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Mission & Ministry

 

Street Pastors

We are privileged to be able to serve our local Street Pastors by providing them with a room as their weekly 'Prayer Base' as they patrol our streets, helping those who might find themselves in need of support during the weekend revelries.

Street Pastors was pioneered in London in 2003 by Les Isaac.  Since then, over 12,000 volunteers have been trained by Ascension Trust, and they now play an active part in strengthening community life and working for safer streets.

Street Pastors are trained volunteers from local churches, including our own Church Family, who care about their community.  Please go to the following website for more information:

http://www.streetpastors.org/

 

Christians Against Poverty (CAP)

Bideford Baptist Church is pleased to be one of the Local Partner Churches supporting the CAP Debt Centre based at Holy Trinity Church in Barnstaple, which offers a personal and very effective Debt Counselling Service to those who are struggling.

We have also recently started up a CAP 'Fresh Start' Group, working together with some of our other local Baptist Churches, to come alongside and help those seeking freedom from life-controlling behaviours and addictions.

CAP's mission is to bring about sustained relief through serving the poor, saving the lost, working in partnership with local churches, across the nation.

CAP is passionate about releasing people from a life sentence of debt and poverty, and all the underlying causes such as addiction, joblessness, etc.  Their vision is to bring freedom and Good News to people in every community by working through the Local Church, and it is very exciting to be part of this amazing initiative.

https://capuk.org

A personal note from Janice Goodney about CAP

When I first became a Christian in 2005, I went to the “Kerith” church, a large congregation in Bracknell.  CAP came to take the service one Sunday and I met John Kirby who runs it.  He gave me his book “Nevertheless” – it is a rollercoaster of a story and it really gripped my attention and passion.  Working in Banking and Accounts for years, my gifting is in working with money and I felt I could help people to budget, etc.  When I came to Bideford, I saw a real need here for the CAP ministry – however, it costs around £24k to set up and run a CAP Debt Centre, so it wasn’t viable at the time.  Nevertheless, in God's perfect timing, we were able to support a new initiative started by churches in Barnstaple, which saw a CAP Debt Centre being set up at Holy Trinity Church.  I became a CAP 'Befriender', and have accompanied the CAP Debt Manager on visits to various local people to help get them debt-free.  It isn’t an easy task, as we do not hide the fact that we are Christians and are openly evangelistic, so some folks just don’t want to know.  But as long as they get help, that is fantastic.  I think CAP is one of the most amazing and fulfilling ministries out there in the modern age and I’m privileged to have a tiny part in it.

 

Christian Aid

Working in 37 countries around the world, Christian Aid exists to help people of all faiths and none, standing up for dignity, equality and justice.

Christian Aid seeks to follow the teaching of Jesus Christ, who commanded His followers to love their neighbour and work for a better world, by exposing poverty throughout the world and helping in practical ways to end it.

We have some hard-working volunteers within our Church who encourage us all to support Christian Aid, particularly during 'Christian Aid Week' in May, when various fund-raising activities / collections take place each year.

https://www.christianaid.org.uk

 

South-West Community Chaplaincy

Volunteers from within our Church Family work alongside South-West Community Chaplaincy, with the aim of providing holistic support to those in prison, particularly 'through the gate' upon release, and during those first critical days, weeks and months (and beyond) back in the community.

South-West Community Chaplaincy's mission is to come alongside those leaving prison, helping them overcome the significant barriers that they face, in order to enter into meaningful occupation and build a financially independent future in the community, rather than continuing in a cycle of re-offending, through provision of practical support, mentoring and advocacy on an ongoing basis for as long as it is needed.

https://www.southwestcc.org.uk/making-new-start-possible

 

Alabaré Christian Care & Support

In Bideford, Alabaré provides support for homeless adults along with floating support in the community.

Through provision of supported accommodation, Alabaré aims to provide residents with the skills and confidence to move onto longer-term more sustainable housing, enabling them to build constructive and positive relationships within the wider community.

We are pleased to be able to support Alabaré as they help residents to identify, pursue and enjoy their aspirations through training, education, employment and hobbies, thus increasing their confidence and self-worth.

https://www.alabare.co.uk/home/bideford-supported-housing

 

Open Doors

As a Church, we support the ministry of Open Doors, and have a representative who highlights any specific needs, prayer requests, etc.

Open Doors works in over 50 countries, supplying Bibles, training church leaders, providing practical support and emergency relief, and supporting Christians who suffer for their faith.

Open Doors works to raise awareness of global persecution, mobilising prayer, support and action among Christians.

https://www.opendoorsuk.org/

 

Neighbourhood Prayer Network

We are pleased to support Neighbourhood Prayer Network, and have been privileged to welcome Rebekah Brettle to our Church to preach for us.

