Baker's Blog ... January 2008

Dear Friends,
Here’s a digest of issues and events which we want you to be aware of and share with your Small Groups for prayer and information in January.

Staff Planning Day

Three times a year, at the beginning of each new term, the Staff (that’s about ten of us) meet to pray together and discuss plans for the coming weeks. We also keep an eye on what’s ahead for the rest of the year.

On the agenda this time around was a review of the spiritual encouragements of 2007. Here’s what we highlighted - you might want to add your own.
• The Foundations Course (a three week programme for Newcomers) has gone well with people being more effectively integrated as a result.
• Life Groups – there are now four in place with another due to start after February half term.
• English Conversation Classes - good links with those in the community, some of whom have tried out the Internationals Group on a Friday.
• Christianity Explored had between 30 – 40 attend through the year with nearly 10 professing faith.
• Pre school ministry with a waiting list for Toddler Music has been growing year on year – more leaders/helpers needed.

Elders

January is crucial for the Elders as we prepare the Presentation for Vision Sunday, which this year is Feb 3rd.
The process actually begins in November with the setting of the Budget – this is the consequence of each of the Departments reflecting on their individual programme for the coming year. Then the Budget is refined and accepted at the Trustees meeting in December and put into the overall picture of the Church’s Strategic Vision year on year.

You’ll have to wait until February to find out what’s in store for 08 (!) but the exciting thing is that Highfields does have a Leadership which wants to take us forward.

January is the month when as Elders we work all this out, but two things have given a particular shape to the task this time.
The first has been the creation since September of an Executive Group whose role has been to help the full Eldership move things on at a strategic level by dealing with more of the details of the operational running of the Church.
We are still trying to make this arrangement effective not least because less Elders’ Meetings tied up with details releases Elders to visit, pastor and teach the word one to one.
The second feature of recent months has been working on a Vision Document, which takes a five year look at the whole ministry of Highfields and its priorities. The purpose is to help us understand how one year fits together with the next.
Please pray for us in this exercise. It will take us a while to complete because it involves discussion with many different people. Through it all we want to express our confidence in God’s Vision for the local Church which of course He has already given to us in Scripture and which we have summarized in recent months as “Reach, Build, Send “.

The task of Leadership is to take that Plan of God to reach the nations with the gospel and apply it strategically to Highfields, as we understand the way in which God has gifted us as a Church to fulfill the great commission.

There have been several personnel changes among the Elders with Peter Holt and David Haime, whose ministries over the years have been so appreciated, standing down in the summer of 07, as we know. They continue to give invaluable support to us in the areas of pastoral care and music.

In addition Richard Budd was elected as an Elder in Emmaus Llanishen in December, (together with John Mark Frost and Clive Morgan). We pray that the work on the estate will continue to go from strength to strength.

Connect

Connect is the new strap line for all the Small Groups with their emphasis on connecting people to each other and the Lord through prayer, scripture and encouragement. As part of this we want to develop the corporate prayer life of the Church. So there are more opportunities for people from across the church to pray together than ever before. Notably is the new Prayer 4 Mission on the second and last Sundays of the month at 5pm and the new look once a month Saturday morning prayer at 8:30am (now with croissants!).

Schools Work and Women’s Ministry

Schools Work sees the start of two new lunch clubs in Gladstone and Roath Park and the Women’s Ministry is looking forward to Elaine Macdonald’s talk on work – life balance. As for the Men(!) a steering group is putting together a regular programme of events for 08. If you can make the planning meeting on Sunday 20th January at 5.00 pm in the Coffee Lounge that would be good.

facethebook

On Sunday evening January 27th Facethebook is back! This time we are looking forward to a special presentation from Dave Murrow, author of the book “Why men hate going to Church“. Dave is a former journalist, now Pastor, and his message is gaining quite a hearing - so come and listen!

Christianity Explored and Discipleship Explored

CE and DE are starting new courses this term for 7 weeks from 21st January at 7.30 pm. There's a fair bit of demand for DE (Discipleship Explored) this time around - at least two, probably three people from the last CE course, and several from the course prior to that.

Finally..

Finally some personnel news. Lindsay Brown has begun a new phase in his life and will be with us in February along with some Europeans who’ll be involved with him at the OICCU mission. Professor Phil Routledge was awarded an MBE in the New Year’s Honours list for his services to medicine.

Peter Baker

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