Join us and many churches around Australia making Jesus' last words our first priority in 2020. Starting 3rd May, Churches will begin a 6 week series coming out of the Jesus the Game Changer documentary series – To the Ends of the Earth.
The Church Pack and rego cost of $99.95 provides you with everything needed to run this series across the life of your church – sermon notes, children's program, worship songs, graphics, video clips and more.
Source: BUV News
Join us and many churches around Australia making Jesus' last words our first priority in 2020. Starting 3rd May, Churches will begin a 6 week series coming out of the Jesus the Game Changer documentary series – To the Ends of the Earth.
The Church Pack and rego cost of $99.95 provides you with everything needed to run this series across the life of your church – sermon notes, children's program, worship songs, graphics, video clips and more.
Molestation Insurance
Victorian Baptists are committed to providing safe programmes as an expression of loving our neighbours. As part of this, and in order to continue Molestation Cover with our insurer, churches should ensure that as a minimum they comply with the following policies and procedures:
1. A policy committing the organisation to providing a safe environment for children and vulnerable adults.
2. A Code of Practice covering pastors, employees and volunteers who may come into contact with children and vulnerable adults.
3. A process for screening applicants for ministry, employment and volunteering, including referee checks and working with children/criminal record checks.
4. A process for handling allegations of sexual abuse.
5. A process for complying with mandatory reporting obligations for suspected sexual abuse.
6. Training for pastors, employees and volunteers in the above policies/procedures.
The documents below provide resources to assist churches in these matters.
Declaration for churches to sign and return
Molestation insurance explanatory notes
Sample Flowchart Reporting Process
Sample Molestation Insurance Code of Conduct
Sample Reporting and Handling Allegations of Sexual Abuse
Sample Safe Church Concerns Form Template
Sample Staff and Volunteer Application Screening Form
Source: BUV News
Graeme van Brummelen, pastor of Corryong Baptist Church was on the ground when the fires hit Corryong. He and David Hodgens (pastor at Wadonga Baptist and also part of VCCEM – Victorian Council of Churches Emergency Ministry) played a significant role in setting up and running the evacuation centre.
David recalls arriving back into phone range a couple of days later to hear old messages telling him to get out of the area himself! David and Wadonga Baptist Church have been supporting Graeme in a number of practical ways including stepping in to help run the worship services on the weekend.
In the community of Corryong, Graeme has been playing a significant physical and pastoral role, spending time with people who have been impacted and then determining some of the needs that can be immediately met due to the donations that have come in.
“The generosity is amazing”, he says. Graeme feels well supported by both the open hands and open hearts of those from our Baptist family who have so selflessly donated. 
He and his team have created a ‘Voucher Pack’ (pictured) that not only helps with some immediate relief for people but also helps stimulate the local economy which has been severely affected at this time.
As well as this, Graeme has co-ordinated some hay to be brought in and distributed (pictured). He has also been connecting with others who are working in the area. “We’re doing what we can to work with others who are here. For example the guys from Blaze Aid who are working on fencing for local farmers will call me and let me know if there is someone who needs the kind of help that we can offer.”
Thank you to our baptist family who gave so generously to the BUV bushfire appeal. Your donations have enabled our pastors and churches to help and support their local communities affected by the bushfires. Thank you for joining us Together On Mission! Please continue to pray for our pastors, their churches and communities as recovery efforts continue in this areas.
Source: BUV News
Graeme van Brummelen, pastor of Corryong Baptist Church was on the ground when the fires hit Corryong. He and David Hodgens (pastor at Wadonga Baptist and also part of VCCEM – Victorian Council of Churches Emergency Ministry) played a significant role in setting up and running the evacuation centre.
David recalls arriving back into phone range a couple of days later to hear old messages telling him to get out of the area himself! David and Wadonga Baptist Church have been supporting Graeme in a number of practical ways including stepping in to help run the worship services on the weekend.
In the community of Corryong, Graeme has been playing a significant physical and pastoral role, spending time with people who have been impacted and then determining some of the needs that can be immediately met due to the donations that have come in.
“The generosity is amazing”, he says. Graeme feels well supported by both the open hands and open hearts of those from our Baptist family who have so selflessly donated. 
He and his team have created a ‘Voucher Pack’ (pictured) that not only helps with some immediate relief for people but also helps stimulate the local economy which has been severely affected at this time.
As well as this, Graeme has co-ordinated some hay to be brought in and distributed (pictured). He has also been connecting with others who are working in the area. “We’re doing what we can to work with others who are here. For example the guys from Blaze Aid who are working on fencing for local farmers will call me and let me know if there is someone who needs the kind of help that we can offer.”
