A monthly time of connection & inspiration

Insights November

For final Insights session for 2021, we spent time hearing about resources and were joined by our Association’s Evangelism Consultant Belinda Lakelin who shared on; Plan A is for Advent.

At the end of the meeting we launched a survey to help us better understand how you have engaged with Insights this year and what your favourite sessions have been. Share your feedback on Insights here:

 

Resources from the Session

  • COVID-19 updates
    • Planning for food service in a Religious Service – Include it in your COVID-19 Safety Plan + check out the free food service training offered by the NSW Food Authority.
    • If your church is meeting in a school, check out our extensive advice available on our COVID-19 page.
  • Kelly Crawford shared on a new Australian Baptist Ministries initiative, the Domestic Violence & Safer Spaces Toolkit:
    • The Safer Spaces Toolkit is an online short course & resource kit built around a trauma-informed preaching lens. It aims to stop the re-traumatisation of those experiencing domestic violence and to help pastors build relationally healthy church cultures that model biblical principles for respectful relationships.
  • We spent time praying for our 16 newly accredited ministers. They have all spent considerable time progressing through our Accreditation Process and have incredible stories of faith and ministry. Please continue to pray for them as they celebrate with their local church in the coming weeks.
  • Belinda unpacked an evangelism tool She’s been using with churches across NSW & ACT: Plan A. To find out more about Plan A check out this info pack from Belinda or watch the video below.
    PLAN A is coming soon! from Crossover on Vimeo.
  • Andrew Ranucci shared on an upcoming initiative from Partners in Ministry called Pastors Inner Circle. It’s a unique collaborative group-mentoring program developed for pastors looking to develop their leadership capacity, sustain a growing life with God, whilst developing meaningful and supportive relationships with other pastors in your network. If you want to be involved in the first NSW ACT Baptist cohort launching next year, find out all the info and register here. Or feel free contact Andrew if you would like more information via andrew.ranucci@partnersinministry.com.
  • Marc Rader shared that following the success of last year, “Carols in Your Backyard” is back in 2021. So get cozy with some friends or neighbours this Christmas, and tune in on Sunday 19th December at 7pm. Find out all the details here!

Insights October
As we look and plan for re-opening, we know our churches are thinking about what it means to relaunch services and ministries for in-person gatherings. So this month, we took time to break down what it means to re-engage leaders!

Guiding us through this topic was Craig Corkill; current Senior Pastor at Narara Valley Baptist Church and incoming Associate Director, Discipleship and Leadership Development at our Baptist Association. Our hope is that from this session you’ll discover new ways to rediscover and re-engage your team.

 

COVID-19 Update

  • Steve Bartlett provided updates around COVID19, helping breakdown some of the nuances as we have entered the 80% vaccination restrictions.
  • Up-to-date information on COVID-19 restriction can be found on our COVID-19 Page here.

 

October Resources: 

  • Assisted Dying Bill – Kelly Crawford shared on the Voluntary Assisted Dying Bill recently tabled in NSW Parliament by Independent MP Alex Greenwich. We recently sent out an email on this bill which provides helpful resources which can be viewed here. For more information on our work in this space checkout: agooddeath.org.au.
    • Kelly also referred to a resource around suggestions for meeting with an MP, this can be viewed here.
  • Australia Wide Prayer Gathering November 3 – we will be holding another Zoom prayer gathering. We will still have a COVID focus, but this will more lean towards the challenges arising as we learn to ‘live with COVID’ and the difficulties we face in our Churches, in our ministries and across our nation. If you are a pastor, leader, or member/attender of one of the churches in our movement we invite you to this online prayer gathering where we can seek God together.
    • Where:     Zoom (click here to register)
    • Date:        Wednesday 3rd November 2021
    • Time:        7.45 pm – 8.30 pm AEDT
  • We also celebrated the recent GodSpace Redevelopment Project – Sally Smith (GodSpace Redevelopment Project Lead) and Shelley Ashton (SRE Coordinator) shared on the incredible work that has taken place as we redeveloped our GodSpace SRE Curriculum.

 

Craig Corkill shared on Re-engaging leaders
Craig shared powerfully on the three aspects of reengaging volunteers and leaders:

  • Mindset – helpful way to view our ministry context
  • Short Game – immediate steps we can put in place
  • Long Game – long term strategies

Throughout the course of Craigs presentation he shared 2 key resources:

To view Craig’s slides, click here.

