around a picnic bench wine poured with friends on Saturday night hope for resurrected community.
Tim Presswood and Clare McBeath
Ministers at Openshaw Baptist Tabernacle (North West Baptist Association)
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! We have recently launched Christian Communities Network (Huddersfield) 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 Day
Regional 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 over 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. Home Mission is helping to fund this ministry and I for one think it is money well invested!
James Neve
Free Church Chaplain, University of Southampton (Southern Counties Baptist Association)
Just Imagine...
helping to support new ways of being church At Jacob’s Well we are developing a community garden in a high priority neighbourhood of Yate where we have held a cooking and tasting session, a BBQ with communion, a compost building and willow planting morning, and where we make bread during the winter. These are examples of us ‘being church’ for those who wouldn’t come ‘to church’ which is our vision. Those we connect with are quite unlikely to get involved in ‘church’ as we know it but already they have seen something life-giving in the abundant harvest from our garden that we have offered passersby, and it is clear that people are interested and intrigued. As we get to know folk and discover other ways of being involved in the community, our prayer is that through these life-giving activities, people will sense something of the grace and hope that comes from Christ. We are hugely grateful for the support we get from Home Mission to enable this to happen.
Jenni Entrican
Minister of Jacob’s Well, Yate (West of England Baptist Association)
Just Imagine...
helping churches to provide debt advice in their community In 2010 the problem of personal debt was highlighted to members of Bluntisham Baptist Church in rural Cambridgeshire. A family in the congregation experienced it for themselves and were greatly helped by a Christian debt advice charity. The leader of this charity said he knew of many people in the villages we serve who were struggling with debt and money issues. All too often people struggle in silence, and free impartial advice is hard to find. As a church we felt God was calling us to get involved in this ministry and six people volunteered to train as debt advisers. With the help of a Mission Project Grant, equipment was purchased to set up a Money Advice Centre, which is now bringing help and hope to local people in handling their finances and getting out of debt.
Nick Hudson
Minister of Bluntisham Baptist Church, Cambridgeshire (Eastern Baptist Association)
Just Imagine...
helping to transform the lives of young people At The Word on the Street we provide a parent & toddler group, after school clubs, youth club and a homework club to children and families on a housing estate in a highly deprived area of Gillingham, Kent. Staff offer personal support to a wide age range of children in need, encouraging personal development and achievement for each child and our activity programmes offer opportunities that would be otherwise inaccessible to most of them. We have seen many deprived children and young people grow in confidence and self-esteem, or change from frustrated disaffected youths to maturing young adults. The feel and attitude throughout the estate has begun a transformation for the better and crime and anti-social behaviour has dropped sharply since our project has been running. Home Mission funding ensures that we can function as a missionary organisation and continue to transform the lives of children and young people in this community.
Bill Clark
Community Youth Worker, The Word on the Street (South Eastern Baptist Association)
Just Imagine...
we can all play our part! By praying
Commit to pray for the wider Baptist family and the work that Home Mission makes possible. Use the prayer diary in Baptist Life or your association’s prayer diary. Why not ask your association to let you know where Home Mission is making a difference near you?
By sharing stories
Use this booklet, Baptist Life, Just Imagine DVDs and resources from the Baptist Union website to tell stories about the way Home Mission is making a difference.
By linking up with a church or project where Home Mission is making a difference
Ask your association to suggest a church or project your church could visit to see at firsthand how Home Mission is enabling mission. Alternatively, invite a speaker from (or arrange a ‘pulpit-swap’ with) a nearby church that is currently receiving from Home Mission. Again your association could help you identify one.
By holding a Home Mission ‘Just Imagine’ Sunday or event
Book a date for a Home Mission Sunday at your church once a year. You could have a ‘bring and share’ lunch after the morning service and provide yummy desserts! Invite a speaker or show one of the Home Mission DVDs and invite people to make a donation to Home Mission.
By giving at least 5% of your church’s General Fund
Chat with your Treasurer about giving at least 5% to Home Mission. If all our churches did this we could fund more mission initiatives!
By making a personal donation
As an individual you can make a donation to Home Mission – via your church or Association or direct through our website.
By collecting stamps, coins, medal and postcards
In 2011 £5,892 was raised by simply collecting stamps and other ‘collectibles’. Why not put a box at the back of your church to collect these items and then send them to Alan Cookson, 41 Pemberton Close, Aylesbury HP21 7NY.
By leaving a legacy to Home Mission
After providing for your loved ones, please consider leaving a special gift to Home Mission to enable mission and ministry. A legacy leaflet is available from our website.
Thank you for giving to Home Mission. Just Imagine...what more we could do together. For more information and resources go to
www.baptist.org.uk/home-mission
At the time of printing all these situations were supported by Home Mission (April 2012)
Baptist House PO Box 44 129 Broadway Didcot OX11 8RT telephone 01235 517700 facsimile 01235 517715 email info@baptist.org.uk website www.baptist.org.uk Registered Charity No. 1125912