Bourne Evangelical Church Trustee’s Report 2021-2022
Trustees: Nadine Wetz, David Ta/ersall and Jacob Wright
1. Charity ObjecAves and AcAviAes
Bourne Evangelical Church exists for the advancement of the Chris@an faith within Bourne and the surrounding areas in accordance with its cons@tu@on and basis of faith. This includes provision of a place of mee@ng for public worship of God via preaching and teaching of the Bible. Communion, prayer, praise, fellowship and alms-giving including evangelis@c outreach and discipleship.
a) providing a place for worship for ecclesias@cal ac@vi@es
b) providing Chris@an resources for the wider community
c) engaging the general public through evangelism
d) offering short courses on the Chris@an faith
Programs for support of members
a) weekly Bible teaching sessions b) weekly prayer groups
c) pastoral care, visits and calls
d) advanced discipleship training for members
- e) ac@vi@es for bonding and personal growth
2. Membership: reminder of obligaAons
Church Handbook 2.1.9
Membership brings with it certain privileges and responsibili@es. The privileges are iden@fied as membership of the local Body of Christ in all its work and worship, to be able to partake in discussing and agreeing the way in which the local Church should move forward and fulfil its Biblical role in the local community and the benefit of Pastoral care.
The obliga@ons of membership are to submit to the authority and leadership of the Pastor and/or Elders and Deacons in accordance with the provisions of this Church Handbook and the Cons@tu@on, to par@cipate in the work of the Church and its ac@vi@es, to a/end mee@ngs regularly, to bear each other up before the Lord in prayer, and to share in the financial needs of the Church. In par@cular, this will involve:
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Regular a/endance at Sunday worship. (Acts 20:7, Heb. 10:25)
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Regular personal prayer and Bible study. (2 Tim 3:15-17, Phil. 4:6)
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Regular a/endance, when possible, at the main weekday mee@ng of the Church for prayer, Bible study and fellowship. (Acts 1:14, 2:42)
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Sharing in the life, work and witness of the local Church. (Rom. 1:16, 1 Cor. 15:58)
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Regular giving to the local Church and the Lord’s work in general. (1 Cor. 16:2, 2 Cor. 9:6-7)
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The showing of Chris@an love and concern, both for the members of the Church family and for the community at large. (John 13:35, 1 Thess. 3:12)
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An endeavour to live a life consistent with the faith we profess. (Rom. 6:1-2, Eph. 4:1)
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Regular a/endance at the Lord’s Supper. (Acts 2:42, 20:7)
3. - MeeAng Charity objecAves and acAviAes
Advancement of the ChrisAan faith. BEC has a rolling contract with the URC which secures BEC with a regular place of worship, for ecclesias@cal ac@vi@es. Despite COVID restric@ons overall congrega@onal a/endance has grown, some through transference from other local congrega@ons. The use of ZOOM mee@ngs is now a fixture of outreach, providing weekly and daily access to prayer groups and bible study reaching people who would otherwise be unable to a/end a physical mee@ng. The BEC YouTube channel has also seen increase with now 86 subscribers compared to our local church membership of 14 people.
Programs of support for members and non-members – Following a long absence of physical interac@on due to ongoing COVID restric@ons, BEC has been able to resume some ac@vi@es including a monthly joint “Fenlands men’s breakfast”. It is hoped the inter-church Fenlands Evangelical Network will provide further social interac@on among membership through outreach, fellowship, teaching and camps. A weekly toddler’s group was started in late 2021 and has proved especially popular with local parents. BEC hopes to expand this area of Ministry in 2022.
Support of other users - BEC rents the facility from the URC. BEC members con@nue to support the URC with building maintenance carrying out various tasks, from gardening to vermin control. BEC is also working with the Food Bank (who also rent part of this facility) with a view to removing the stage area and replacing ro/en wooden floors.
Long term investments - future proofing technology within the Church has seen the purchase of a new PC and hanging microphones. Par@cular a/en@on has been given to those watching lone via ZOOM providing for a much-improved online experience. There is a growing possibility that the Chapel and Church Hall will become available for purchase within the next 18-24 months. Enquiries into how funding might be raised is ongoing.
Evangelism - Sadly the local council banned all religious ac@vity on the market, thus market outreach has been curtailed since the first lockdown in 2020. The Christmas carol service went ahead as a joint FEN service and was extremely well a/ended. With the support of Calvary Bap@st Peterborough householders around Eastgate were leaf-let dropped highligh@ng services at Eastgate. Literature dispensers placed at the church entrance while ini@ally popular with passersby have experienced some vandalism. The addi@on of “CCTV warning” signs seem to have curtailed this.
RenovaAon of the gallery – The completed “upper room” serves as a Pastor’s office and resource room. Over the course of 2021 large amounts of books were donated and various
trade accounts set up which have afforded a good selec@on of books, gins, and resources. In line with charity objec@ves and the Church vision it is hoped that the upper room will become a drop in hub for both members and non-members in the local community.
Minister – The current Minister/Pastor of BEC has announced his resigna@on as of 16[th] January 2022. He will con@nue as interim Minister un@l a new Minister is located aner which he hopes to maintain his posi@on as “elder” and drop into the role of resident theologian/ associate Pastor. Due to addi@onal commitments the current Minister has announced a cutoff date of December 31[st] 2022. The trustees will endeavor to locate a new Minister through adver@sing this posi@on. One hindrance to success is the inability to provide a full s@pend for the Minister. However, it is hoped the successful candidate will be either self-funded through mission or able to operate as a bi-voca@onal Minister.
The trustees and BEC members remain commi/ed to the advancement of the Chris@an faith within Bourne and its surrounding areas in accordance with its cons@tu@on and basis of faith and look forward to a prosperous and blessed 2022/23.
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