Sam Young and Amanda Parfitt are pastors at South West Baptist Church in Ōtautahi Christchurch. Amanda is SWBC’s Executive Pastor; she has extensive experience working with people to develop and maintain their budgets. Sam is SWBC’s Pastor – Gatherings.
Imagine a movement that authentically engages with the needs of its community.
Justice, mercy and humility form the framework for a new initiative at National Hui (6–9 Nov) this year: Gospel Impact Labs. Delegates can participate in one of ten labs to develop a tool which local Baptist churches can use for gospel renewal. See all Gospel Impact Labs at the end of this article. In this one with Sam and Amanda, we’re creating a tool that helps our local churches match their skills with the needs of their community.
Authentic and effective church community engagement
Kia ora koutou, Sam Young here. My role as a pastor at South West Baptist is to look after our gatherings. I dream of church gatherings that celebrate what God is already doing in our communities and that equip us to go out there to help.
One of our core convictions is that the Good News of Jesus leads to the transformation of our world. God longs to see our communities thrive and the people in them participate in that thriving. Another conviction is that God is already at work in our communities – calling us as his church to join in and participate in the renewal of all things.
But where do we begin? And how do we do it authentically?
1 Peter 4:10: “Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.” Peter emphasises the importance of using our gifts to serve others. We are stewards of the gifts God has given us, and we are called to use them to bless and uplift others.
Drawing on our own experiences, let’s come up with a helpful tool for our churches to discover the needs of their community, and how their own skills and gifting can best help those needs.
Image: Amanda Parfitt (left) and Sam Young (right)
Gospel Impact Labs
Political engagement