Thank you to our baptist family who gave so generously to the BUV bushfire appeal. Your donations have enabled our pastors and churches to help and support their local communities affected by the bushfires. Thank you for joining us Together On Mission! Please continue to pray for our pastors, their churches and communities as recovery efforts continue in this areas.
By James Bennett
I was first alerted to the opportunity to contribute to this segment when I was at the footy with a pastor friend of mine. Almost immediately a number of incidents floated across my consciousness and the following is a small window into my 15 years married to a pastor.
Generally in life there aren’t to many situations I detest more than job interviews. Given a choice I’d probably rather face up to a 1980’s West Indian pace attack. Pastoral job interviews where the spouse is present are however somewhat different. It’s a classic paradox of being interviewed and yet not, of judging and yet being open to the call, and balancing the notion of simply being along for the ride with the knowledge that this could well drastically alter my daily circumstances.
All of this was swirling through my brain when in November of 2006 the following question came my way. “So James, how do you see yourself contributing to ministry in the context of being the pastor’s husband? Several responses instantly presented themselves in my mind, some conforming to what I thought the expectations behind the question were. There is a lot of largely invisible cultural baggage surrounding the role of a pastor’s wife and as a male I feel this acutely at times. It was this more than anything that informed my response when I paused for a second and then said, “well I don’t do scones”. The interviewer practically fell off his chair as he momentarily lost his composure before the interview continued.
The other interview experience worth mentioning was when I was asked if I’m musical. At face value this is a fair enough question, it’s nice that the were inquiring into my interests. As always though, contexts is king and had I answered yes, I would have instantly found myself on the music roster. Pretty impressive really given that my wife hadn’t officially been offered the job at that point.
Fifteen years of lived experience in pastoral ministry has certainly thrown up its fair share of rather interesting situations. Whilst it’s true that for a lot of the time it can feel like I’m living ministry vicariously through my wife, some instances this is definitely not the case. One such time occurred during the time we were living at the now closed down Whitley student residential college. Essentially for close on 3 years we were pseudo parents for 130 18-21 year olds. Never has the term being on the job 24/7 been more appropriate.
It was the first time my parents had come to visit us at Whitley. Barely had we made cups of tea and sat down than the fire alarms stared blaring. This of course necessitated an immediate evacuation. Added into the mix was the fact that fire warden was one of the responsibilities of my wife. She instantly jumped up and was out the door, leaving me to escort my somewhat bewildered parents across the courtyard, and out onto the street. I ended up just telling them amidst all the chaos to get in their car and drive home which quite frankly didn’t go down too well.
This piece would of course not be complete without a story or two about the trials and tribulations of living in a manse itself. The most notable incident happened when our heating system literally blew up and needed to be totally replaced. Quite the expense and also in the middle of a Melbourne winter cold snap. Three weeks elapsed before we again had heating due to and impasse between tradespeople not being willing to deal with us given we weren’t the owners of the property and the church putting it back on us to organise a replacement.
There was also the time during a church lunch when a member of the congregation took it upon themselves to conduct a tour for some new people through literally every room in the house.
In amongst all the situations that ministry throws our way there are some constants that keep repeating. Being mistaken for the pastor at Baptist Union gatherings. Many a time I have had a conversation with the underlying assumption being that I’m the pastor. I must admit I do secretly enjoy gauging reactions when I tell people that I’m not and it’s my wife who is. The classic was when I was asked how I go with my wife preaching from the pulpit. I said fine, she’s a great preacher. I only realised later that what was meant was how did I go theologically with that. I’ll leave you to judge what the answer is to that question.
These few anecdotes barely even touch the surface of being the spouse of a pastor and looking back over the fifteen years I really had very little idea of what I was getting myself in for, however I wouldn’t swap it for the world. The roller coaster ride that is pastoral ministry continues on.
Source: BUV News
By James Bennett
I was first alerted to the opportunity to contribute to this segment when I was at the footy with a pastor friend of mine. Almost immediately a number of incidents floated across my consciousness and the following is a small window into my 15 years married to a pastor.
Generally in life there aren’t to many situations I detest more than job interviews. Given a choice I’d probably rather face up to a 1980’s West Indian pace attack. Pastoral job interviews where the spouse is present are however somewhat different. It’s a classic paradox of being interviewed and yet not, of judging and yet being open to the call, and balancing the notion of simply being along for the ride with the knowledge that this could well drastically alter my daily circumstances.
All of this was swirling through my brain when in November of 2006 the following question came my way. “So James, how do you see yourself contributing to ministry in the context of being the pastor’s husband? Several responses instantly presented themselves in my mind, some conforming to what I thought the expectations behind the question were. There is a lot of largely invisible cultural baggage surrounding the role of a pastor’s wife and as a male I feel this acutely at times. It was this more than anything that informed my response when I paused for a second and then said, “well I don’t do scones”. The interviewer practically fell off his chair as he momentarily lost his composure before the interview continued.
