faith-wisdom discovery map

BAPTIST CHURCH NEWSLETTER 14 APRIL 2024

The Drums Started Playing

You wouldn’t have missed this incident if you had been at last Sunday’s worship service.

We were singing our closing song, “Power of Your Love”, when suddenly we heard the drums playing, accompanying the musicians in near-perfect tempo.

Asher, who will be turning three in May, picked up the drumsticks and started playing the drums. May the Lord prosper Asher’s gifts and all the other children as they grow.

One day, children were brought to Jesus, hoping he would lay hands on them and pray over them. The disciples shooed them off. But Jesus intervened: “Let the children alone, don’t prevent them from coming to me. God’s kingdom comprises people like these.” After laying hands on them, he left. (Matthew 19:13-15)

We thank the Lord for blessing OBC with children.

Weekly Youth Meeting

Our youth group meets every Thursday from 7:00 to 9:00 PM. Please ask Tom or Bevan for more information. Invite young people you know to join.

*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 6:3 / Photo by Mic Esdrelon*

Join the Tasks Roster

The tasks roster is an opportunity for us to participate in the function and operation of our church in the areas of worship and service. Please feel free to write your name on the rostering sheet on the table beside our tea area.

Don’t hesitate to ask Bevan, the pastor, or anyone else about the tasks you are interested in or if you need further information. Thank you!

Join the church tasks roster where the only qualification is availability.

Learning How to Use the Faith-Wisdom Tool

I am recruiting people with pastoral ministry gifts to attend the orientation/training on using the Faith-Wisdom Tool. As I introduced last year, it is a simple tool that can create a profound understanding of faith and wisdom as an individual, a church, and a community.

We need this for a sustainable pastoral care ministry for OBC.

Abundant Life Bible Study Sessions

Let us resume our Bible study sessions using the Abundant Life of Christ workbook on Sunday, 21 April 2024, at 1:00 PM. Please answer Lesson 10 on your manual and be ready to share and discuss.

OSBA EVENTS AND TRAINING

I receive Rachel’s Regional Leader Roundup each month, which features news, events, and training happening in the Otago and Southland Baptist Association (OSBA). Sharing the event and training below.

Regional Hui 202423-25 May (Thurs to Saturday mid-PM)
River Ridge Retreat, Catlins
Options to stay on or offsite.

This is an opportunity for pastors, elders, and ministry leaders to come together to listen to God and others, reflect, learn, dream, worship, and pray, strengthen relationships and connections, envision together for the region, have some fun, and take a couple of days off from the usual activity.

*Registrations are now open, and a separate communication has been sent with all details.

Child Protection (under 18) Training – FREE
1 May; 10am-12noon. Register Here

Several of our region’s people attended the first training option in February. There is still time to sign up for the second webinar, which will provide the up-to-date version of the Baptist Union Child Protection Policy, which was written in consultation with Child Matters. Once the training has been completed, you will receive the editable template policy document. Register Here

OSBA plans to conduct further training for those involved with under-18s, focused on awareness, actions, protections, etc. Watch this space.

As part of our “Faith-Wisdom Series”, this continues the Mapping Oamaru Baptist Church’s Faith-Wisdom sermon I shared on 28 March.

Previously, I talked about OBC’s faith-wisdom in 1883, 1889, 2008, and 2012, which led us to discover the church’s founding values.

steadfast faith,
indomitable courage,
noble vision,
hope, and
generosity

In this message, we will talk about the faithful, indomitable, noble, hopeful and generous people of Oamaru Baptist Church and the faith-wisdom discovery map in the past three years.

ministry appreciation and participation toolkit

The flow chart above indicates that we are still on “Faith-Wisdom Discovery”, and next, we will tackle “Testimony Writing and Sharing”. All the tools we discuss and learn are integral to our church planning.

Basic Biblical Principle

Between 1883 and 2023, Oamaru Baptist Church had many faith-wisdom waiting to be found.

The basic principle in faith-wisdom discovery is searching for and finding God in all the events in the church’s life.

The faith-wisdom statement above is taken from the “In Retrospect” article on the “Turning Back the Pages”, Oamaru Baptist Church Centenary 1883-1983, published in 1983, where the founding values are mentioned.

During all the years of its witness in Oamaru, the Church has been steadfastly loyal to the foundation principles of the Evangelical faith. The distinctive and historic Baptist witness to the Lordship of Jesus Christ, the absolute authority of the Holy Scriptures as the Word of God, the freedom of the individual personality before God, and the right of all to freedom of conscience have been maintained with vigour and without compromise.

Today we thank God for those early pioneer members who, with indomitable courage, steadfast faith and sanctified vision, established the Baptist Cause in this town. We bless our God for every remembrance of them. ‘Their faith and their hopes we share as a glorious heritage. God grant that we prove worthy of the trust they have left us.
“Turning Back the Pages, Oamaru Baptist Church Centenary 1883-1983

Applying the faith-wisdom principles

The slide below shows some events in OBC’s life from 2020 to 2023. The listing is not exhaustive. I selected a few for illustration purposes only.

Now that we have listed the events, how do we search for and find God in these events in OBC’s life in the last three years, you may ask.

Remember the basic Biblical principle I showed earlier (Slide No. 3) found in James 1:22 and 1:26 and summed up by the phrase, “Faith without works is dead”?

As believers, the church continues to perpetuate works of faith because we have been born again in Jesus Christ.

It is the same faith that moved the early pioneers, “who, with indomitable courage, steadfast faith and sanctified vision, established the Baptist Cause in this town.”

Looking at OBC’s Faith-Wisdom Discovery Map above and reflecting on the events listed from 2020 to 2023 takes us to two questions.

One is hypothetical. Could those who left have stayed if they knew of OBC’s faith-wisdom statement?
The other question is reflective. Now that you know OBC’s faith-wisdom statement, how does it impact your commitment to be part of OBC?

As I have mentioned in my previous explanation, Faith-Wisdom discovery must lead to forming a mission statement.

So, based on the faith-wisdom statement, we create a mission statement needed in planning programs for the church.

Oamaru Baptist Church must plan and implement programs that teach, train, and track the founding values of every member (dynamic discipleship).

steadfast faith,
indomitable courage,
noble vision,
hope, and
generosity