LEAD PASTOR ' S REPORT
In a year of so much change and uncertainty , I am pleased to share how God has been our sure and steady rock and has been at work through us changing lives for his Glory . In the pages that follow , you will read stories of the expansion of the Kingdom of God in people ’ s hearts and the sustained health of the Church and missional impact as a result .
I believe there ’ s no greater decision a person can make than to say ‘ Yes ’ to following Jesus and ‘ Yes ’ to continually following Him . This year 17 people have put their faith in Jesus for the very first time and 24 people baptised . Praise God ! I am continually grateful for the way God is using us for his kingdom purposes , but I wonder what would happen if a greater number of RBC people were to grow in boldness to share Jesus with their friends , invite someone to Alpha or to invite a friend to read the bible with them . It is my prayer that God will further grow us in stewarding the gospel well .
This year we have seen a few staffing changes . Sam Whitwell finished up after 4 years of faithfully investing into RBC ’ s Youth & Young Adults and the Connect & Care life of our Church . We thank Sam and pray God ’ s richest blessing on him , Holly & Luka . Gem Girasoli also finished up in her role as founding Cafe Manager in order to welcome her first child into the world . We thank Gem and John for all the hard work they did to establish and create a cafe that makes a difference in the community . We also welcomed onto team Jessey Beck as our new Cafe Manager and we look forward to the way she will develop this ministry for the good of RBC and our wider community .
It has been exciting to see a number of our leaders take significant steps in their discipleship and ministry development within our Baptist Movement this year . Sunny Kwak was granted Recognised Pastor status within our movement in light of her leadership of our Korean Community . Natasha Pillay , Ann Wong and Mickey Gonzalez have successfully completed the Baptist Churches SA Leadership Internship and Mike Harris has completed his Accredited Ministry Formation Peer Group requirements and moves another year closer to being an Accredited Pastor within our movement . Please take a moment to celebrate with Sunny , Tash , Ann , Mickey and Mike for continuing to advance their leadership journey and development in the midst of the challenges faced in 2020 .
There ’ s no doubt about it , due to Covid-19 , this year has been like no other . But for all the disruptions , challenges and changes of this year , I believe as a Church we have responded with faith , grace , selflessness , prayerfulness , agility , generosity , love and care and this is important to celebrate !
I want to especially acknowledge Mike Harris and the Worship & Tech Team who have done an incredible job moving us online so we can continue to connect , worship & open God ’ s word together and to expand our digital mission through RBC Online . I want to also thank everyone who sacrificially honoured God to support God ’ s mission here at RBC . To everyone who serves in any capacity on Team RBC - I give you my heartfelt thanks . To the Elders Council who have governed diligently , the ministry team who have sacrificed so much and to the entire family who call RBC their family , I thank God for each of you . Let us be a people who believe for 100s & 1000s of people to come to know Jesus through the life of this church in the years to come !
Grace & Peace
Dan Beasy