The other interview experience worth mentioning was when I was asked if I’m musical. At face value this is a fair enough question, it’s nice that the were inquiring into my interests. As always though, contexts is king and had I answered yes, I would have instantly found myself on the music roster. Pretty impressive really given that my wife hadn’t officially been offered the job at that point.
Fifteen years of lived experience in pastoral ministry has certainly thrown up its fair share of rather interesting situations. Whilst it’s true that for a lot of the time it can feel like I’m living ministry vicariously through my wife, some instances this is definitely not the case. One such time occurred during the time we were living at the now closed down Whitley student residential college. Essentially for close on 3 years we were pseudo parents for 130 18-21 year olds. Never has the term being on the job 24/7 been more appropriate.
It was the first time my parents had come to visit us at Whitley. Barely had we made cups of tea and sat down than the fire alarms stared blaring. This of course necessitated an immediate evacuation. Added into the mix was the fact that fire warden was one of the responsibilities of my wife. She instantly jumped up and was out the door, leaving me to escort my somewhat bewildered parents across the courtyard, and out onto the street. I ended up just telling them amidst all the chaos to get in their car and drive home which quite frankly didn’t go down too well.
This piece would of course not be complete without a story or two about the trials and tribulations of living in a manse itself. The most notable incident happened when our heating system literally blew up and needed to be totally replaced. Quite the expense and also in the middle of a Melbourne winter cold snap. Three weeks elapsed before we again had heating due to and impasse between tradespeople not being willing to deal with us given we weren’t the owners of the property and the church putting it back on us to organise a replacement.
There was also the time during a church lunch when a member of the congregation took it upon themselves to conduct a tour for some new people through literally every room in the house.
In amongst all the situations that ministry throws our way there are some constants that keep repeating. Being mistaken for the pastor at Baptist Union gatherings. Many a time I have had a conversation with the underlying assumption being that I’m the pastor. I must admit I do secretly enjoy gauging reactions when I tell people that I’m not and it’s my wife who is. The classic was when I was asked how I go with my wife preaching from the pulpit. I said fine, she’s a great preacher. I only realised later that what was meant was how did I go theologically with that. I’ll leave you to judge what the answer is to that question.
These few anecdotes barely even touch the surface of being the spouse of a pastor and looking back over the fifteen years I really had very little idea of what I was getting myself in for, however I wouldn’t swap it for the world. The roller coaster ride that is pastoral ministry continues on.
The Big LAN, hosted by Mitcham Baptist, is one of its kind in Victoria. At a LAN Party there are over 100 connections to a local network, a twelve-hour program of staggered tournaments, a virtual reality room, prizes galore, food, stalls, welcome bags, and a host of volunteers to register, cook, serve, problem shoot and make a memorable event for local gamers. An event of this size is usually a commercial undertaking, but The Big LAN team have borrowed, pulled favours and networked to provide a low-cost gathering for gamers to meet face-to-face, while enjoying their shared hobby.
Jacob Rayment, a member of Mitcham Baptist, is the man behind the idea and the one drawing together all the elements to make this event a success. As a teenager, Jacob found it hard to engage in local hobby groups. “I didn’t play any instruments, the only sport I played was tennis which, as an individual game, didn’t really help me socialise, and I wasn’t really into the loud and energetic nature of the local youth groups. I much preferred to sit at home on my computer playing video games.” His youth pastor at the time noticed that Jacob wasn’t alone in his interests and started what became a popular video games event at his church. This had a positive impact and has contributed to Jacob’s inspiration for the Big LAN.
Jacob was brought up as a pastor’s kid, and closely involved in church-life. He has noted that the gaming community (which comprises over 2.2 billion people worldwide) has been viewed by outsiders as anti-social or asocial. And this perception has only imbedded more as online gaming has become increasingly accessible and isolating. “The reality is though, that gamers need social interaction just as much as anyone else, they need friends that share their hobbies. The goal of The Big LAN is simply to provide events that people can come along, play games, and meet other people with similar hobbies.”
At a time where many have lost trust in churches, it is hoped that an event like this might help participants to see Christians for who they are. But, Jacob’s vision provides a challenge for all involved. He hopes to see the church stretched beyond its usual activities to find a unique way of making itself available to the community. “I think that a lot of churches have struggled to progress as society has progressed around them. Everything is digital now and we need to find more ways of connecting with people where they’re at, and for a big part of the community (especially young-adult males) computer games is where they’re at.”
