Connect February 2019

Connect Three Streams – One Vision: Deep Impact 2019

February 2019

“‘Come, let us return to the LORD. He has torn us to pieces but he will heal us; he has injured us but he will bind up our wounds. After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will restore us, that we may live in his presence. Let us acknowledge the LORD; let us press on to acknowledge him. As surely as the sun rises, he will appear; he will come to us like the winter rains, like the spring rains that water the earth.’”

Hosea 6:1-3 “For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings.”

Hosea 6:6 What sense do we make of, and how might we respond to, the turmoil labelled ‘Brexit”? When we see the injustice of universal credit or the current identity crisis among children and young adults, how are we to understand our role and significance in affecting the future of our nation? How shall we bear witness to the love and transformative nature of God in a context where Christian values are at best marginalised?

It is important for us to recall from Scripture the faithfulness of the sovereignty of God and the significance of humble, faithful witness from among His saints. To be salt and light among a people who have lost their way and become confused and corrupted in their values, is the calling of those who name Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour. A commitment to pursuing justice for others, as it is expressed by Jesus Christ, where mercy and care for the foreigner and the marginalised really matters; and where such mercy, care and justice are humbly brought together into a truth that finds expression through the living church of Jesus Christ.

The challenge of the present turmoil is a clear call to all who would follow the path of baptism into Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection. We are summoned to the crucible of transformation. Into values and lifestyles that pattern something different, something distinctive, something that speaks of resurrection hope through pursuing the descending path walked by Jesus Christ.

What does that look like? What does the Lord require of us? Micah answers, “to do justice, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?” Therefore let us pray for clarity and good governance in our nation; let us speak up when we begin to recognise patterns of injustice and warped values; let us encourage those who show compassion and tenderness but let us also seek Christ’s pattern of personal and congregational living, daily conforming to the pattern of the Cross. Therein lies the hope of resurrection and renewed life for our nation and all those we seek to love and witness to in Jesus’ name.

Rev Dr Jim Purves

Mission and Ministry Advisor

A place to call home!

For almost 31 years Ellon Baptist Church has been moving around from location to location, using as many as four different buildings per week for our various ministries. We have a building project on going which is seeing big progress, but we also decided to try and get a community asset transfer of a vacant building on a 5 year lease.

After a lot of work we achieved this in December, taking a building called the Ythan Centre as our first church building for the next 5 years. We have seen God work in amazing ways as He opened doors for us to get this building.

There is great excitement as we work on the building and get services and ministries (old and new ones already!)

Ellon Baptist’s new space!

going in the building. There is a real sense that God is doing something new and that He is on the move in the fellowship.

Already there is a sense God is telling us that we are not to turn inward but that living water is to pour from the building into the community as the church scatters into the world around us. This building now allows us to look afresh at what we can do as a church, to consider how we use our gifts and passions to connect with the community and to work together to see Jesus transform lives and the community around us. It is an exciting time, more so, because we see God in it.

renovation work was required!

church packed for a Sunday service

Carols by candlelight… on the beach!

One church in Edinburgh decided to get out of the building one evening at Christmas.

Christmas at Portobello Baptist Church is much like Christmas for most churches. It represents a great opportunity to tell the story of Jesus to a much wider audience than normal. The question is most often ‘what is the best way to do this?’ or “how do we engage as many people as possible?”.

We decided this year that on top of our regular Christmas programme, which included a carols by candlelight service in our building as well as the regular Sunday worship services, that we would take a carol service to the beach. One of our small groups had the idea and made it happen.

The beach is our community’s shared space, all sorts of stuff takes place there through the year. We were not at all sure how it would be received nor how many people would turn up and participate. In faith I printed 75 copies of the carol sheets. We reckon about 250 people turned up, including a bunch out of the local pub, beer in one hand - carol sheet in the other.

Our lesson from this was simple. If we take our message and practices to community spaces there are many (often more than we might think) who are happy and even eager to participate.

Three Streams – One Vision: Deep Impact 2019 The annual Deep Impact conference was held in Aviemore from 18th - 20th January.

The conference attracts around 350 Young Leaders, Youth Workers, and Children and Family Workers, with many of the delegates coming from churches within our Union. The conference helps delegates explore what it means to work with the young people of Scotland, allowing delegates to develop their skills and practice. The first Young Leaders stream was held this year, which saw over 70 Young Leaders aged between 18-25 meet together to deepen their relationship with Christ and get some practical and constructive ideas on becoming a successful and godly leader in their context.

We were delighted to have visits from Tim Frew and John Swinney MSP. Tim Frew, YouthLink Scotland’s Chief Executive, came and spoke to us during the Saturday evening and gave a message of support for the work our delegates do. John Swinney MSP, currently Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Education in the Scottish Government, also addressed the conference.

After speaking to a selection of the delegates over dinner, John mentioned during the opening session how he was impacted by the passion that those he spoke to have for the work they are doing. During his speech, he renewed the Scottish Government’s commitment to helping the young people of Scotland to thrive and he recognised that the church has a massive role to play in achieving this.

The rest of the conference had three distinct streams each offering their own content, and delegates from all streams commented on the great content that was created for them. We caught up with two delegates to find out how they enjoyed the weekend.

Abbie Nelson from Leven Baptist Church attended the Children and Family Workers stream, says that she “really enjoyed the focus that was put on children and families work this year at deep impact ... I enjoyed hearing different stories and ideas, and it was a joy to be around people who have a passion for the children and families in their community. Particularly loved the sessions that encouraged us to allow children to express their own faith, they can hear from God, they can worship freely, they can encounter the spirit – let’s give them the chance!”

Andrew McCallum, Adelaide Place Baptist Church, attended the Young Leader stream and said that “Deep Impact was a really helpful weekend. It inspired and challenged me to live and lead out the gospel in really practical and intentional ways. There was a great atmosphere at the weekend of being united in love with people from across Scotland eager to see revival. Well worth it.”

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