Pastor’s Thoughts – December 2012

Dear friends,

Well we are officially open for business! The Opening Service and Dedication was a memorable event that brought together so many people from a variety of backgrounds, all of whom have been part of this long journey from the chapel in Newtown Road to the new Centre. It was wonderful to see so many old friends and to see the enthusiasm that they had for what God is doing with us.

It was a privilege too, to speak to so many of our brothers and sisters from other churches, who clearly are as excited as we are about the new building. Many spoke of being inspired as they step out in faith for the various projects that the Lord has called them to undertake. Others from the community could see the possibilities that the Centre has and were excited about potential partnerships with us.

For my part there were so many great moments but they all revolved around seeing people working together in teams to achieve something for the Lord. We owe a debt of thanks to all that contributed, to Beth and her team of caterers for the magnificent tea, to Julie and Maddie for the flowers, to Alan and his team on sound and vision, to the musicians. That’s just the most obvious ones; others were working on the grounds, and just getting the place tided up. So thank you to you all; to Martin and Alison, who put in hours of work, Judy, Ira and everyone else that I cannot name.

So what was it all for? Was there just an element of showing off? Well I hope not, we are so thankful to God for what He has given to us, that we don’t want to take much credit. At the same time God has given us this because He honours the sacrifice and perseverance that so many have made over the past years. So Saturday 17th was about giving thanks and it was about dedication. As Nigel Wright reminded us it is a consecration of ourselves in Christ’s service. I’ll go back to were I began: we are open for business. That business is about giving glory to God by sharing His love with the world.

“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine be- fore others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” – Matthew 5:14-16.

That is our commission and what better time to get stuck into that than Christmas. I want this to be a great Christmas for us all, a time when we can invite all our friends to share with us in our new centre. It will be great to have our own space to celebrate in.

What will the New Year bring? I wonder if you, like me, have sat in the Centre and simply imagined – imagined what we could do with that space. My mind is whirring around between prayer breakfasts, Scalextrics extravaganzas and art exhibitions. It’s a weird mix but it shows that there are so many possibilities. What’s caught your imagination? Speak to someone about it, it may be a mad idea but it may also be an inspired idea. You can also fill out the form at the bottom of this post if you like to let us know what your ideas for the Centre are.

Meanwhile please make use of our Christmas publicity and pray for those that you want to invite to one of our events. May Advent be a time of blessing and preparation, and Christmas be a blessing to us all.

Yours in Christ
John

Got an idea for what you’d like to see happen in the Baptist Church Centre? Let us know by contacting the Church Office.