NEWS MID MAY 2016

Dear Friends,

Give thanks for an uneventful, although also relatively sleepless trip, from Kenya to the UK. On arrival on 28th April I spent some time with my brother and others in the family. It was my brother’s birthday. The best bit, with little doubt, was kayaking up and down a part of the Thames, with in the middle an excellent pub lunch together. From my brother’s place near London, I set off for Norwich, so was able to share in Sunday worship with one of my supporting churches. This is Norwich Central Baptist Church.

This week was also to be the week of a global connections conference, at which I was privileged to have been given a seminar at which to share on vulnerable mission. We had an excellent discussion on vulnerable mission issues for 1.5 hours with 18 conference delegates who were challenged by the theme. There were two of us there from Andover Baptist Church, myself and Carolyn Robles who chairs the Andover Baptist Church mission’s committee. A variety of people shared their experience of mission with us, including ladies, youth, majority world mission leaders, and people from the majority world doing mission in the UK. It was intriguing to have African people share about their experiences of doing mission in the UK, when their African style of worship sounded very much like what I experience all the time in Kenya!

(I am on the first two of the pictures below of the conference, but you might have to look rather carefully.)

The head of Global Connections Martin Lee closed the conference with the following key thoughts:

1. The Gospel is central.

2. Mission boards need to think strategically.

3. Agencies should collaborate.

4. Churches need to be at the centre.

5. Discipleship should be multidirectional.

6. We need mutual respect and collaboration.

7. We need mission to where Christ isn’t known.

I am now staying in Norwich and working with the Norwich Central Baptist Church until 19th May. From the 19th May up to 13th June, God willing, I will be working with the Andover Baptist Church, except for one week to attend a conference in Germany.

Best wishes to all,

Jim