What is InterMission?

InterMission is the ‘collective’ name of international and cross-cultural ministries at Narara Valley Baptist Church.

In Acts 1:8 Jesus commands His church (us) to be actively engaged in local, regional and global outreach. It is NVBC’s aim to proactively target each of these areas, none to the exclusion of others. NVBC ministries such as the Friendship Club and Donnison Street are great examples of local, community focused programs. InterMission ministries on the other hand, are cross-cultural initiatives that target the needs of unreached or under-reached people groups within our region and overseas.

The InterMission team aims to help NVBC to be informed, available and actively involved in God's Mission for the church. This includes helping NVBC to develop and maintain a strong mission culture and to promote, progress, equip and support ministries that align with NVBC’s mission strategy - R.E.A.C.H 
(Restoration / Evangelism - Education - Accommodation - Compassion / Justice - Health).

Several ministries and responsibilities lie under the InterMission umbrella. They include:

injustice (international justice) is the name of NVBC’s Social Justice Ministry. In Micah 6:8, God’s people were commanded to "act justly, love mercy and to walk humbly with their God". Jesus’ life amplifies the importance of this teaching as he consistently integrated evangelism with compassion and justice. Jesus’ heart for the downtrodden and marginalized is further highlighted in Matthew 23:23, when Jesus rebuked church leaders for ignoring “…the important matters of the law – justice, mercy and faithfulness”.

At NVBC, we recognize the importance of doing what we can - with what we have to be Jesus’ hands and feet in our broken and unjust world. The injustice team aims to help NVBC to address social injustice by stimulating awareness amongst our church family and facilitating activities that are capable of addressing global and cross-cultural problems. Social issues include global poverty, human trafficking, child exploitation and ethical consumerism.  

If you want to find out more about the injustice ministry or to help make a difference in our world, please contact team leaders Beck Wolski on 0423 615 524 or Beth Orton on 0418 486 608.

God certainly wants us to 'go' and make disciples of all nations... but

sometimes He brings the nations to us! Many Christians have a sincere desire to be involved in world missions but don't know how to help. Did you know that you can play a vital role on the Central Coast by befriending and ministering to international students?

International Friendship is an outreach ministry developed by NVBC and the University of Newcastle. Members of NVBC’s International Friendship team seek to support and show the love of Jesus to international students studying at the Ourimbah Campus.

If you would like to receive training and to become a part of this important local ministry please contact Sophia Gillings on 0425 413 123.

Sophia and the team
Crackneck Point - 2011

Boolarng is NVBC’s outreach and friendship ministry to the Purfleet Aboriginal community. Each year, ministry members from NVBC, Taree Baptist Church and other churches combine to run a summer camp for Aboriginal children at Purfleet near Taree. This well established ministry has been growing in popularity, size and impact since 1993.

Bob Boyd, Glenn and Ailsa Douglas are the coordinators of Boolarng. If you would like to know more about Boolarng, support one of the Purfleet children at our next summer camp or help in some other way, Bob can be contacted on 0403 333 923.

Unreached People Group Adoption - the Northern Thai

Mission experts have long urged churches to adopt an unreached people group and to direct mission resources to ministries and missionaries that support that group. This approach is strongly endorsed by Global Interation, the missionary arm of Australian Baptist Churches.

In 2007, NVBC adopted the Northern Thai (also known as the Khon Muang or 'Lan-na' people). There are approximately 6 million Khon Muang in Northern Thailand, a region that was once the independent kingdom of Lanna. Sandwiched between Burma and Siam, Lanna was captured and later annexed into Thailand in 1839. The Khon Muang have a culture, dialect and heritage that are distinct from other groups in Thailand. Today, rural families in the the north figure too prominently as victims of HIV/AIDS, human trafficking, poverty and family dysfunction. Less than 1% of Khon Muang know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour.

The Northern Thai are NVBC’s global priority and it is the aim of InterMission to make our people group adoption as substantial and meaningful as possible. To this end, NVBC currently supports the Morris family (currently serving as GiA consultants), Destiny Rescue (based in Northern Thailand) and the ‘Home of the Open Heart’ in Chiang Rai (see below).

