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Church Profile Tillicoultry Baptist Church - September 2020

Where we’ve come from

What is now known as Tillicoultry Baptist Church began in 1892. For over 20 years the church shared a minister with Alva Baptist church just along the road. Some enthusiastic families joined the faithful members of the church in the early 1990s and a time of growth began. In 1997 a part-time minister and later an associate pastor were called. For the past 9 years a full time minister served the church, then in 2019 he was called to another congregation.

We are part of the Baptist Union of Scotland and subscribe to its declaration of principle. Our church constitution has been recently updated and agreed, and details our membership requirements. We adhere to Believer’s baptism, but do not require it for membership, and all who know and love Jesus are welcome at the Communion table.

We believe we are called to Love God, Love one another and Make Disciples.

The Church building is conveniently situated on the High Street of this small commuter town of just under 6000 people of a wide social mix. After replacing the roof because of some issues in 2018 we have renovated and redecorated, making the sanctuary a fresh, inviting space for services and socialising.

There are 3 other churches in the town (two without a minister at time of compiling this profile) with good cooperation between us all

We are a church of around 85 members and a good number of regular visitors. There is a mix of all ages and life stages. Most attendees will be involved in at least one of the regular church activities.

Leadership and organisation

The church leadership consists of Elders and Ministry Team Leaders who have responsibility for different aspects of church life. These are...

  • Prayer
  • Worship
  • Hospitality
  • Facilities
  • Finance
  • Pastoral Care
  • Mission
  • Youth and Children’s work

We aim to provide appropriate Children’s Sunday School classes for children up to early secondary school age and the arrangements change depending on need every year. There is also a varied schedule of small groups throughout the week.

We currently employ a Youth Development Worker.

Who are we?

We believe that no group of people is just “one thing”. We are diverse in outlook, and stages of life and faith. This is a source of strength, but makes it challenging to fit us in a box! What follows is a series of statements - an attempt to describe the character and complexity of our church community!

Love God

We have great musicians and worship leaders and love sung worship together • AND YET • We sometimes struggle with depth of encounter with God, and know there’s more to experience in ways other than singing

We invest heavily in Sunday morning services and do “church” well • AND YET • We wonder if there is a need to explore new ways of being church and rethink our priorities

We are open to the works and gifts of the Holy Spirit amongst us • AND YET • We are sometimes unsure of how to really step out into those things

We can tend to be more activists than visionaries • AND YET • We long for a sense of God’s leading and calling directing all our activity

We see the value of prayer and contemplation • AND YET • We sometimes resist the call to slow down and make space to hear from God

We are willing to serve and are in this for the long haul • AND YET • We are not all aware of our giftings and callings from God

Love One another

We love good coffee, times of community and eating together • AND YET • We don’t always succeed in ensuring everyone feels included

We are a group of competent, capable hard workers who get stuck in • AND YET • We sometimes struggle with taking on too much and getting burnout on activity

We are aware of our wounds and scars from past challenges • AND YET • We continue to trust in the God who heals

We are welcoming of difference and are inclusive • AND YET • We can shy away from tackling the big issues to avoid internal conflict

We don’t like to be told what to do • AND YET • We will follow a clear vision once we trust someone and believe that it’s from God

We aim to discern God’s will as a whole church • AND YET • We face challenges of ensuring not just the loudest voices are heard

We believe in the priesthood of all believers • AND YET • We know that sometimes we are expressing our own opinions and preferences rather than being led by the Spirit

We highly value unity and togetherness • AND YET • We worry that this can slow down decision making and action

We take care of one another and have a strong sense of pastoral care • AND YET • We have been challenged to see that as a whole church responsibility

Make Disciples

We value good preaching and Bible teaching • AND YET • We don’t see always see that translate that to changed lives of true discipleship

We are connected to our community with a reputation for openness and service • AND YET • We don’t always have confidence to share the Good News of Jesus and long to see more come to faith

We are committed to our young people in and outside church • AND YET • We worry about their future relationship with faith and church community

We are aware of our call to be good stewards of creation • AND YET • We struggle with the challenges of becoming more ecologically sound

We are passionate about God’s mission to the whole world, here and overseas • AND YET • We sometimes see it as something for the “special Christians” to get involved in

We are growing in maturity, aware that we are all at different stages of our faith journeys • AND YET • We are aware of our need for ongoing discipleship so we become more like Jesus

And so (what we do)...

Sundays

  • Regular Sunday morning services - generally a traditional mix of sung worship, sermon, children’s talk, prayers and coffee time
  • Sunday evening meetings for prayer - a regular time to pray for family members and spend time hearing from God
  • Sunday morning pre-service prayer times
  • Children’s work during the Sunday service
  • During lockdown, we moved to pre-recorded services, with a similar format to an “in person” service. These can be viewed on YouTube, as well as some home recorded songs. We are keen to explore how we can continue this online presence as the world slowly returns to normal.

Children and Youth

  • Schools work with Scripture union in the primary and high schools
  • Youth work - pre-lockdown Tuesday youth club for young people in the community
  • Sunday evening youth nights including Youth Alpha
  • Holiday Clubs during school holidays
  • Afternoon activities during holidays, including free film afternoons/crafts etc
  • Schools work with SU groups in primary and secondary schools
  • Connection with other local churches and some joint work ongoing
  • Trips to Powerpoint, Soul Survivor and other events well supported

Small Groups

Small groups are an important part of what we do, with a good number of members involved in one

Outreach

  • Alpha courses
  • Game nights open to the community
  • Community meals - welcoming those outside church in for relaxed meals together
  • Christmas concerts and community events in collaboration with the community council and other local groups
  • Gala day - practical help with set up, and prayer and free coffee tents
  • Community Week
  • good visible engagement with community - good reputation in the town

Social Engagement

  • CAP debt centre with local volunteers and financial support
  • Community larder - new project providing emergency food supplies during Covid-19 (Strong links with local Food bank and neighbouring village • Uniform bank through the summer)

Overseas Mission

BMS mission partners financially supported and supported in prayer

Many members of the congregation are involved in world mission:

  • We’ve supported a number of our young people doing BMS Gap year trips
  • YWAM leadership team members in the congregation
  • Vine Trust - including Amazon Hope
  • Seafarers Mission
  • International Nepal Fellowship
  • Gideon’s UK leadership team members

And now...

(Where are we going)

We want to experience deeper, more transformational spiritual lives, and to see growth in our walk with God

We believe that the old ways of doing church may need to change to engage with our world as it is now, however unsettling and challenging that may be

We want to leave behind past hurts, and move into the future with healing, confidence and hope in God.

We want to maintain our unity through potentially significant changes and new ways as the church adapts to meet the needs of a post-covid and post-Christian Scotland

We want meaningful connections with those outside our walls, not just charity work but real relationships which in turn can connect them with God.

We want to be more effective in reaching our community with the Good News of Jesus and are willing to try new things to see that happen

We want to see our young people inspired to find faith, hope and purpose and come into relationship with God

We want to see knowledge and teaching and depth of understanding translate into changed lives

We want to be more inclusive and accepting of people not like us, being more like Jesus, friend of sinners, and allowing the Holy Spirit to work in their lives.

We want to be confident that anyone, of any social group, race, gender, sexuality or level of faith, feels comfortable and at home in our church and that we present no barrier to them encountering God for themselves

We want to build on some of the online work we’ve had to adopt during lockdown, aware that it has allowed some who would not visit church on a Sunday to hear the Good News of Jesus.

Tillicoultry Baptist Church • 163 High Street • Tillicoultry • FK13 6DE

Charity No: SC021255

www.TillicoultryBaptist.org