Insights Support September
At the Association we are passionate about supporting ministry to grow, develop and truly make a difference for the Kingdom. To do this The Association has developed many ministries that are designed and focused on the health of you and your church.

We have set aside September to highlight some of the incredible ways our team at the Baptist Association can support you, your church, and your church ministries.

We unpacked some of these resources during Insights Zoom this month.

 

COVID-19 Update

  • Steve Bartlett provided updates around COVID19, including an update on the ways we are partnering with other Faith Leaders to prepare a proposal for the NSW Government around the roadmap to NSW Opening Up.
  • Click here to view responses to the Q&A question we were unable to answer during the session
  • Check out the Recording to view the full update and Q&A Session.

 

Insights into Support September: 

  • IMPACT Gap Year – Sarah Alarcorn shared on the IMPACT Gap Year; a partnership between the NSW ACT Baptists and Morling Theological College which is a 1 year program intentionally focused on the formation of young adults in the areas of growing faith, personal development, engagement in community, and opportunity in ministry.The program features theological study, one on one development coaching, ministry and community experience, facilitated cohort based learning, and includes a mission exposure trip.
    Find out more about IMPACT Gap Year here.
  • Help in understanding and preparing your churches vaccination response –  Andrew Palmer spoke about Dr Daniel Sze, a Global Interaction intercultural candidate. Dr Sze has an extensive background in Immunology and is available for bookings with your local church to help you greater understand the vaccine response to COVID-19. He can help your church understand and be equipped to stop the spread of covid-19 misinformation and better respond to the fears present in many local communities.
    To make a booking for your church – contact NSWACT@globalinteraction.org.au
  • Special Religious Education (SRE) in Schools – Shelley Ashton spoke on the ongoing opportunities for churches to engage in School Based SRE in NSW & ACT. There are over 11,000 SRE Teacher across NSW and they are an incredible network of passionate volunteers.
    To find out more about SRE or SRE Training offered by the Baptist Association click here, or contact Shelley for further information.
  • Kiah Ridge – Lorna Harper spoke about Kiah Ridge Christian Conference Centre, your Associations Conference, Camping and Retreat venue! Want to know more? Chat to our Bookings Team via 4683 1111 or bookings@kiahridge.org.au
    Kiah Ridge Offers
    • Full Site catered bookings, enjoying exclusive use of the venue
    • Shared Site catered bookings, with each group allocated to its own precinct enjoying exclusive meeting, dining and accommodation spaces.
    • Self-catered stays for small groups
  • Balance Ministry Services – Sylvia Groves shared on Balance Ministry Services. They’re here to support your ministry with accounting and bookkeeping services. As a team of financial ministry specialists who understand the unique needs of church ministry. We offer services in:
    • Bookkeeping
    • Payroll
    • Accounts Payable and Recievable
    • Reporting (ATO, ACNC etc)
    • Advice

    We make it easy with tailored, fixed priced services so you can rest assured knowing there will be no surprises.
    Find out more here.

Insights into Sustainable Leadership with Sam Sterland  

  • View Sam’s slides here.
  • National Church Life Survey – To have your church participate in NCLS this year, register on-line at www.2021ncls.org.au

 

COVID-19 Update

  • Kelly Crawford opened our session by praying over us a reflection of Teresa of Avila from Ann Voskamp’s One thousand gifts: A dare to live fully right where you are, we would encourage you to view this here.
  • Steve Bartlett spent time answering questions that had been submitted around COVID-19 restrictions.
    • He encouraged us to continue following the health advice and encouraging those in our communities to do so too.
    • Steve also mentioned the areas where we are advocating for additional understanding from the government, this includes;
      • The ability for Pastors to provide pastoral care outside of their LGA to ensure they meet the needs of their church communities.
      • Our concern that no weddings are able to take place at this time.
    • Steve also encouraged pastoral leaders across NSW & ACT Baptist Churches to take up our Association’s offer for free counselling services throughout August.
      • Free counselling services will be available through Bruce Chan for people in pastoral leadership roles in churches, fellowships and church plants that are part of the Association. Bruce has been providing counselling services for over a year in disaster-affected communities and has significant expertise in mental health. You can book directly through Bruce to maintain confidentiality, and the costs will be paid by the Association. Bruce can be contacted on 0411 445 511.

