SEEKING RENEWAL
WHAT'S NEXT FOR OUR CHURCH?

Our church is in a season of renewal. God is renewing us in many ways so that we can see His Kingdom come both now and into the future. After over 20 years of faithful ministry, Ian Jones concluded his ministry. This left the church an opportunity to discover who they might be in the next season. To help facilitate this, an Intentional Interim Pastor was appointed to work with the church in discerning the vision together.

THE GOD WHO RENEWS
HOW DID GOD SPEAK TO US?

We don't simply come up with a vision; it needs to be discerned. It needs to be God's vision for God's church. We embarked on 21 days of prayer and fasting to seek God's will for our church. At the conclusion of this, many hearts were drawn to Matthew 5:14-16, where we are called to be a light to the world! It was clear that we were being called to be a beacon of God's light in our community and beyond.

RENEWED MISSION
WHY DO WE EXIST?

Knowing how God had been speaking, it was clear that God was clarifying our purpose; to shine the light of Jesus. Our church mission is to shine the light of Jesus and reveal His kingdom in our city and beyond.

RENEWED VALUES
HOW WILL WE BE KNOWN?

We discerned our values; those things that make this church unique and special.

  • We value DIVERSITY
  • We value HUMILITY
  • We value being MISSIONAL
  • We value ENCOURAGEMENT
  • We value UNITY
  • We value AUTHENTICITY
RENEWED IDENTITY
WHAT IS OUR IDENTITY?

In a new season, God can sometimes lead to a new identity. If we are going to be shining our light in this community we need to unashamedly make it known who we are. An identity with clarity which can stay with the church both now and into the future. We believe that Church @ The Gabba should move to being Woolloongabba Baptist Church.

RENEWED APPEARANCE
HOW WILL WE BEEN SEEN?

Part of fulfilling our mission to shine the light of Jesus means that we need to be seen and recognised in our community. Unfortunately, one of the most common pieces of feedback we receive is that people didn't even know our church was there. With roughly 27,000 cars passing us just on Stanley street everyday, we should be known. We need to have a facility which is visible and is clearly a church building.

RENEWED FACILITY
HOW WILL WE USE OUR RESOURCES?

We have a very large facility for a church our size. We need to utilise the resources we have been blessed with. Below are some plans which will show some possible changes to be made so that we are able to use our facility more effectively and respond to the needs of our church family.

VIEW LEVEL ONE PLANS VIEW LEVEL TWO PLANS
RENEWED MINISTRY
WHAT WILL WE BE DOING?

Our church really is making an impact throughout the week, particularly through the Mustard Seed (our Church Community Centre). Although this is wonderful, it has been long felt as though there is a disconnect between the Mustard Seed and the wider church. The Mustard Seed moving under the same roof removes barriers from people one day coming to the church.

There is also a growing sense that we need to focus on our Children's and Youth ministries. With many more babies being born, this is an area of growth which should be fostered.

RENEWED VISION
WHERE ARE WE GOING?

More information to come...

RENEWED TEAM
WHAT'S THE MOST EFFECTIVE STAFF MAKEUP?

We have been served by wonderful staff over many years. There have been different seasons of the church which required different staff makeups, and God has blessed us abundantly. To achieve what we believe God is calling us to, we need a staff team who is able to help lead us into the future. With several areas of operations needing attention (including facility developments), and a need to develop our ministry to Kids & Youth, we are proposing the following staff structure:

  • Full-time Senior Pastor
  • Full-time Operations & Generations Pastor
  • Part-time Community Worker

This is a smaller team than the church has sometimes had, however we also have a great team of volunteers who very kindly fill many of the gaps so that our leaders can focus on the main thing.

WHERE TO FROM HERE?
WHAT WILL BE HAPPENING NOW?

On 26th July we will be having Vision Sunday, where we will be speaking about much of this in great detail. Please come along as we celebrate what God is doing.

On the 2nd August, we will be holding beginning our new series, City On A Hill, and will have our Annual General Meeting to discuss many of these things and vote on some of these items. We encourage everyone who calls our church "Home" to come along.

Please pray. Pray for our leaders, pray for our church and also pray about how God might have you serve as we move forward together. Pray about what you might be able to give as well. A big vision can be daunting, but we serve a big God who can accomplish great things in and through His people.

For any questions, please email david@gabbachurch.org