Connect April 2017

Connect

Everything Will Be All Right In The End Carnoustie Baptist Church update

April 2017

Everything Will Be All Right In The End Many times I’ve been watching a film and the characters seem to be lurching from crisis to crisis. But in the back of my mind I know everything is going to be all right in the end. The problems will finally be resolved, there will be a twist in the tale or a turn of events that brings the plot to a satisfactory, even joyful, conclusion.

It can sound simplistic to say to a friend in a crisis, ‘Don’t worry, everything will be all right in the end,’ because often that’s not what happens. In life things can go from bad to worse with signs of hope nowhere to be found.

Well, almost nowhere. The events of Easter, culminating in the resurrection of Jesus, give us eternal hope. Jesus entered the depths of human experience, crucified, dead and buried. This appeared to be the end…and everything was not all right. But on the third day God raised Jesus to life, inaugurating the new creation in which all death will be defeated and we will rise to share in the renewal of all things. That will mark the end of history and everything will be definitely and finally all right.

Right now we are well aware that things are not all as they should be; it’s like the world is groaning in expectation of something better to come. Easter is the breakthrough moment when the hope of glory breaks into the sorrow of the present. The resurrection of Jesus promises us that ultimately he will ‘transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body’ (Phil.

3.20). So for now, if everything in your life is not all right it means one simple thing: it is not yet the end.

Rev Martin Hodson

Ministry Development Coordinator

Carnoustie Baptist Church update

The last few months have been busy as we seek to develop a loving, witnessing presence in Carnoustie, to support and build on the day-to-day witness of our church family. Our Toddler Group started in August and while still small is going well – the size is enabling good relationships to be built!

The ‘Place 2be’, a Thursday morning ‘drop in’ with coffee, chat and some quiet space is slowly developing, with some good plans for building links with the community in the near future. We’ve seen some suspicion and uncertainty from the community towards the church as this has started, so are praying for wisdom and grace to build relationships and build bridges for the gospel.

We would continue to value prayer for God to resource the work here, particularly in areas such as music. In March we were delighted to have a baptismal service and welcome another new member, and so far this year have seen a few folk beginning to come along and slowly grow into the church family. It’s always a joy to see this and to see disciples growing in their faith, knowledge and love of God; pray with us that as we grow we would see our witness bearing fruit as people come to faith in Jesus Christ.

Rev. John Toller

Appointment of Ali Laing as Next Generation Development Coordinator The Baptist Union of Scotland is delighted to announce the appointment of Ali Laing as our Next Generation Development Coordinator. Ali is a member of Queen’s Park Baptist Church, serving on their Senior Leadership Team with responsibility for mission. Currently he is employed by Alpha International and Onelife, working in next generation ministries. Previously Ali was a Youth Pastor in Queen’s Park Baptist Church for 6 years, and initially taught Design and Technology in secondary school.

Ali came to faith as a child. Growing in faith significantly in his late teens, he moved into Baptist circles in Aberdeen when he began secondary teaching.

He was baptised in QP back in 2002, and recently became a pre-accredited Baptist Minister. He is married to Jill and they have 2 pre-school children.

Ali has over 20 years’ experience working in leadership roles in youth ministry. He is highly respected by other youth leaders who know his ministries with Onelife, Alpha and as co-chair of Deep Impact, Scotland’s premier youth ministry conference.

In his current roles, he delivers conferences and training for young people, youth leaders and ministers. He is also involved in mentoring and coaching, leading teams of volunteers and interns.

In support of the appointment, Alan Donaldson said, “I am absolutely delighted to have Ali joining our National Team. We sense a real depth of preparation and call to this ministry, and look forward to experiencing all that God will bring to fruition through this new national initiative.” Ali commented, “I’m really excited about joining the BUS National Team and undertaking the challenging work of playing my part in helping to raise up a generation who are lovers of Jesus, intentional about following His ways and committed to making him known to their peers.”

Prayer Link April April 2nd

• Gordon Jones (Chaplain, Royal Alexandria Hospital) • Coastline Community Church • Coatbridge Baptist Church • Collydean Baptist Church

April 9th

• Cole Maynard (Deputy Assistant Chaplain, HQ 51 Infantry & HQ Scotland) • Cornton Baptist Church • Cowal Baptist Church • Cowdenbeath Baptist Church

April 16th

• Jim Meighan (Chaplain, Royal Hospital for Children) • Crieff Baptist Church • Crookston Baptist Church • Crown Terrace Baptist Church

April 23rd

• David Middlemiss (Army Chaplain) • Culduthel Christian Centre • Culloden-Balloch Baptist Church • Cupar Baptist Church

April 30th

• Stuart Murdoch (Chaplain, Strathcarron Hospice) • Dalbeattie Baptist Church • Dalkeith Baptist Church • Dedridge Baptist Church

Jim Meighan - Chaplain, Royal Hospital for Children Please pray for the families at the hospital.

