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.