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telling the story of baptists today
FR EE
Published by Xn Media
HEARTBEATS FROM GOD
EMPTY NESTERS
Amidst all the noise of life, have you heard from our Creator? PAGE 10
MIddle-age need be no bar to mission, as one couple explain PAGE 11
ISSUE 3 October-December 2012
N EW S
WOW! Church’s joy as three get baptised
ROSIE IS ON THE WRITE LINES with AFRICAN BOOKS First time author is looking to finally share her great reads PAGE 16
LIFE on the streets of brixton Chris Andre-Watson reaveals all about the new youth ministry he’s been called to PAGE 5
The Revd Mike Parker baptises Gigi Corpuz at a special service held at Worthing Baptist Church earlier in the summer
CARD SHARP Tina’s hands have a gift for creating the most beautiful customised cards PAGE 13
GREEN POWER CHALLENGE Church leaders are calling on the Government to tackle carbon emissions PAGE 6
ANY BAPTISM is a special event, but for one East Sussex Baptist church, a recent service had the WOW! factor. Three members of its Filipino community underwent the waters
of baptism, sharing how Jesus had changed their lives before doing so. The service is a milestone for Worthing Baptist Church as it seeks to welcome the many people who have joined
eye witness
Waking up Grumpy
The Revd Stuart Davison, SEBA Team Leader writes: ‘Sometimes I wake up grumpy and sometimes I let him sleep.’ Some of you may have watched a TV show called Grumpy Old Men. Gill tells me off if I get too much like that – the good old days, things aren’t as good as they were and ‘when I were a lad…’ I always told myself that I would be a cool dad and not say stupid things like ‘In my day…’ In Psalm 126, the people of God are remembering the past. But not like grumpy old men. God continues to fill his people with joy even in their trials. They have hope for the future. For the people of Israel it was the return home from exile in Babylon. For Christians it is the promise of eternal life because of Jesus. Remembering the past (v1-3) should be in the context of thanking God for all he has done for us – and is still doing for us. 400-4-400 (see page 2) is an opportunity for us to say thank you to God for our history and to make a further contribution to the ongoing work of Baptists here in the South East. It was our Baptist forebears who ensured freedom of conscience and thus freedom of speech; it was Baptists who gave equality and the vote to women 300 years before they received it in the nation; a Baptist who blazed the trail for modern worship music (from Wesley to Smith); a Baptist who prepared the way for the emancipation of the slaves.
the fellowship, making it a truly international church. Transforming the And it is building strong present (v4) When I was in Afghanistan I links with the wider always took a bottle of water with me, and took continuous drinks community too. from it. In a dry land you get thirsty n Find out more – and quickly. read the amazing Ever been so hot and thirsty that your throat and lips feel as though testimonies – inside.
THE MINISTER WHO PEDALLED AHEAD OF BRADLEY A Baptist minister beat Olympic Gold medallist Bradley Wiggins on theTour De France … find out how he did it inside. PAGE 4
they are made of sand? In this Psalm the way God helps us is like streams of water in the desert. n Continued on page 2