The Rooftop - joining Jesus in His mission
Baptist minister Torquil Allen introduces The Rooftop, which exists to inspire and equip the church and church leaders to become passionate about, and effective in, making disciples who make disciples ‘outside the walls’ of the church building
"Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:19-20
For the first time in a recent census of England and Wales, fewer than half of the population (46.2 per cent) described themselves as “Christian”, a 13.1 percent decrease from 2011. “No religion” was the second most common response, increasing by 12 per cent from 2011. (ONS 2021)
As a Baptist, are you challenged or indifferent reading these statistics?
Prior to meeting the Revd Dennis Pethers, an accredited Baptist minister, founder of Viz-a-Viz Ministries, and more recently of The Rooftop Ministries, I would probably have said ‘challenged’. However, after hearing about the aim of The Rooftop, joining Jesus in His mission, taking place in more than 70 countries, I have to say my actions as a Baptist church leader for 14 years (including eight as co-pastor), reveal that I was, if I am honest, ‘unconsciously indifferent’.
Why the change?
To answer this question, I am reminded of the Baptist Union three-part Declaration of Principle established in 1873 which is rooted in Jesus’ Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20) with its threefold pattern of authority, baptism and mission.
The first clause of the Declaration focuses on the absolute authority of Jesus Christ, with clause two on baptism into the life of God. Clause three is all about mission.
The Rooftop, London
Fulfilling Jesus' Great Commission
It became very apparent during a conversation with Dennis that he was on a mission to ‘take the church to The Rooftop so that it would seek a fresh vision of God’s heart and “remember Jesus’ Great Commission”.
Dennis took me on a biblical journey during our conversation, from Jesus’ manifesto in Luke 4:18-19, to Peter’s prayer and encounter with God on the rooftop in Acts 10. I left that discussion feeling very challenged, and to be honest, convicted.
Why? Because I realised that my time as a Baptist minister was being consumed by very important church management and pastoral care related issues... but at the expense of Jesus’ Great Commission.
I started to reflect and ponder on how much time over the last 28 years of my Christian life has been dedicated to fulfilling the Great Commission, whether under previous ministers, or indeed myself. Now I would be doing a disservice to all if I didn’t acknowledge that a form of discipleship had taken place. However, was it in line with that which we learn about in the scriptures?
I painfully came to the conclusion after my discussion with Dennis that it wasn’t. There’s more to discipleship than church attendance, although church attendance is important. There’s more to discipleship than small groups, although small groups are important.
I honestly believe that if the church, powerfully described in the New Testament as the Body of Christ, was following the model of discipleship we see plainly demonstrated by Jesus in the New Testament, the statistics I began this article with would reveal a positive picture not a bleak one.
In Jesus’ words ‘He came to seek and save the lost’ (Luke 19:10), and these were not just words: Jesus spent almost all of his time ‘among the people in public places’! Joining Jesus in His mission requires the church to do likewise.
A question which came more clearly into focus as I looked more deeply into The Rooftop was, ‘How much does the church really want to join Jesus in His mission to save the lost?’
To answer this question with integrity we have to consider how much of our time, effort and resources are spent on helping the lost outside the walls of the church building to connect with, and become disciples of, Jesus.
Sadly, if we are honest, the answer is most frequently that our primary focus is on what happens 'inside the walls’.
The Rooftop exists to inspire and equip the Church, and church leaders to become passionate about, and effective in making disciples who make disciples ‘outside the walls’.
To facilitate this, we have created a ‘small community, learning-by-doing-process’ that enables Christians and leaders to see their community from God’s perspective and then make disciples who make disciples.
In partnership with the Church across the world, The Rooftop is seeking to make 1,000,000 disciples in 100 countries. We long for a significant number to be made in the UK!
To find out more about The Rooftop we invite you to join us for our first ever UK Summit being held on Saturday 22 June between 10am and 4pm at Frampton Park Baptist Church, Frampton Park Rd, London E9 7PQ.
Speakers include:
The Revd Dennis Pethers – The Rooftop founder and international pioneer
Since graduating from Spurgeon’s College, Dennis has pastored a church and then led Viz-A-Viz Ministries, a UK-wide ministry for 20 years. In 2012 Dennis began The Rooftop as a global disciple-making movement that would inspire and equip the church to join Jesus in His Mission by making disciples who make disciples outside of the walls of the church.
The Revd Stephen Gaukroger – chairman
Stephen's ministry began in a local church context, after gaining a degree in business and then a theological degree and pastoral diploma from Spurgeon’s College. For 14 years he oversaw remarkable church growth as senior pastor of Stopsley Baptist Church, Luton, before spending 12 years as senior minister of Gold Hill Baptist Church in Buckinghamshire – one of the largest Baptist churches in England.
During his years as a local church leader Stephen was also President of the Baptist Union of Great Britain (1994-1995)
Register now to join us either onsite, or online on 22 June: therooftop.org/summit/london
Torquil Allen has been part of the Frampton Park Baptist Church family in Hackney East London for more than 23 years. During his time, he has been a church leader for 14 years, 8 of which were as pastor.
Torquil has a passion to see the kingdom of God transform the lives of God's children, who join Jesus in His mission to advance His Kingdom - and is very excited to be involved in the Rooftop as it aligns with his heart and Jesus’ mission
Do you have a view? Share your thoughts via our letters' page.
Baptist Times, 14/05/2024