Baptists Together Mission Forum – June 2022

Mission Forum aims to reflect, inform, inspire and raise the profile of mission across Baptists Together. The reflection here helps feed into the Mission Forum Grants Committee which considers funding for strategic and nationally focused projects across Baptists Together. Summaries of where this funding has been allocated over the past three years can be found here.
 
Gathering in person for the first time this year was a blessing for the group, enabling significant reflection and discussion. The space was held by Sandra Crawford. Sandra is the Embrace Adventure representative on our Core Leadership Team, a Pioneer in the east of England, with many years’ experience working with young people.
 
The Biblical reflection shared, such as Jeremiah 29:4-7 and Ezra 3.11-13 spoke of changing times and their resonance to today. Sandra drew these discussions together with the imagery of a post-earthquake landscape in relation to Mission today. True earthquakes take away the landmarks we have navigated by. Roads are damaged and some now lead nowhere. What we took for granted like food and water is no longer a given. People are scared to go anywhere – frozen in the chaos. There is a need to explore the new terrain. Roy Searle spoke into this saying ‘if in new territory, you need the mind of a scout – observing, plotting landscape. Being prepared to be radical. How do we sing the Lord’s song in a new place?’.
 
We are now navigating uncharted territory. There is nothing more important than discerning God’s will together. We are stepping off the edge of the map where there are no roads. We are Kingdom Cartographers! This led to a series of questions which your church and small groups might want to consider as you discern into this new landscape:

• What do we need to leave behind?
• How do we travel lightly?
• What shoes do we need to wear?
• What do we need to carry with us?
• How do we feed people?
• What are the attitudes we need to move forward? (Please don’t be divisive!)
• What are the stepping-stones? (God seems to only give us one at a time.)
• What type of bridges are required?
• What walls need knocking down?
• Who do we work with to rebuild?
• What do we use to rebuild?
• What are the landmarks still standing?
• What swamps do we need to avoid? (Disagreements and arguments? Apathy?)
• Where does this leave us individually?
• Where does it leave our community and who we represent?
• Where does it leave/take Baptists Together?
• what people groups might you come across and need to engage with 

The group heard from Sharon Shek, the Baptists Together Hong Kong Co-ordinator, a post funded via Mission Forum. Sharon is responsible for:

• Liaising with church leaders seeking to leave Hong Kong, connecting them with local Baptist congregations;
• Encouraging Baptist churches to be places of welcome for migrants from Hong Kong;
• Enabling training and networking, and helping Baptists discern God’s missional activity in the midst of the migrants. 

Sharon gave a first-year update, giving details of how positively the project is progressing, particularly of how the Gospel was being shared by welcome and hospitality. Through the rest of 2022 she will focus on:

• Relationships with churches
• Integration groups
• Language café
• Webinars
• Sharing and preaching about hospitality 

Steve Tinning the national Public Issues Enabler also shared with the group. He spoke about churches being part of community support projects and that through Baptists Together 270 registrations to offer homes to Ukrainian families had been made.
 
However, there is a significant challenge for many churches and Christians with what both Steve and Sharon are doing. Offering hospitality, engaging with social and political issues is not seen as ‘real’ mission. Mission is narrowly defined and must be challenged. Mission and justice are the two sides of the Gospel coin.
 
Mission Forum closed by drawing together the threads of what had been shared. There are some certainties - Jesus calls us to love God with all that we are, to love our neighbours and make disciples. We are called to obey the Great Commission, all of Matthew28:19.20, and being sent as Jesus was, to embrace and reflect in our lives and ministries the radical Jesus manifesto of Luke 4 in seeing the Kingdom of God come here on earth as it is in heaven. 
Where do we look for our point of reference when the familiar landscapes have fallen? It is a fundamental question of identity. The call to be in Christ – as the only and sole point of reference. 

Mission Forum, June 2022

Please share this update with your church.