The weekend of October 15-17 was a very special occasion in the life of NBC as members of the congregation of all ages and backgrounds came together for the Church Weekend Away at Bawtry Hall near Doncaster.
The youngest was aged 1 and the oldest had experience of many years of life and church life! It was absolutely fantastic to see teenagers playing games with people who were old enough to be their grandparents. There was a wonderful sense of church family together, as we ate together, played together, worshipped together and learnt together.
Adrian Argile, the Heart of England Baptist Association Regional Minister, was our main speaker. He led us in a series of studies looking at what mission means to us as individuals and as a church.
The children’s work was led by Ian and Elaine Coules, who are incredibly gifted at presenting the reality of a living relationship with Jesus in an age appropriate way.
Our worship was led by Julian and Lynn Eaton, assisted by our own Si and Stephen Bennett, who helped us to express our worship to God, with new songs and old.
Big thanks must go to Hazel for all her hard work in organising the weekend away. It was a brilliant location, great food (and plenty of it!) and just so special to spend so much time away together. I’m sure the next one will be even better!
Another important occasion was our Special Church Meeting on October 19. In our Baptist understanding of the church, we are not governed by diktats from ‘higher up’ or by councils. Instead, we believe that we test God’s will for our congregation in the church meeting. Each member should come to the meeting in an attitude of prayer and worship, to hear from one another and from God. Then together we test what God’s will is. Often we work for consensus. Sometimes it is necessary to take a formal vote, as on this occasion. The church meeting resolved (by 33 votes to 5 or 86.8%) to begin to market our present site and buildings.
We do not yet have a firm plan of where to go next. However, we believe that it is now clear that our current buildings are not fit for purpose, and that we cannot rebuild on this site. We therefore need to be freed from our present buildings, and have a clearer idea of what our financial resources are, as we explore various possibilities to lease or to buy. We need to continue to pray for God’s guidance and direction, and be sensitive to those who dissented from the majority in good conscience.
Our God will not abandon us, but he will stretch us and allow our faith to grow. We must keep faith with him as he leads us into his future.
God bless,
Nik
