Jesus said: "All
authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 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,
and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you."
Matthew 28:19, 20
What follows is our policy on mission.
Promoting world mission
We believe fervently in the uniqueness of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
This gospel alone has the power to change lives and reconcile sinners
to God. Our goal as a church is to fulfill the commission of the Lord
Jesus to preach this gospel and to make disciples of all nations. We
are committed to the evangelisation of all peoples and will actively
work in partnership with all who are distinctively and uncompromisingly
evangelical.
The church as a whole should be informed and challenged about world mission
through
-
the regular pulpit ministry
-
invited missionary speakers
-
the sharing of news from private correspondence
and news letters
-
attendance at conferences
-
literature, videos and other promotional
material supplied by missions
-
articles about world mission in the church
magazine
-
books about world mission in the church
library
-
visits to missionaries "in the field" as
opportunities arise
Members of the Sunday School and Bible Class
should be informed about world mission and encouraged to give
practical support - through prayer, offerings and writing to
the children of missionaries, for example.
Prayer
At the heart of our practical involvement in world mission is regular,
informed prayer. The monthly prayer bulletin should be a stimulus to
pray daily for world mission in our private devotions. Likewise, the
missionary notice board should carry current news of the missionaries
we support as a church to stimulate intelligent prayer.
The mid-week meeting should be a forum for the sharing of missionary
news and a focus for corporate prayer for world mission. News can also
be brought to the church at Sunday services and prayer can be offered
up as part of our worship.
Special events
We aim to host occasional special events with a world mission focus to
which we can invite visitors from other churches. We consider it important
to support such events hosted by other churches. Church members should
be encouraged to attend missionary conferences, and funding will be
made available as the need arises.
Information
Members are encouraged to receive and read literature such as magazines,
news letters and biographies of missionaries.
The missionary notice board should be updated at least once per month.
Members are encouraged to be in correspondence with at least one person
or family occupied full-time in world mission.
Mission support group
This is a small group of church members who are responsible for
-
maintenance of the missionary notice board
-
inclusion of articles in the church magazine
-
inclusion of information in the monthly
prayer bulletin
-
encouraging informed private and corporate
prayer for missionaries and their work
-
organising six missionary prayer meetings
per year
-
developing the missionary section of the
church library
-
encouraging the reading of missionary books,
magazines and other literature
The elders
The elders will actively promote interest in world mission by all of
the means outlined above. They will identify and encourage the development
of spiritual gifts which are appropriate to members' potential involvement
in world mission.
Call of a church member
The elders have the primary responsibility for assessing a call to full-time
involvement in world mission on the part of a church member. However,
the decision concerning the sending of a church member to the mission
field should be taken by the church membership as a whole.
Financial support
The financial support of world mission is an imperative. We aim to use
at least one tenth of the church's total annual income for the support
of missionary work beyond our locality. Priority will be given to the
support of church members who are involved full-time in world mission.
Members are encouraged to direct any personal financial commitments to
specific missionary causes through the church offering. In this way the
gifts are seen to have come from the church as a whole. It also makes
it easier to regulate the allocation of other funds.
The elders and deacons may respond to a specific request for funds, although
if a very large sum is involved the matter would be brought to a church
members' meeting.
Thank offerings for mission work will be held at least once per year.
The potential recipients of the funds from a thank offering are to be
named before the offering takes place.
We shall apply the following principles in deciding
whether or not to support a particular mission work.
The work should
-
be theologically in sympathy with UBC
-
have been brought to our attention through
a God-given personal contact
-
be a strategic ministry in genuine need
-
be closely linked to local churches
-
have our confidence in its administration
of financial gifts
-
have the support of the members of UBC as
a body
-
be part of a balanced portfolio of missionary
interests
Current interests
As a church we aim to broaden our interest in world mission as much as
possible. Overseas missionaries we currently have a particular interest
in include
Ruth Everitt in the Far East
Steve and Tibby Westcott
in Papua New Guinea with NTM
Marek and Jana Fajfr in the Czech Republic
The KES/Oak Hall Bible School in Serbia
Branko and Rada in Serbia
Novica and Tamara in Serbia
John and Asha in India
Peter and Jade Kent in Paris with France
Mission
The church has links with or supports missions
with a variety of ministries in many parts of the world. Foreign
visitors to Chester are reached with the gospel through evangelistic
activities in the city centre.
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