January 2011

New Year 2011

Welcome to this New Year Letter from ANON brought to you by special request!! I was amazed that your very kind, noble and wise editor (better known as Freda) actually asked me if I would be prepared to produce an article for this edition. She was obviously anticipating a dearth of copy being available in December when most people have too much to do and certainly not enough time to pen a full sheet of A4 typescript that’s not a Christmas ‘news’ letter to go with the cards. (You are so wrong, Anon!! I nearly had to scrap this!!!!)

So here I am again. This time last year I was commenting on the cold spell and snow & ice and peace. Well this is really déjà vu ‘cause its very much the same now, the only difference is that its colder than ever. The country is in chaos, trains cancelled or delayed, roads impassable with lorries and cars abandoned, people stuck in long traffic queues, airports at a standstill with many people unable to go or come home for Christmas and to top it all the Tube drivers go on strike so we can’t go to the football matches or other cultural events on the holiday week-end as we do every year at Christmas. You have to trust ASLEF to add to the chaos and not inconvenience the public because its TfL’s fault that they are not prepared to pay triple time plus a day off in lieu for drivers to work on Boxing Day. So where do we go from here Boris, Mr Cameron & the coalition Government? The new ‘power to the people’ culture’ could mean that we take it in hand to clear our own streets and pavements of snow, maybe even take over running the transport system to more effectively meet the needs of the people. Revolution begins here in Belvedere! But seriously the new emphasis on helping ourselves is an opportunity not to be missed. We as Christians have the ability to influence both local and central Government and to guide policy decisions that affect our every day lives in a new way, an opportunity to bring Christian values back into society and to claim ground for the Kingdom. Use it, don’t miss out, see where and what you could do for the good of our community and God’s children in His kingdom.

Here’s an idea, not quite self government but rather community self help. There are undoubtedly people in our family at BBC who are finding it difficult to cope both physically and financially with the current long cold spell. Heating bills have escalated and for some the choice is grim, ether we eat or we freeze, there’s no happy medium. There are other people in the local community who are suffering in a similar manner. What can we do to help these people? We can, as ndividuals, help in practical ways with gifts of clothing, food and other necessities to ones we know are finding it hard BUT the Church has a budget for Pastoral Aid but is it enough? We have a disaster fund used to support overseas disasters into which our members put contributions when there’s an earthquake or Tsunami or other major event that brings hardship in a country. So what do we do when there is a disaster at home? Nothing? I think we could use the Disaster Fund and take in contributions to be used to provide help to both members and friends of BBC and to people in the community that we know are suffering at this time. This will need to be done with love and care so that we are certain of the genuine need, however we have a pastoral team who are in a position to assess cases. So how about it? Is this something we want to do? Maybe we should have a more permanent pot of money set aside specifically for this purpose? Let your views be known to the Deacons and Leadership team if you feel moved to support this cause.

Well that’s my rant for the start of 2011, sorry it’s a bit serious this time but on a lighter note have you signed up for your tickets to the 2012 Olympics yet? If you haven’t you should and by all accounts you need to start saving now if you want to be at some of the more popular events. A once in a lifetime opportunity not to be missed though.

I hope that the Peace of Christmas touched your life this year and that you knew God’s presence in your life at that special time, and that 2011 will be a year of revival for all of us.

God Bless - ANON

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EXCERPTS FROM THE CALLES’ DECEMBER NEWSLETTER

Dear friends, Praise be to the Lord that Oliver has been keeping well since his medical checks in Southampton in November 2009. He is doing well in University and we hope to spend Christmas together in San Jeronimo before he has to return to Lima and his studies

Thanks to God for all we have been able to do with the new church building, and thank you so much also for your economic contribution which made it possible to complete the roof. Our fund raising activity on 30th October was very good – we had about £600 of profit. Our aim was to finish before Christmas with windows, doors and electricity installation but it was not possible to do it, because of the circumstances. Olga helps me with the ‘Home for the Elderly’ while I dedicate time to the building but she was unwell for three weeks. It started with a simple flu and after a week it got complicated so I decided to be near to her to help and we could not have much time for the building. The other thing is that the electricity wires were stolen from the road close to the building and they have to be replaced by the company, but they told us that they do not have the staff to do it, so we need to just wait. For how long? No answer. However, we will continue with the other things, after Christmas. We are looking for a good electrician to help us with the correct illumination.

Next February we are starting Baptisms classes for those who decided the next step on their Christian life.

At the Home for the Elderly, Rosa Cespedes continues in bed and her only son died a month ago, so now we are taking all the responsibility for her. We could not get Margarita´s identity card because her dates were filled in wrongly by the community authorities, so we need to start again with all the procedures. The ‘Home’s’ new committee elected last October for the next five years was registered according to the new Peruvian rules. We will need a new helper at the Home after Christmas because Sandra is going home to continue her studies. Sulma is uncertain about continuing next year and Flora will continue only until July 2011.

