Abbeyhill bAptist ChurCh profile

suMMer 2012WWW.AbbeyhillbAptist.btCk.Co.uk

As a family of God’s people we emphasise Knowing God personally through: Prayer; Trust; Absorbing His Word

Allowing Him to change us

Which leads us to: Infectious Joy; Obedience; Committing to our community; Building relationships and meeting needs in our community; Sharing Hope in Christ

introduction As an inner city church, formed in 1896, within the capital city of Edinburgh, we seek to be a loving and accepting church for the incredibly diverse and needy society around us. Although relatively small we are a multi-cultural and multi-racial church that regularly welcomes to our Sunday services people of a wide age range and from all walks of life, including those who have not yet come to know Christ.

Vision Our desire and purpose is that God will be central in Abbeyhill Baptist Church – the focus of all that we are, think, say, and do. We seek to express this in: Personal Growth; Family responsibility and Loving our neighbours.

trustJoyobeDieNCeCoMMitMeNtCoMMuNityrelAtioNshipserViCehope iN Christ.

services and Church organisations- Our typical Sunday morning service attendance is about 45-60 including several families with young children. Those of an older age and African and European origin are well represented; many of the younger adults are from non-church backgrounds. We have music teams that seek to mix contemporary and traditional worship songs in a God-honouring way. Words are displayed on a large screen and PowerPoint is routinely used for the sermon and bible readings (although bibles are also provided). After the service tea/coffee is served and many stay to enjoy chatting together. As the wide variety of people present meet for worship and interact in these ways there is often a real and encouraging sense of vibrancy and family.

- We hold a fairly informal service on Sunday evenings with music normally provided by a pianist. Although the congregation is only small (about 10) circumstances prevent about 4 of them from coming in the morning so this is their only opportunity for church.

- At present we have about 20 children, the majority of whom are young babies, toddlers and primary age. There are only about 3 who are currently of secondary age. The younger children begin the morning service with their parents but come up to sit on the platform for the children’s talk. The pre-schoolers then leave for Crèche and the primary aged children for the Sunday school called JAM (Jesus and Me Club). The secondary aged children generally stay in the morning service but during the evening service they have been meeting informally for discussion etc. Alterations are being made to the premises to create a youth room for use not just on Sundays but as relevant, during the week.

- Prayer groups are generally fairly small. There is regularly prayer prior to the morning service. Each month an event is held in the morning after tea/coffee in a church hall and in the evening in a home where prayer is ‘conversational’ in nature. In the last two years the Deacons have each committed to pray for a list of folk in the church family every week. With our former pastor praying through all the lists every week, everyone in the church has been prayed for twice a week. Prayer breakfasts are held intermittently and also prayer walks in the local streets in the area around the church.

- House Groups take place fortnightly in different areas of the city and help Christian growth and commitment by bible study & discussion, prayer & fellowship; attempts are also made to reach out to those who do not yet know Jesus. The size of the House groups varies between 5-12 folk; three of the groups meet on weeknights and one on Sunday afternoons (enabling two families to share child care).

- Men’s Fellowship is held monthly with different activities enabling fellowship and for them just to be men! It has developed into a prayerful, supportive and outreaching group of about 7-12 younger aged men.

ChurCh ACtiVities

An important part of our vision is to love our neighbours. Attempting to meet them by means of door to door visitation has largely become ineffectual because of changing patterns in housing in the area. We have, therefore, been continually seeking other ways of getting to know folk and earning the privilege of sharing.

- Parent & Tots (children’s play) runs on Monday mornings during term time with predominantly non-church parents attending. Encouragingly a few have shown some interest in another group which has started to meet on Friday mornings which includes a short bible study while the children play followed by a structured time of children’s bible time, crafts etc.

- A weekly Art Club is run which is attended by both church folk and others. Several Art Exhibitions have been organised with many from the area attending.

- More recently our former pastor’s wife, having trained as a Zumba/exercise instructor, ran classes which proved popular and attracted many ladies with no connection to the church.

- A couple of Church Open Days have been held and although the church is still on a learning curve in this regard, it was encouraging that this year several of the ladies attending the Parent & Tots and the Zumba classes came with their children and obviously felt comfortable with us.

- Wishing to identify as part of the local community a ‘Day in the Park’ was held a few years ago in the local park. It included food, various games & activities and live Christian music. Following on from that links have been made with the ‘Friends of Montgomery Park’ and litter picking has taken place in the area around the church.

- Abbeyhill has very much supported and encouraged the Polish Speaking Church (evangelical) which was constituted in 2010 and meets in our premises on a Sunday afternoon for a service and during the week for bible study. There have been several pulpit exchanges and joint activities e.g. Christmas Day service.

- We use our premises to support other relevant local groups including a weekly club for those with dementia. We have strong links with Bethany Christian Trust which works in the field of homelessness and we are a regular venue for their Night Shelter programme which runs from November – March each year.

ChurCh ACtiVities

informal get–togethers of the church family Part of our emphasis as a family of God’s people is to provide opportunity to encourage friendship and sharing. We have found that fellowship lunches, Away days and weekends facilitate this.

Fellowship lunches are held about 3-4 times a year, often related to a special morning service e.g. harvest. There is an open invitation to stay after the service and it is good to see everyone mixing together as they enjoy the food and get to know each other better. One couple in the church hosts a summer BBQ in their garden for the church family.

Church Away Day – our first was held in the Scottish Borders in May 2012 with all age ranges represented. There was a successful mix of interactive bible story, related crafts, food and opportunity to walk/play/explore the area Several Church weekends have been held in the Windmill Centre (self-catering) in the coastal town of Arbroath. Organised in-house, sessions vary between bible related topics to informal quiz sessions, from games to free time. A further weekend is planned for May 2013.

external Mission Our church is fortunate to have several from within the church family who are currently serving abroad: a nurse working in Uganda with HIV/AIDS patients with AIM; a family working with a church in Austria with ECM; another family working in East Asia with OMF and a lady who is just retiring from work in Brazil with Wycliffe Translators. We also have strong links with a family working in Mongolia and until recently had a link missionary in the Baptist Missionary Society. One of our musicians is building up a musical evangelistic ministry which takes him all over the UK and abroad working not just in churches but also schools, prisons etc.

City-wide, the church is one of about 40 participating in a venture called ‘trypraying’ which, during the period of Lent, encourages people with no Christian faith to pray over 7 days. With large adverts on the sides of buses and booklets written specifically for them and a continual background of prayer (each church praying specifically for a 24 hour period) people’s lives are touched.

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Challenges facing our church familyOne of the good things about our church is the wide variety of people who come and we count it a blessing that we are able to help many of them. However, coming with that is the challenge of coping with the many issues encountered whether it is recovery from addiction or other mental, physical, social and spiritual issues.

We are pleased to have those with a modern lifestyle in Abbeyhill and whilst they really appreciate being part of the church family here, attendance can often be irregular. Additionally, commitment to the functioning of the church other than attending morning services can be lacking.

There is a good serving core within the church family of both younger and older folk but the lower middle age group is largely lacking and several of the important core folk for various reasons do not wish to come into membership. Giving is good for the size of the church particularly considering its varied nature. Special projects are often sacrificially supported but consistent general giving can be a problem.

Church organisation The church is congregational in its form of church government. The members (currently 50 in number) have professed faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and been baptised (normally by immersion). In recent months applicants have attended membership class and agreed to both the Statement of Faith and the church covenant (summarised as wishing to be serving/faithful/responsible and outwardly reaching).

The Leadership comprises the Pastor and Deacons (currently 8). One of the Deacons is the Treasurer and 2 share the secretarial duties. There are no Elders at present although there have been in the past and the constitution provides for their appointment. There is also a Church Visitor (voluntary) who co-ordinates visitation of the sick etc. and seeks to encourage individuals as relevant e.g. with 1:1 bible study.

The church is registered as a Charity in Scotland (SC008797).

financial situation & stipendThe church is self-supporting and as a member of the Baptist Union of Scotland, the Pastor’s stipend is set in accordance with the recommendations of the B.U.S.

local information Area around the church - largely modern built flats/town houses and older tenements. There is a mix of owner-occupiers and rented accommodation. Demographically younger folk predominate, often with young children. The Abbeyhill area has for several decades had a large number of Asian residents and this is increasing. Over the last few years there has been an increasing number of people from Eastern Europe moving into the area. There is a small but significant percentage of older folk living on our doorstep. Most social classes are represented.

ChAlleNges AND struCture

Church premises - are situated about 1 mile to the North East of Princes St (the main street in Edinburgh). The Sanctuary was built in 1902 and is flat roofed and built out from the rear of a tenement. The church owns part of the tenement. The Church Halls, office and kitchen on the ground floor and the upstairs Pastor’s Office, Young Folks room and the self contained Missions Flat which some of our church missionaries use whilst on home assignment used to be Dance Halls. The Church purchased the Dance Halls when they came up for sale in 1934.

The area has resident permit parking during the week. The church has no external grounds or private parking. The Manse - is owned by the church and is a 4-bedroom town house just along the road from the church. The manse has a driveway in front of the house.

Amenities - Local shops, a library and 3 Primary Schools are within easy walking distance. All the amenities of a city including larger shops, theatres and cinemas, bus and rail stations are all available within 1-2 miles.

We Are seekiNg - A pAstor With A heArt for goD Who iDeNtifies With our VisioN, reCeiVes the CAll froM goD to the ChurCh fAMily of Abbeyhill bAptist ChurCh AND Will serVe With us As We MoVe forWArD uNDer the spirit’s leADiNg.

ChurCh preMises