Look out for more from The Big LAN. After a successful first event in October 2019, and an excellent follow up in January, the aim is to run The Big LAN every quarter in 2020. “We hope to become a staple of the community and have Mitcham Baptist known as the place you can go for a good LAN Party.” Event information is available at https://thebiglan.com
The Big LAN, hosted by Mitcham Baptist, is one of its kind in Victoria. At a LAN Party there are over 100 connections to a local network, a twelve-hour program of staggered tournaments, a virtual reality room, prizes galore, food, stalls, welcome bags, and a host of volunteers to register, cook, serve, problem shoot and make a memorable event for local gamers. An event of this size is usually a commercial undertaking, but The Big LAN team have borrowed, pulled favours and networked to provide a low-cost gathering for gamers to meet face-to-face, while enjoying their shared hobby.
Jacob Rayment, a member of Mitcham Baptist, is the man behind the idea and the one drawing together all the elements to make this event a success. As a teenager, Jacob found it hard to engage in local hobby groups. “I didn’t play any instruments, the only sport I played was tennis which, as an individual game, didn’t really help me socialise, and I wasn’t really into the loud and energetic nature of the local youth groups. I much preferred to sit at home on my computer playing video games.” His youth pastor at the time noticed that Jacob wasn’t alone in his interests and started what became a popular video games event at his church. This had a positive impact and has contributed to Jacob’s inspiration for the Big LAN.
Jacob was brought up as a pastor’s kid, and closely involved in church-life. He has noted that the gaming community (which comprises over 2.2 billion people worldwide) has been viewed by outsiders as anti-social or asocial. And this perception has only imbedded more as online gaming has become increasingly accessible and isolating. “The reality is though, that gamers need social interaction just as much as anyone else, they need friends that share their hobbies. The goal of The Big LAN is simply to provide events that people can come along, play games, and meet other people with similar hobbies.”
At a time where many have lost trust in churches, it is hoped that an event like this might help participants to see Christians for who they are. But, Jacob’s vision provides a challenge for all involved. He hopes to see the church stretched beyond its usual activities to find a unique way of making itself available to the community. “I think that a lot of churches have struggled to progress as society has progressed around them. Everything is digital now and we need to find more ways of connecting with people where they’re at, and for a big part of the community (especially young-adult males) computer games is where they’re at.”
Look out for more from The Big LAN. After a successful first event in October 2019, and an excellent follow up in January, the aim is to run The Big LAN every quarter in 2020. “We hope to become a staple of the community and have Mitcham Baptist known as the place you can go for a good LAN Party.” Event information is available at https://thebiglan.com
Source: BUV News
Surrey Hills Baptist Children’s Centre (SHBCC) connects with over 120 families each year through its Kindergarten and Childcare programs. The Centre maintains a Christian presence in its community and describes itself as “A place of faith and early learning.” Over 250 of the children and families of the Centre attended the 2019 end of year Christmas celebration for community connection, celebration of the year and re-telling of the nativity story. The leadership of the Centre imagined a creative re-enactment of the story where parents would be spontaneously scripted into the story, given costumes and lines on the spot and engaged in the re-telling of Jesus birth, while others played musical instruments and sang well known carols throughout the reenactment. With much laughter and fun parents were given costumes and played the various roles as the story was narrated.
As the story concluded and the costumes were being packed away a mother who had played the role as the Inn Keeper approached the Centre’s Director and asked if they could speak further. The mother started, “I have been the Inn Keeper in a play that I don’t understand. Can you explain to me what I was just a part of?” The Director took one of the Children’s nativity books from the Reception display and opened it to re-tell the story of the birth of Jesus once more. As the story was read the Director spoke of her own experience of the good news of Jesus birth that the angels announced to the Shepherds. She spoke of how He had forgiven and changed her life and offered her hope. She went on to speak of how Jesus came to offer hope to all of humanity without exception and that all are welcome to join in and receive the forgiveness He offers. As the mother heard all of this she was prompted with more questions, “So it’s not a made-up story? It actually happened? Jesus really was born and lived for these reasons?” “Yes, it is a true story, an actual historical event” the Director replied. The mother asked again, “So this is what Christian faith is about? This is your faith?” “Yes” the Director replied. As the mother paused to reflect on all that she had re-enacted, heard and seen in the Children’s picture story book she had one more question, “Why has nobody ever told me this before?”
The declaration of the good news of Jesus birth by the angels to the Shepherds in the field was good news to the ears of the Shepherds 2000 years ago and it is still good news to those who truly hear it today. Nothing has changed in the power, authority, freedom and hope of this good news message. Our culture may know of the story but we are called to be the people who carry it in ways that allow others to truly hear it and experience all of the good that this news brings.
Source: BUV News