PLEASE HELP US BY PRAYING:
For Church´s doors, windows and electricity installation. The Home for the Elderly, residents, staff and a new helper. Pastoral work at San Jerónimo Church (teaching the baptism candidates) Our family life and ministry. We pray that you may experience the Lord’s blessings throughout 2011.

Isaias, Olga and Oliver

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Refresh Centre - Reflection on 2010

Wow what a year it has been! When we were asked to write a reflection on 2010 it was difficult to know where to start. One thing came to mind - God’s faithfulness.

He has showered His blessings on us personally, as well as a church family, as we have stepped out in faith to start to fulfil the vision God gave for the Refresh Centre.

It has included some life changing aspects for us; change of home, jobs, a new baby boy, our gorgeous Samuel, and adjusting to our new role as parents.

Just as God has been faithful to us personally he has also been so to our fellowship. The increased use of our church buildings has benefited so many people and enabled God’s work to take place every day of the week! This is such an answer to prayers said so long ago, when as a church we walked around our empty buildings and prayed that we could be open and used all day, every day for His Kingdom to come to the people of Belvedere.

It is so exciting to see Belvedere Baptist Church being a place where our community feel welcomed and at home, just as it was in the Early Church when the majority of ‘churches’ took place in every day homes. There have been many teething problems as we have embarked upon this new challenge, and we would like to thank you all for your patience and support as we have been learning how to work together, focusing on God’s will and putting the ground work in place so we are ready for His harvest that has already started to bear fruit!

So here we are, the end of 2010 looking forward to 2011. New people have come to our church and joined our fellowship; families across Belvedere are talking about the work carried out within the Refresh Centre; councillors are beginning to pay attention to the quality of service we deliver. Praise the Lord for He is good!

The start of ‘the year of the Open Door’ is upon us. One that means us going out together, knowing we have the support of a Kingdom focused community centre behind us, as well as hopefully more and more people learning about our existing services and coming in.

Keep an eye out at the beginning of this year as new outreach priorities, with God’s leading, are developed with evangelism at the heart.

Praise the Lord for this year of preparation, change and training, now let us stand up, walk out and be counted. Let’s, as one, shout out loud the truth about Jesus so there is no person in Belvedere who does not know about where to find their Salvation.

God Bless
Hannah & Mark

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New Year Messages from our Pastors:-

An open door:

Does God ever speak to you while you are watching television? I don't mean the "you should not be watching this, turn it off" type of speaking to you!

During the second week of December when all the difficult news was coming out about how the cut backs are actually going to be fleshed out at a local level, I was watching a news programme which was going into the usual analysis of the situation with all the doom and gloom. It was as I watched I felt God say, "I have permitted this, it is an opportunity for my church to come back into her rightful place of leadership in the nation. For too long you have yielded up your responsibilities to serve and set the atmosphere of love and selflessness which enables a nation to prosper. Don't point too condemningly at the sinful city and its banks. The same greed is in your hearts also, even within the church; for too often you have considered your own interests and comfort rather than that of the community where I have placed you to serve".

It is to the angel of the church in Philadelphia that the word comes, "see I put before you an open door that no one can shut". Comfortingly he also says "I know you have but little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my Name". I was so encouraged as Mark and Hannah gave testimony during our advent family services. They reflected how God had led them over the last year through all the changes. They have "HOPE" for the future, believing it is God who has led them to move into the area with the vision of the Refresh Centre, a community and family centre to reach out and touch the needy at such a time as this. This is for us as a church the ...... "year of the open door" .... God is encouraging us now to take risks, to consider others before ourselves and to embrace new ways of being church in our community. Those famous words in Isaiah 43:19 "See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?" are surely words we can embrace as we move into this New Year.

Please pray and ask God how he wants you to step through this open door. I believe there is another aspect of this being the year of the open door for us. I believe God is entrusting to us a spiritual work that will not only bless and under-gird the outreach work of our church but it will also be a significant blessing to the other churches in our borough.

We are being invited through the door of greater spiritual maturity as a church; to enter into worship, prayer and fasting at a deeper level. We were encouraged at leadership level when Heather (team leader for worship) shared how as the worship team met to review the 40 hours worship they all had complete unity sensing God was saying this was not just a "one off" event, but something we must grow into as a regular activity.

We also sensed that same unity, and dare I say it, excitement, when Heather shared at our members’ family evening. Again can I ask that you pray and ask God how you are to walk through this particular door of opportunity that will present itself on more than one occasion during 2011.

May God bless you richly in this New Year and may we not recognise ourselves at the end of it because of the gracious work of God among us.

With sincere love,
Frank (Senior Pastor)

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MEETINGS, MEETINGS, MEETINGS!

There seem to be plenty of meetings that take place during the week. There are meetings for every aspect of the church, including amongst others the Worship group, Refresh Centre Operational Board and Pastoral Group. It is of course vital that the meetings held are useful and help to move us forward as a Fellowship.

At the last Leadership meeting we agreed that it would be useful to just report some of the main issues that were discussed at the meeting to give a flavour of the content of this meeting.