 

Association Updates 

  • Australia Wide Prayer Gathering for the COVID-19 Crisis – If you would like to join us please register here: www.bit.ly/ABMprayforcovid. Feel free to share this link within your Church community. Find out more here.
  • New Gap Year Program Lauch – We are hosting an IMPACT Gap Year Launch, next Thursday 26 August online via Zoom. Come along to hear more about the program. Make sure you register here.
  • Building Discipleship Culture – For more information about Building Discipleship Culture contact Belinda Lakelin: blakelin@nswactbaptists.org.au or visit: www.bdc.org.au.

 

 

Leadership Conversations – August 4
If you enjoyed what Kylie bought to Insights this month, get ready for Leadership Conversations on August 4!

You’ve heard the phrases – we’re living in unprecedented times, our approach needs to be agile, we really need to re-think, re-imagine, re-discover (or just plain pivot) – but what does all that mean for our leadership? As common and cliche as these observations have become we can still find ourselves wondering about the implications for our roles as leaders. What exactly do we need to do differently? What exactly will it take? And how can be equipping others for what the future holds? Leadership Conversations is that place for you to explore with your team what’s needed in leadership going forward.

Kylie will be delivering two keynote sessions followed by a Live Q&A. Session 1 is about the issues we are facing around how we lead into the future. What we need to be aware of as leaders as we look toward an increasingly complicated, disrupted, and uncertain future? Session two will touch on the personal and organisational shifts we need to make as leaders to ensure growing effectiveness, sustainability, and impact.

Ministry Survey Results
Following our recent Ministry Survey, we reported on these findings. Watch the recording from the session for more info (from 45mins) or if you are a Leader or Pastor in a NSW or ACT Baptist Church; join our Facebook Group (Pastors and Leaders) to unpack these results together over the coming month.

We also briefly revisited the Cycle of Discovery. More information about the Cycle of Discovery can be found here: https://nswactbaptists.org.au/project/cycle-of-discovery/

Other Initiatives Discussed Today: 

  • GodSpace Relaunch
    GodSpace is an incredible Special Religious Education (scripture) resource developed by us, here at the Baptist Association of NSW & ACT and it’s used in schools all across Australia.
    We’re making big improvements to the way GodSpace looks, the content, the curriculum and the activities. With plans to add videos, create new graphics and artwork, provide a new design and layout, plus refresh the curriculum. In addition, we want to produce online training videos to help our wonderful GodSpace teachers continue to improve their knowledge and skills.
    The aim is to raise $150,000 before the end of June and as a church committed to local mission, we’re inviting your congregation to join with others to help achieve this goal. Find out more about how you can give here: https://mailchi.mp/c2b0960036fa/godspace-redevelopment-appeal
  • Morling Residential College Accommodation 
    Morling Residential College is an On-Site accommodation venue for the Ministry and Learning Centre, and Morling College. Offering fantastic rates and accommodation options suitable for Singles or Couples, modern amenities and private bathrooms. Find out more or book here: https://bookings.morlingresidential.com
  • NCLS
    Our Association has had a strong connection with NCLS over its life. We believe that participation in NCLS is of great benefit for the local church in assessing mission and ministry, resourcing good reflection on the present and creative thinking about the future.
    Because of this we are making a major investment in the 2021 survey. We will be offering the Church Census, Leadership Survey and Church Life Survey free of charge to all NSW&ACT Baptist Churches, fellowships and church plants.
    The survey is scheduled to take place between October and November this year, with results available in 2022. To register your interest, please visit https://www.2021ncls.org.au/ for further information. If you have any further questions, please contact the NCLS office or our Association NCLS Coordinator, Steve Hales, at shales@nswactbaptists.org.au.

 

Upcoming Events

 

 

FORM Conference
Join us for FORM: One movement. Every place. -7 weeks to go!!
Form is a three afternoon festival of ideas, storytelling, masterclasses, networking, team building and much more. Form will shape evangelism and church planting in the Baptist Churches of NSW and the ACT as we see a movement of a thousand healthy churches in a generation. 

We look forward to joining you on July 5-7, as we explore and engage in God’s mission. Being light in the darkness, bringing hope where there is despair and freedom to the oppressed.
Find out more here: http://4m.org.au
Or register here: Registrations now open

40 Days of Prayer Resources:
One of the Strategic Priorities for our movement is to press into initiatives that focus us around prayer. This follows on from the Prayer Commitment that was unanimously adopted at our September 2017 Assembly, that “We call on all within our movement to a renewed commitment to prayer both individually and corporately for revival & renewal across our churches and throughout NSW & ACT.” 