Home of the Open Heart (baan nam jai)

'Baan Nam Jai' is a retreat and hospice for HIV/AIDS affected infants in Chiang Rai, Northern Thailand. This ministry has 3 key purposes:

1. To give HIV+ babies who cannot be cared for by relatives, a loving home in a small group home situation.
2. to offer self-contained accommodation for HIV+ mums to live independently with their baby; then hospice care when they are no longer able to live independently; and
3. to provide developmental support for families in the community with (or affected by) HIV/AIDS.

NVBC has been supporting Baan Nam Jai since 2007. If you want to know more about this important ministry, or feel led to provide financial support for Baan Nam Jai, please contact InterMission representative Steve Cawley on 0433 398 875. 

The Baan Naam Jai Hospice nearing completion.
Photographed Nov 2011.

In Romans 10, the Apostle Paul makes it clear that the church has a responsibility to send workers into the harvest. InterMission encourages members of NVBC to be ‘goers’; to help equip and send them into service, to support them in the field and to help them when they return.

In the same way that frontline soldiers need support from teams of helpers, there are numerous jobs that churches need to do to keep missionaries in the harvest. Amongst other things, InterMission provides (or arranges the provision of) moral, logistics, financial, prayer, communications and re-entry support.

Moral support – Joshua 1:9

Moral support is the foundation of the support system. Choosing to serve God in another culture or country is a significant decision and one that the enemy will try to block. Providing constructive counsel and encouragement to candidates and those in the field is an important part of InterMission’s support role.

Logistics support – 2 Timothy 4:13

This includes helping with domestic tasks (home country responsibilities) that need to be done while missionaries are overseas; sending care packages and other items.

Financial support – Philippians 4:10-12

NVBC partners financially with several missionaries and mission ministries. The InterMission team is responsible for managing and distributing these funds.

The team also seeks to raise finances through fundraising activities and recognized programs such as the collection and resale of used stamps. Last year, more than $65,000 was raised for GiA through this single activity. If you would like to help with missions fundraising or find out about the 'Leave Your Stamp on the World' program, feel free to contact InterMission rep Beth Lane at bethlane52@hotmail.com

Prayer support – Ephesians 6:18a

InterMission routinely supports missionaries in prayer, and encourages the church to do so. Each month, InterMission prayer points (formerly MAC moments) are forwarded to numerous people in our church family. See intermission - intercession below.

Communications support – Phillipians 2:19

The InterMission team aims to keep NVBC and our partner missionaries well connected through letters, emails, Skype, phonecalls, the bulletin, prayer requests and even visits!

Re-entry support – Acts 14:28

Re-entry is often the hardest part of a cross-cultural experience. Being able to provide strong re-entry support (i.e. helping returning missionaries to cope with emotional, physical and spiritual challenges) is an important and often under-appreciated need.

Currently, NVBC partners with the Morris family in Northern Thailand (currently in Australia), the Crane family in Mozambique and the Reurich family who work with impoverished communities in Canada.

SHORT-TERM MISSION TEAMS

InterMission helps to promote, support and oversight short-term and awareness mission trips that align with NVBC mission priorities and objectives.

It is often said that "the greatest answer to prayer is more prayer". It is certainly true that prayer is the lifeblood of missions ministries locally, regionally and globally. Directed, sustained prayer for our partner ministries and missionaries is a core function of InterMission. To facilitate churchwide support, the InterMission team produces a prayer guide and calendar each month. If you would like to know more about mission prayer, or you would like to have a prayer guide or calendar emailed to you each month, feel free to contact InterMission rep Merlene Johnson at bmj@exemail.com.au

Would you like to join one of NVBC's Missions Ministries? Contact InterMission leaders Phil and
Leanda McCamley on 0428 111 358

If you want to know more about upcoming mission events on the Central Coast; agency specific information, positions vacant (world and Australian missions), training opportunities, missions factsheets, books and other church resources, check out the Central Coast's own mission website http://www.missionpossible.com.au