BCNE News
The latest news from our network of New England churches. Looking for our New England Perspectives Articles? Click here.
Three keys to keeping long-term mission partners
There’s no doubt about it, energetic volunteer mission teams are one of the best resources to give a boost to your church’s ministry. Every year scores of churches, mostly from the South, send teams to New England. Unfortunately, some of these do just one project and never return, while others come back year after year and accomplish an enormous amount of good. What is the difference?
Fruitful ministry hides in plain sight
It’s like searching everywhere for your glasses while wearing them on your head, or looking for your cell phone while holding it in your hand: sometimes we overlook fruitful places of ministry located right in front of us. You could say they are hidden in plain sight.
SC Baptist meet New England needs during pandemic
It didn’t take long for New England Baptists to realize that the quarantining was going to last longer than a couple of weeks – and that the climate created by the pandemic was making people in search of hope more open to hearing the Gospel.
But with giving down in most local churches and an indefinite freeze on over $180,000 in evangelism and church planting development funds from national partner NAMB, what could be done?
Using the church for the community
It was a few years ago. It was hard to believe that we were genuinely considering selling our large beautiful facility, including our 1,100-person 19th century sanctuary. At an annual meeting in our much smaller church chapel, we had an open discussion about the future of our facility. Many expressed Spirit-filled statements of the church being more than a facility. It was a good time of reflecting on who we are without 217 Main Street. At the same time, members expressed the heartfelt blessing that both the location and the beauty of the facility had been for us. It was a spiritually mature conversation.
Kingdom collaboration: raising, maintaining and honoring partners
Anything Kingdom-sized in our lives and ministries will require Kingdom collaboration. While I have learned so much over the past twelve years of church planting, including four years of planting in New England, that one reality would be near the top of my list.
Youth must be on mission, too
We had just finished roasting marshmallows over the charcoal grill—the coals still hot from the amazing Brazilian BBQ we had eaten. We were all outside, sitting spaced out in a circle, trying our best to do youth group in the “new normal.” But this week I had a challenge for the teens. I announced that we would be helping to launch a brand new youth group on the South Shore of Boston.
Seven fast facts about New England for volunteer mission teams
According to the 2017 Gallup Poll, New England is the least religious region in America. In fact, Gallup found that the four least religious states in American are all located in New England: Vermont is the least religious, then Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts. According to the Barna Group, the five most post-Christian cities in America are all located in New England: Springfield, Massachusetts; Portland, Maine; Providence, Rhode Island; Burlington, Vermont; and Boston, Massachusetts. There is no place in America in greater spiritual need than New England. That is why mission teams like yours are so important! Thank you for being mission partners with us in New England!
Welcoming international students into our lives — and our church
It wasn’t all that different than every other year. My plate overflowed with turkey, gravy, and stuffing, followed by pumpkin pie—and more pumpkin pie. In many ways my twenty-six previous Thanksgivings all blend together into a blur of food, family and football. But this year was different. My twenty-seventh Thanksgiving aligned with another group’s first Thanksgiving, creating a moment that was so much bigger than food or football. It was truly a unique family moment, even though I was not related to a single person in the room.