Outward Looking
As a church we seek to be Outward Looking, but what does that mean? When we say that we are Outward Looking, it means that we aren’t just interested in what goes on in our church, but in what goes on in our local community, our nation and the world. It also means we aren’t just interested in people who are Christians but anyone and everyone.
We strive to be outward looking because we follow the example of Jesus. Jesus engaged with everyone: people who taught the Jewish religion; people who perhaps weren’t the best at living out that faith; and those who weren’t Jewish at all. As Christians we want to be like Jesus and so we try and copy him.
Because we are Outward Looking, we are part of and partner with a number of different organisations:
The Baptist Union of Great Britain – We are part of the Baptist Union of Great Britain. This means that we, along with Baptist Churches all across Great Britain, come together in a union in which we share the same foundational principles of our Christian faith and church structure. https://www.baptist.org.uk/
Churches Together in Horndean and Clanfield – We are part of Churches Together in Horndean and Clanfield. This means that throughout the year we meet, pray, worship and work with the other churches in the local area. The other churches involved in Churches Together in Horndean and Clanfield are: All Saints, Catherington (Church of England); Holy Trinity, Blendworth (Church of England); St. Edmunds (Roman Catholic Church); St Huberts, Idsworth (Church of England);
St James, Clanfield (Church of England); and St. Michael and All Angels, Chalton (Church of England).
BMS World Mission – BMS World Mission is a Christian Charity that works in 30 countries all across the world. They support displaced people and poor communities with medicine, food, skills training and resourcing. They do all of this as committed Christians who communicate God’s desire to bless people with abundant life through their actions and their words. https://www.bmsworldmission.org/
Enable the Children – Enable the Children (part of World Hope International) is a charity that works in Freetown, Sierra Leone supporting children with physical disabilities, including: cerebral palsy; acquired brain injuries and muscular dystrophy. Extensive poverty, traditional beliefs and illiteracy leave children affected by these issues, and others, rejected or abandoned with little support. Enable the Children seeks to change this by offering Physiotherapy, Occupational Therapy, care and support services to over 1000 children in Freetown. https://www.worldhope.org/project/enable-the-children/
Home for Good – Home for Good is a UK-based Christian charity that focusses on children in care. Every 15 minutes a child enters the UK care system. Home for Good wants to offer support and resources to enable people to be better able to adopt, foster or to support those who do. Home for Good believes that the best way to support children in care is to bring them into a community that values and cares for them, and they see the Church in the UK as that community. https://homeforgood.org.uk/