‘By joining in with this work, we see a glimpse of the Kingdom of God’ 

Having served and led Baptist churches for 25 years, Mairi and Graham McBain are exploring what it means to be Community Pastors in Hartlepool - a ministry outside the boundaries of the church 

Hartlepool really has come alive this summer, following the fun and excitement of the Tall Ships race in July the town has started hosting gigs and mini music festivals along the sea front. Just last Saturday we were joining in with the summer evening crowd singing along at a tribute band festival – great fun and a great night.

‘Joining in’ characterises our ministry as Community Pastors. In the past as church leaders, we would often survey the community and look for the gaps that the church could fill. In this way the church became an integral part of the community, offering a service or meeting a need that no one else was and gaining a seat at the table.

I used to enjoy being in local meetings as the minister of the church that ran job clubs, debt centres, night shelters etc. If I’m honest, it made me feel important, it gave me an identity, but it also highlighted my insecurities, and it was exhausting.

But here we are in a town where there’s a great deal of social care and action initiatives already taking place, some connected with churches, but most are not. And our ministry is very much outside the boundaries of the church. We don’t have the capacity or resource to initiate and launch our own projects, but we can join in with some brilliant work already taking place.

One organisation we were drawn to is called Changing Futures Northeast. Their aim is to help children thrive by helping children to be safer, feel more secure and have the foundations to do well in life.

Hartlepool has the second highest rate of under 16s in low-income families in the north east. It is an example of the injustice that young people face growing up in the town where aspiration and hope for a positive future can be lacking.    

We volunteered and were trained to be Independent Visitors with Changing Futures and we have both made a commitment to regularly visit and encourage a young person in foster care, for a minimum of two years. Mairi meets with a 13-year-old girl and Graham meets with an older teenage lad who shares the same interest in comics, films, and The Walking Dead.

The Independent Visitor concept is enshrined in the Children Act (1989) as a way of providing a constant adult in the life of a young person in care. Our role is to guide, advise, listen, and befriend and be a stable presence in their lives. What a privilege!

The values of Changing Futures resonate so closely with our faith at times we wonder whether this is actually a Christian organisation. It isn’t by the way, but God is definitely at work through organisations like this. Changing Future’s services provide support to families, nurture relationships, and in turn communities are strengthened. By joining in with this work, we see a glimpse of the Kingdom of God as friendships are built and human flourishing takes place. We stand in solidarity with an organisation that is dismantling the effects of social injustice in the town.

And guess what? It’s not only a privilege but great fun. So far, visits have included searching for sea glass on a coastal walk, playing VR games, going out for hot chocolate and brownies, and biking in the Yorkshire Moors. It’s wonderful to have the opportunity to slowly build a trusting friendship and journey with a young person at an exciting time in their life.   

As church leaders we would often ask our church communities where and how we could join in with God’s activity.  Asking this question outside a church community has brought us a fresh, wider and more innovative understanding of Bible verses such as John 5:17 ‘My Father is still working, and I also am working.’  

It releases us from constant tiring innovation and starting up new projects. We join in with where the Father is working. And he is!
 

Mairi and Graham McBain are contributing a regular blog about their ministry as Community Pastors in Hartlepool 

Mairi is an Newly Accredited Minister and Senior HR Business Partner for a national charity; Graham has been a Baptist minister for 25 years and together they have served and led Baptist churches in a number of contexts, including overseas with BMS World Mission  

Read their other blogs here: