OBC's Vision
Reconciling Rutland to the Kingdom of God
In 2 Cor 5: 17-19, the apostle Paul writes…
“If anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.”
God created the perfect world and created us in His image to know Him and experience His love. However, through our actions and sins, we and the world are no longer as they were intended to be. We believe that every person is made to know God and can know of God’s great love for them. Our vision is to see the community of Rutland reconciled to God and to see His Kingdom come here on earth, as it is in heaven. That’s a vision of every person in Rutland recognising Jesus as Lord and Saviour, and Rutland being a place of hope, love, peace and sanctuary.
We are carrying out this vision by engaging in Christian Mission using three key principles:
Bridge,
Bless and
Build with the community of Rutland.
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Bridge: Many people are unreached by the Church and love of God. We see areas of suffering and pain in the community around us and we know God has not called people to suffer. As a family of Christians, we want to reach the areas that are unreached, and build permanent and long-lasting bridges into those places. Sometimes these are physical areas, sometimes areas of material, emotional or spiritual need such as poverty, homelessness, grief and loneliness.
Individually: we look for areas to create bridges and seek to be a presence in our community.
As a church: we equip and resource both individual callings and collective action in reaching the unreached.
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Bless: We recognise that our calling is to meet more than a physical need but involves bringing everlasting life through Jesus. Blessing a community consists of evangelism (helping people gain eternal life in Jesus’ name), social care (helping meet physical needs) and prophecy (speaking about the way life was created to be).
Individually: we journey alongside people as they seek Jesus (evangelism), we identify a need and meet it (social care) and we speak out and will act against injustice (prophecy).
As a church: we resource groups and individuals seeking to bless communities. We provide spaces, places and people to help run and maintain projects that address community needs. We aim to be a place of sanctuary and hope in Rutland, with open doors and open hearts.
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Build: We pray constantly that “Your Kingdom come”. This means we desire to see the kingdom of God grow and flourish. We want more people to be free from death and find hope both in this life and eternally through Jesus. In all that we do as Christians we are striving to build the kingdom of God on earth, just as it is in heaven. This is because we believe that is the best thing that could ever happen to the world. In this perfect Kingdom, there will be mutual care, one for another, and for the wider world environment so that the world can be as it was created to be.
Individually: we are a visible part of the Kingdom of God both in combined worship and in our personal lives.
As a church: we meet regularly as a sign of our unity. We engage in Christian mission within the community, and we evangelise, baptise and disciple people in the name of Jesus.
As a church, we believe “That it is the duty of every disciple to bear personal witness to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and to take part in the evangelisation of the world.” This means that we should all be seeking chances to bridge, bless and build so we can reconcile our community to the Kingdom of God. However, we also recognise that we ourselves, no matter where we are in our discipleship journey, can grow closer to God as we seek to live life in all its fullness.
Through our worship, study and fellowship we will challenge ourselves against the principles we have set:
Bridge: What parts of my life are not as close to God as they can be? short of my aspiration to follow God? How can I understand God’s ways more fully, and apply them to my life?
Bless: Am I fulfilling the purposes God has created me for? What are my spiritual gifts and God-given talents, and am I exercising them fully?
Build: What is the part that I should be playing in God’s kingdom on earth? How should I contribute to revival and revitalisation in my local community here? How can I make sure that I remain excited, and joy filled with all Jesus is doing in my life and in the life of others?
Individually: We will each commit to discerning where God may be calling us to try new things and will encourage others as they try new things too. We recognise that we are each seeking to develop and grow into the disciples God has called us to be. We will recognise our individual significance within God’s plans, rising to the occasion when the call to action comes, and when necessary to be witnesses to what He has called us to do in working for His Kingdom.
As a church: We recognise that every person is on a constant journey towards Christlikeness and we are all at different stages of life. Some people may have just left a busy and active period and God is now calling them to be reflective, or as wise councillors, and yet God may be calling some to physical action. In a culture that measures our worth by physical productivity, we seek to be counter cultural. A person’s worth is determined only by Jesus in that he gave his life willingly for them. It isn’t about what we do, but about who we are in Christ. As a church we want to help people find their place in the Kingdom in whatever role that may be. Therefore, we will offer personal development packages and training to all who want to grow. We will offer opportunity and encouragement to those being courageous. We will nurture and support every member of the church because they are an important part of God’s plans.
We are a Baptist Church affiliated to the Baptist Union of Great Britain and the East Midlands Baptist Association. We also link in with Freshstreams and the Evangelical Alliance and support the Baptist Missionary Society (BMS), Rutland Clothing Bank and Christians Against Poverty.