Neighbourhood Prayer Network aims to see every street in the UK covered in Christian prayer, with Christians PRAYING for their immediate neighbours, CARING for their neighbours and SHARING JESUS with their neighbours.

http://www.neighbourhoodprayer.net/
 

BMS World Mission

BMS supports over 300 dedicated mission workers in countries all over the world, and we are pleased to be one of the Partner Churches supporting Laura-Lee Lovering in Peru.

Laura is an environmental scientist, and is currently based in Nauta, which is situated on the Marañon River in the Amazon jungle in Peru.

In Nauta, she is working to help the local Baptist partner to develop the Integral Mission Training Centre and a number of environmental initiatives. 

https://www.bmsworldmission.org/people/laura-lee-lovering/

 

Hope for the Nation

Our good friends, Pastor Kenny and his wife Mary, have started a free school in the heart of the Thar Desert in Pakistan for both Christian and Hindu slave children.

Christians are considered 'untouchables' in Pakistan, and Hindus are considered even lower than Christians and suffer the worst persecution at the hands of the majority community.

Kenny and Mary want to touch their lives by becoming the hands and feet of Jesus in their lives, with the help and support of Local Devon Churches who also feel the same compassion. 

http://www.reach-pakistan.org

 

Children's Orphanage in Nepal - Bill Owen

 

Hope from Above (HFA)

The purpose of HFA is to help bring the Gospel to unreached and inaccessible people groups. People groups can be inaccessible due to a range of circumstances, such as geography, politics or language barriers, preventing them from being reached with the Good News.

Based on the needs identified through research, HFA looks at solutions that are innovative, such as Drones, Remote Piloted Marine Systems, Hi-Tech Ballooning, Ultra-Light Aircraft, Gyrocopters, Airplanes, Helicopters, etc.

The final aim is to assist local missions and ministries in their work with a suitable aviation and technology solution that matches their specific needs.

https://hfa.org.au/

 

Wings South West

Wings South West is a faith-based Local Charity which helps provide for young people in Bideford and the surrounding area of Northern Devon, to give them a future and a hope.

They operate a café-style drop-in Youth Club (Source), engage in a variety of schools work, and provide a wide range of learning opportunities for young people. They run a successful Sports Academy, and host special one-off events.

Bideford Baptist Church is pleased to be able to support Wings South West in its various endeavours.

http://www.wingscharity.com

 

Bible Society – Open the Book

Open the Book is a project which offers primary school children an opportunity to hear the major stories of the Bible -

These are read by local Christian Volunteers, who present the stories during School Assemblies / Acts of Collective Worship.

Each presentation takes around 10 - 15 minutes, and can be incorporated into a wider school assembly, or can stand alone.

https://www.biblesociety.org.uk/get-involved/open-the-book

 

Pilgrim's Friend Society

We were very pleased to be able to welcome representatives from the Pilgrim's Friend Society to run a Saturday Workshop for us, to equip us with practical ideas that will enable our Church Family to support older people within our congregation and in the wider community.

Pilgrim's Friend Society can offer a wide range of knowledge and experience, together with the latest research and Scriptural insights, providing seminars and training, downloadable resources and books, including helpful material written from a Christian perspective on issues like dementia.

https://www.pilgrimsfriend.org.uk

 

Torch Trust

Representatives from Torch Trust also came and ran a Saturday Workshop for us, to help us consider our Church (building, access, activities, etc.) from the perspective of those who are blind or partially sighted.

Torch Trust's aim is to enable people with sight loss to discover Christian faith and to lead fulfilling Christian lives, by providing Christian resources and activities for blind and partially-sighted people worldwide.

http://www.torchtrust.org/

 

Crosslink

Local Christian Business Network, which meets once a month.

Powerful testimonies, interesting speakers, stories of God at work in the workplace – and a tasty breakfast as well!

Come along and be inspired by what God can do in your place of work.

http://crosslinkexeter@hotmail.co.uk

 

Samaritan's Purse – Operation Christmas Child

Samaritan’s Purse is an international relief and development organisation that works through local churches to proclaim and demonstrate the love of God amongst communities in Africa, Eastern Europe and Central Asia.

Every year, Members of our Church Family fill a shoebox with toiletries, gifts, sweets, etc., which are then distributed by Samaritan's Purse -

What goes into the box is fun, but what comes out of it is eternal, and we are privileged to be part of changing children’s lives all over the world in Jesus’ name through the power of a simple gift with Operation Christmas Child.

https://www.samaritans-purse.org.uk/what-we-do/operation-christmas-child

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