Home Mission Annual Report to the ABM 09
What are the greatest challenges facing the Christian Church in this country in these present days? Are we to take up the challenge to bring the gospel to every foreign land in the world? Are we to be found fighting the corner of the under-privileged people of society? Could it be that our main focus should be on trying to awaken our Government
to the rights of the unborn child? Or is it that our time should be taken up with the battle to maintain religious freedom in the face of tendencies to favour ‘non-Christian’ pressures?
Well, what should be our focus in an ever increasing godless nation? Listen to the words of our Lord Himself as He speaks His final words to His disciples before He returns to heaven: Acts 1:8 "But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." Notice that He prioritises where their first call of duty lay – at home?
The greatest challenge for us as churches, consisting of individual believers, is to work and serve our Master at home; yes, here in Suffolk, or wherever the Lord has placed us. This is the basis, this is Home Mission, isn’t it? Where the Lord has placed us is our ‘Jerusalem’.
I introduced the Notes for our Autumn Prayer Meetings like this: “Year by year we come to these meetings and looking back we see many areas of the work within and around our churches which call for praise to our faithful God. This year is no exception. However, in His providence, we find ourselves strategically placed in one of the major growth areas in the country, and with a heritage of more gospel preaching churches in a rural setting than in many other such areas in the whole country. Because of this, we should feel privileged to have been placed in such an area of gospel opportunity - but what are we doing with this opportunity? We read recently in the press that it is the intention of Government to build a town the size of Beccles each year in Suffolk for the next 25 years! As we come together for prayer these three days, may we come seeking the Lord=s vision for the task; His power of enablement for the task and His love to motivate us in
the task.”
Also, bear in mind that in East Anglia as a whole, the plans of Government are that there should be 800,000+ new homes built!
Support world mission, yes; fight for human rights, yes; where opportunities are obviously given; be concerned for many other issues of the day, yes! But first and foremost, our time, our money, our efforts, our gifts etc. are to be used to spread the good news of the gospel to the lost on our door-steps!
It concerns me, and should concern every Christian believer in these counties, that we are seeing thousands and thousands of people moving out of towns and areas where there presently are churches and areas with opportunities of being contacted with the gospel, to these new estates and towns which are like spiritual deserts! We desperately
need to rise to these challenges, many new challenges of Home Mission.
Our Home Mission, working under the umbrella of the E & O Committee, continues to assist a number of churches in helping them fund their Pastors. We continue to promote and support the Beach Mission work at Hunstanton, which fulfils the dual role of reaching
out with the gospel as well as training and encouraging young (and not so young) people in ‘doing church’. Our “New LIFE in Suffolk” tract continues to be a good evangelistic tool, used by a number of churches and individuals. We are pursuing our goal to produce a DVD tract. The ‘Jesus said GO’ series of meetings continues, seeking to encourage folks from the churches in ways to evangelise.
“We are so very thankful for the monetary support for the continuing work of Home Mission – it is a shared responsibility we have, and for this year, for instance, we have paid some £8500 to churches in support of their Pastors. At present we are running at a deficit of £1100 which in fact would have been £5000 higher had it not have been for profit on redemption of 5.5% Treasury Stock.
David J. Piper
ASSOCIATION OF GRACE BAPTIST CHURCHES (EAST ANGLIA)
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