Grace Baptist Associations are networks of local churches each affirming their independence whilst embracing a voluntary interdependence between churches in their network.
The AGBC(SE) is one such network of around 65 churches in the south east of England. So, what things help an Association flourish in the longer term? Here Andrew King, the recently appointed Association Secretary, shares his view:
Gospel generosity
‘Being part of one Association doesn’t mean ignoring local churches in other networks. Imagine you live in a region where drought has left widespread hunger and malnutrition. If you knew that you couldn’t feed everyone, would you automatically dismiss others who were also helping, just because you thought their food was not quite as nutritious as yours? Then, surely, we should not dismiss the gospel church down the road offering the truth of Jesus Christ to our neighbours, just because they may have a different view on important but lesser matters. To paraphrase J. C. Ryle: we should keep our hedges low so that we can shake hands over them.
Doctrinal triage
‘Being part of an Association doesn’t mean uniformity in every matter. When a couple start dating, each quickly realises that the other doesn’t tick every one of their boxes. Yet people in strong and safe relationships manage to triage the more important matters from the lesser and are willing to accept differences of opinion on lesser issues! Likewise, although liberal churches may choose to associate around the lowest common denominator and fundamentalist churches around the highest, healthy Associations are formed when the basis for associating is not pressed too far. Grace Baptist Associations unite around a common understanding of the gospel of free grace, but also recognise that each church is an independent community of baptised members. They are wise, then, not to prescribe a uniform approach to running every aspect of church life.
Organisational simplicity
‘Being part of an Association doesn’t mean having orders passed down from on high, or just paying a central office to run your church administration. Just as airlines have moved away from hub-and-spoke models to more distributed point-to-point networks, so healthy Associations are formed when active grassroots connections grow between local churches. This allows for organisational simplicity with an emphasis on relational, not structural, association. Any central staff serve best when they provide needed legal, financial and property support together with spiritually focused co-ordination. Each individual church is strengthened when it takes full ownership of its own governance and seeks to develop and equip its own members to serve both practically and spiritually.
‘I’m delighted that these three broad aims already shape much of the life of AGBC(SE). I’m also grateful that my friend and predecessor, Paul Spear, often pressed the need for ‘association’ as a verb to outgrow ‘Association’ as a noun. But, as with all things in this age, there is still much to do to both recalibrate and re-energise this vision amongst our churches.’