From Monday 19th July* people will spend the next 40 days going through the booklet that contains short devotions, and prayer points from the Association that tie into one of the aspects of our Gen1K vision. On Day 20, we encourage you to have a half-day gathering that follows the prayer guide of “A.C.T.S.” – Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving & Supplication. At this point we will also encourage you to add fasting to your final 20 days of prayer. Carolyn Altman will be doing some teaching on prayer and fasting in the May session of Insights, to help you be able to encourage your congregation to get on board.
Download the resources for 40 Days of Prayer here: https://nswactbaptists.org.au/40-days-of-prayer/

Disaster Recovery Grants
In addition to assistance of up to $1,000 per individual or family to provide for emergency need assistance, the Baptist Association NSW & ACT is currently offering disaster recovery grants of up to $10,000 to churches in NSW and ACT.  The purpose of these grants is to assist a church with a project that:

  • Promotes disaster recovery in affected communities (in line with the PBI)
  • Provide for physical, mental or emotional well-being of a community, particularly in areas of critical need

To find out more about the Disaster Recovery Grants, click here: https://nswactbaptists.org.au/disaster-recovery-grant/

Here are the prayer points from today’s session:

  • What is something that impacted you about Carolyn’s presentation?
  • What are some effective prayer initiatives or experiences you’ve been part of in your church or ministry context?
  • What stories of answered prayer can you share?”

The Gathering & Annual Assembly:
During our Session we heard from Steve Bartlett & Grae McWhirter about our upcoming Annual Assembly and The Gathering Conference. The theme for The Gathering this year is Saved, Called, Sent and will be unpacked through sessions with our main speakers: Steve Bartlett & Melinda Cousins.

To find out more information or regsiter to attend The Gathering visit: https://www.thegathering.com.au.

Insights into Redefining Success: 
This month’s guest speaker was Omar Djoeandy. Resources from Omar are available below:

Forming Church Podcast: 
During our session we heard the exciting news that the Fomring Church Podcast is about to launch Season 2!

Forming Church is all about exploring what church planting, mission and evangelism could look like in our rapidly changing world. It seeks to create content that generates learning and conversation around these areas, while resourcing the next generation of planters, urban missionaries and followers of Jesus in contemporary Australian contexts.

Check out Forming Church Podcast here: www.gen1kmission.org.au/formingchurchpodcast/ or on your favourite podcast app, and make sure you subscribe, rate, review and share to increase the impact!

Ministry Survey 
This survey looks at the way your church is approaching ministry pre-post covid. It seeks to help identify the resources, training and development you may find useful individually and at a church level and ultimately will inform how we are supporting churches accross 2021 and beyond.

All information provided is completely anonymous and will greatly impact the way we can continue to grow together.

Complete the Ministry Survey here: https://nswactbaptists.org.au/2021-march-ministry-survey/

 

Mental Health Resources: 
During our session, we heard from Fiona Gardner (f.gardner@nswactbaptists.org.au). Fiona has developed some key factsheets which can be accessed below

 

COVID-19 Return to Church Survey
Coming Soon!

Childrens and Families Connect Day
This year the theme for the Connect Day is Refresh Reorient.  Whether you are a volunteer or in a paid role, Sunday kids program leaders, volunteering in kid’s clubs, playtimes, SRE teachers, holiday programs or intergenerational ministries there will be something for you. Find out more here!

Special Assembly
During our session we spent time in prayer. If you would like to find out more about the Special Assembly or you would like to register, please visit: https://www.thegathering.com.au/special-assembly-2021/  We will also be hosting a Special Assembly Prayer meeting on

Here are the prayer points from today’s session:

  • Pray for the team behind the scenes organising the logistics/planning for the Special Assembly. Pray the team does not become overwhelmed with the fluid changes around COVID-19 but embrace the opportunities before us and trust that God will pull everything together.
  • Pray for the outcome of the day and the result of the motions that will be voted. Pray that God’s will, will be done.
  • Pray for protection over people across our movement that may have anxiety and uneasiness over the matters to be discussed and that they may sense God working in and through the situation.
  • Pray for Steve Bartlett (DOM) and Jamie Long (Chair, AC) as they prepare for the discussion on the day and finalise the process for leading Assembly. Pray for wisdom as they navigate how to allow space for voices to be heard and discussed in a God-honouring way. 
  • Pray for God’s hand of protection and provision over the technology/live stream on the day as we are likely to have 8 venues across NSW/ACT;
  • Pray for understanding, considerate and thoughtful conversation on the day. Pray for understanding, God honouring conversation and that there be a sense that God’s Spirit is present and His hand of protection is over the discussions to be had.