Our mission

Jesus said: "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you."

Matthew 28:19-20 (NIV)

Mission Policy

We believe fervently in the uniqueness of the gospel of Jesus Christ. This gospel alone has the power to change lives and reconcile sinners to God. Our goal as a church is to fulfill the commission of the Lord Jesus to preach this gospel and to make disciples of all nations. We are committed to the evangelisation of all peoples and will actively work in partnership with all who are distinctively and uncompromisingly evangelical.

We believe that the church has a responsibilty both to encourage support and prayer for specific individuals and agencies and to ensure increasing awareness of the growth of God's kingdom in all areas of the world. The church uses the title "World Vision" to emphasise the importance of both of these priorities.

The church as a whole should therefore be informed and challenged about world mission through:

the regular pulpit ministry
invited missionary speakers
regular inclusion of prayer needs in the church Prayer Diary and weekly notice sheets
the sharing of news from private correspondence and news letters
attendance at conferences
literature, videos and other promotional material supplied by missions
books about world mission in the church library
visits to missionaries "in the field" as opportunities arise

Members of the Sunday School and Bible Class should be informed about world mission and encouraged to give practical support - through prayer, offerings and writing to the children of missionaries, for example.

Prayer

At the heart of our practical involvement in world mission is regular, informed prayer. The monthly Prayer Diary should be a stimulus to pray daily for world mission in our private devotions. Likewise, the missionary notice board should carry current news of the missionaries we support as a church to stimulate intelligent prayer.

The mid-week Bible Study and Prayer meeting should be a forum for the sharing of missionary news and a focus for corporate prayer for world mission. News can also be brought to the church at Sunday services and prayer can be offered up as part of our worship.

Special events

We aim to host occasional special events with a world vision focus to which we can invite visitors from other churches. We consider it important to support such events hosted by other churches. Church members should be encouraged to attend missionary conferences, and funding will be made available as the need arises.

Information

Members are encouraged to receive and read literature such as magazines, news letters and biographies of missionaries.

The Missionary Notice board is regularly maintained and used to identify those individuals and agencies directly supported by the church. Other display boards are used where appropriate to draw particular attention to specific news or prayer needs

Members are encouraged to be in correspondence with at least one person or family occupied full-time in world mission.

Area Representatives

With particular interest in one geographical area of the world, church members are nominated as "Area Representatives" responsible for the communication of news and prayer needs both of supported individuals and agencies, and of Christian work around the world.

The Area Representatives meet regularly and share resposibility for:

maintenance of the Missionary Notice board
inclusion of information in the monthly Prayer Diary and weekly notice sheet
encouraging informed private and corporate prayer for missionaries and their work
organising up to six missionary prayer meetings per year
developing the missionary section of the church Library
encouraging the reading of missionary books, magazines and other literature
management of missionary literature in the World Vision display rack

The elders

The elders seek actively to promote interest in world mission by all of the means outlined above. They will identify and encourage the development of spiritual gifts which are appropriate to members' potential involvement in world mission.

Call of a church member

The elders have the primary responsibility for assessing a call to full-time involvement in world mission on the part of a church member. However, the decision concerning the sending of a church member to the mission field should be taken by the church membership as a whole.

Financial support

The financial support of world mission is an imperative. We aim to use at least one tenth of the church's total annual income for the support of missionary work beyond our locality. Priority will be given to the support of church members who are involved full-time in world mission.

Members are encouraged to direct any personal financial commitments to specific missionary causes through the church offering. In this way the gifts are seen to have come from the church as a whole. It also makes it easier to regulate the allocation of other funds.

The elders and deacons may respond to a specific request for funds, although if a very large sum is involved, the matter would be brought to a church members' meeting.

Specific offerings for mission work will normally be held at least once per year. The potential recipients of the funds from such offerings are to be named before the offering takes place.

Support Policy

We shall apply the following principles in deciding whether or not to support a particular mission work.

The work should wherever possible:

be theologically in sympathy with UBC
have been brought to our attention through a God-given personal contact
be a strategic ministry in genuine need
be closely linked to local churches
have our confidence in its administration of financial gifts
have the support of the members of UBC as a body
be part of a balanced portfolio of missionary interests

Current interests

As a church we aim to broaden our interest in world mission as much as possible. As well as supporting the work of Grace Baptist Mission and agencies supporting persecuted Christians around the world, the church maintains personal links with:

Ruth: Teaching in the Far East
Steve and Tibby Westcott: In the USA with New Tribes Misson
Branko and Rada: In Serbia
The Grace Third World Fund: Caring for homeless orphan children in India. Providing education and training in practical life-skills Grace Third World Fund
Barnabas Fund: supporting the persecuted church Barnabas Fund
Liz Rajo: Baptist Biblical Seminary of Madagascar
Caring for Life: A charity "Sharing the love of Jesus" by providing homes, support, therapeutic activities and love Caring for Life in Leeds
Derek and Audrey Newton: with International Christian College in Glasgow
Chester Schools Christian Work: Chester Schools Christian Work
Good News Broadcasting Association: Good News Broadcasting Association

Objectives of Evangelism

One of the primary goals of this church under God is to fulfil the commission of the Lord Jesus Christ to preach the gospel and make disciples. We believe that in the preaching of the gospel by all legitimate means, God is glorified and His name is exalted. We believe that the following objectives best express the priorities by which this commission is to be fulfilled by us, and that every member shares the responsibility of ensuring that they are achieved.

To focus church outreach towards people of all ages in the Upton area
To train and involve every member of the church in evangelism
To train and encourage church members in personal evangelism
To ensure continous informed prayer support for church evangelism
To provide a firm grounding in the basic truths of the faith for new disciples
To ensure that all the evangelistic activities of the church are effectively co-ordinated
To encourage world missionary concern, interest and prayer