The role of Church Witness is to enable, mobilise and coordinate the Association’s engagement with local communities and broader state and national issues. We serve the Association (including churches, affiliated bodies and the ministry centre team) by ensuring that our engagement in communities and broader public issues serves our purpose of advancing the Gospel of Jesus Christ in word, deed and sign, through interdependent partnerships.
We envision a kingdom movement impacting our society, culture and world that
- cultivates positive societal transformation towards biblical justice,
- amplifies our Jesus-shaped prophetic voice in the public square, and
- empowers action-based advocacy for and with the vulnerable and marginalised.
Cultivating Transformation
We want to see churches, communities and society flourishing – as God is glorified when we bear witness to the grace of Jesus in the world we are called to. This is why we are committed to our local churches in training and empowering them for community engagement. We have done this through BaptistCare community grants, consultancies and our important work in disaster response (e.g. floods, bushfires, etc.).
Amplifying Our Prophetic Voice
Baptists have a fundamental commitment to standing alongside those who are poor and marginalised in our communities. This commitment has been formed by both the Biblical story and the history of the Baptist Movement. This means we look for deep ways to partner with like-minded people and organisations like our Baptist agencies and Sydney Alliance. We also regularly raise our kingdom voice when it comes public policies that affect our communities and society. One of the priority areas we continue to journey with is alongside our First Nations peoples in the space of restorative justice.
Empowering Action-Based Advocacy
We are committed to continually address biblical justice matters locally and globally. Through Converge we regularly mobilise our Baptist leaders every year to advocate for change in areas of highest needs in Australia (e.g. Housing, domestic family violence, etc.). Through our Baptist Advocacy Roundtable, we are able to mobilise global advocacy actions like ethical fashion, consumed, ethical chocolate, etc.
“Strong Together”, is a narrative project designed to document some of the stories – both about the pain and the impact of the 2022 Northern Rivers floods, as well as the creative ways people are getting through. This book is also designed as a way to distribute the rich knowledge and ideas that community members have about how to support themselves and others after such a destructive event as the 2022 flood. Use the link below to download a FREE copy of “Strong Together” and if you wish to support the community that is still being impacted by the floods and other disasters please consider donating to our Disaster Relief Fund.
Disaster Relief Fund: effects of prolonged drought, destructive bushfires, and flooding in NSW. This fund allows for a response to the immediate needs of affected communities as well as longer term strategic support services.