On 1st December the Leadership Team which included Deacons and Ministry Team Leaders met for their monthly get together. Prayer is always an important part of the meeting because unless God is at the centre of the meetings then we will not achieve God’s will for the church.

There was an update from each of the groups about areas of development and need in their group’s particular area of service. This is important to enable the team to support each other and helps the group to work well together.

Some of the issues we discussed at the meeting on 1st December were as follows.

Home Groups. There was an identified need to review how Home Groups are developing. In this context it was agreed that Frank would arrange for the leaders of Home Groups to get together early in the new year to undertake that review.

In the context of Home Groups we agreed that we needed to try to ensure that they had better continuity in relation to when they met and not be interrupted by as many other church activities. There will be a report on this issue back to the next Family Meeting.

Worship. Heather was very enthusiastic in recommending another worship weekend which was fully supported by the group. Heather will now work with her Worship team on planning another weekend. This will be discussed at the Family Meeting in January.
There was also a discussion about the monthly Wednesday worship times which had been raised at the last Family Meeting. It was agreed that we needed to think, pray and discuss with others about this and report back to the next Family Meeting.

The Zone. It was agreed that the Zone had been very important in reaching out to youngsters in Belvedere and came from contacts made by the Street Pastors. A willing team of leaders had been established under the leadership of Neil and Gwen Gower. The majority of the young people who attended the Zone had clearly valued the opportunity that it gave them. However Andrew outlined the recent difficulties which had been caused by a very small number of the young people who attended. There had also been a recent reduction in the number of leaders. It was agreed that reluctantly the Zone should close and Andrew and his team would undertake a full review of Children and Youth Work.

Pastoral. Lynda reported on the very useful meeting held in November with the Refresh Centre Reception staff and Pastoral Workers. The meeting had been held to review how to develop this important area of God’s work at the Refresh Centre.

The above are just some of the key issues discussed at the Deacons’ and Ministry Team Leaders’ meeting on 1st December which hopefully will give a flavour of how we work together to seek our Heavenly Father’s will. The Ministry Team Leaders hold their own meetings with their team.

In addition to the above there are also other ad hoc meetings held from time to time.

Meetings are important but it is vital that they are not just ‘talking shops’ but are a means of communicating and discussing how God is leading us as a church. It is also an important way of checking that issues are being moved on, examples of which can be seen from the areas of discussion at the above meeting.

If you would like to discuss any issues around the area of meetings please do not hesitate to talk with myself.

Chris Bryant.

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‘So, where are we going?”

I wonder what you are like at map-reading. An old joke goes: someone stops a man in the street and asks “Can you tell me the way to Leicester?” The man replies “If I wanted to get to Leicester, I wouldn’t start here!” When I have taught youngsters to map-read in the past, it’s a vital lesson for them to grasp that you must know where you are first, before looking for the route ahead. As the journey progresses, one has to come back to what the original mission was – it is easy on the journey, to lose ‘the big picture.’

For us as a Fellowship as we look toward 2011, it is important to look back and reflect on what God has done this last year, where we are with Him now and then seek the way ahead. In the Refresh Centre, we have seen new blessings through Calligraphy, Flower Arranging, Tea-Dances and fellowship worship now includes Oakley House meeting and churchPlus. These are all great things to do, as long as we periodically stop, ‘take our bearings’ and refocus on what our mission is.

God has called us to be a missional church – that reaching out to meet the needs of our community is central to the call that God has placed on us. The Great Commission (Matt 28:19) actually reads “Make disciples of all nations, going and baptising them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit”. We are called to make disciples for Jesus, and we will achieve it by going and baptising.

This is why all our activities can be ‘Church’, not just the bits that seem specifically holy. If someone’s needs are met through a CAP course, begin to know and trust people from the fellowship here, and begin to ask questions about faith and God, then we can serve our Lord through openness to His prompting to help others on their discipleship journey. A welcoming building, cup of tea and people willing to take time might be the start of someone coming to faith.

But moving forward can be unknown and scary – an ‘Open Door’ might be unchartered territory, where all with which we have been familiar seems far behind. As a couple, Nadine and I face an uncertain future in our work for Bexley Council. Nadine is now one of Bexley’s Early Years Consultants – a role with great potential and influence, but this is not a secure post. My role supporting vulnerable children will probably cease to exist in 2011. In all the initial discussions, we have realised that saying “we will trust God” is easy when things are easy and can be hard when things are hard!

But when things are uncertain as we journey forward, we need to plant our steps on ‘solid ground’ and walking with God is the only certain path. He promises to never leave us or forsake us; He knows us and loves us and only desires what is good for us.

The Message version of Proverbs 3:5 is good for us individually and as a fellowship as we journey forward through the open doors of 2011 : Trust God from the bottom of your heart; don't try to figure out everything on your own. Listen for God's voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; He's the one who will keep you on track.”

Andrew White (Associate Pastor)