Pray that they might be supported throughout their journey and experiience the length breadth and depth of love that will help keep them sane and focussed on the needs of their child and family. Pray for the staff that they may be given strength, wisdom and insight to continue the amazing work that goes on day and night throughout the hospital. Pray for the volunteers who give so much and expect so little in return. Pray a blessing upon them.

Gordon Jones - Chaplain Royal Alexandra Hospital Please pray that our good and gracious God will meet this chaplain’s ongoing need for a heart of authentic compassion, lips which convey understanding and wisdom, and eyes which see both human need and - in each encounter - the way that he best can be an agent of Christ’s presence. Praise God for His ministry of comfort and hope in our hospitals, by His Holy Spirit and through chaplains.

Dedridge Baptist We have been without a pastor for 3 years now so please pray that we will soon find the person of God’s choice to lead the church onwards in unity. We continue to be very active with outreach to young families, the elderly and those with practical needs, so please give thanks for that.

Culduthel Christian Centre.

With grateful thanks to God please pray that we would: Become fully devoted followers Make disciples who make a difference Share Good News in the whole of life Also: For the body of Christ to function more effectively in love, where all the gifts are exercised in faith so that we can make the most of all the opportunities the Lord is giving us at this time.

Dalkeith Baptist Give thanks to God for His continuing faithfulness and goodness to us at Dalkeith.

We have seen a few new couples recently join with us in worship. One of these couples have been baptised!! Very encouraging. We are planning to run the Christianity Explored Course for the whole church very soon, please pray that God will get behind that. After all, His glory is at stake!

Jeremy Shaw, Pastor, and his wife Karen wish to give thanks to God for such a loving, gracious, kind, supportive, patient, and generous church family. Please, with us, thank God for Dalkeith Baptist Church! We celebrate our unity. but we don’t take it for granted. We give thanks to God. Pray that God would be glorified in our church.

Stuart Murdoch - Chaplain, Strathcarron Hospice Give thanks for the great opportunity to support patients, families, and staff in the area of Palliative Care which is such a blessing. Touching sensitive areas of conversation such as anger, loss, denial, lost, acceptance, ‘Permission to Die’ conversations and apparitions makes for very deep and interesting conversations.

Please pray for me as I study for the “Diploma in Pastoral Supervision”, as it helps and develops the way I support patients, families and staff. I praise God for His continual blessing upon me and my family, and that He would continue to develop and strengthen within me this ministry in Strathcarron Hospice to which He has called me.

Cowdenbeath Baptist Church Give thanks for the faithfulness of God as he continues to work in Cowdenbeath. We are particularly thankful for new members welcomed in last month who are keen to get involved in the life of the church.

Please pray for the new faces we have seen at Sunday services and mid-week prayer meeting, that meaningful relationships would be established. Please also pray for our new Bible study for women that runs each Thursday morning. There is a real hunger for the Word among the women of our church which is fantastic and we pray that it would grow.

Crookston Baptist Church We thank God for how he has blessed us to see several people saved and lives changed over the last two years. Please pray for us as we seek to find ways to more effectively evangelise our community and disciple the new believers in our fellowship. Also, although we are thankful for the school premises we currently use for worship, we are actively seeking our own premises. We feel this will enable us to expand our outreach to the community and provide a suitable home for us as a church. Please pray that God will guide us in this matter.

Coatbridge Give thanks for a real sense of fellowship, new people attending services, new requests for membership, and for the enthusiasm of our very young children who brighten up our Sunday mornings.

Please pray for our ongoing ministries, especially Epic Kids and the Creative Arts Club but also pray, as we continue to seek God’s guidance in reaching into the community, that he will give us not only the vision, but also the resources we require.

Cole Maynard - Army Chaplain Please pray for Cole Maynard who has been deployed as the chaplain for the United Nations Operation in South Sudan for 6 months and is due back in late July. Please pray for Cole as he sets up the chaplaincy structure for future Chaplains to continue with. His wife Fiona is left behind in Edinburgh, please pray for her as Cole is away from home.

Crown Terrace Baptist Church... ...gives God thanks for the new people becoming part of the fellowship and the contributions and diversity they bring to church life.

Please pray for the variety of roles that need to be filled within the church, especially the upcoming deacons’ elections and the replacement for our Church Secretary.

Coastline Community Church Please give thanks for all the many blessings we are seeing here. We have new faces coming along, people are seeking the Lord and the fellowship is growing in love for each other and our community.

Please pray for more workers. We have a heavy community involvement alongside a busy church life and are seeking new workers. Please pray for those who do faithfully work here that they can keep on going!

Cornton baptist Church We are grateful for God’s continued guidance and blessing as we see increased attendance and spiritual growth. We rejoice over two young ladies coming to faith at recent services.

Please pray for us as we integrate new attenders into the church and find ways to involve them in service. Pray for one other teenage girl who attends church every week that she might come to know Christ as Lord.

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