OBC Annual Report 2017

This is the

OBtaumpoteistati
Church

Annual Report

CONTENTS

Welcome 3 Small groups 13
Our Vision 4 Missions 14
Elders Report 5 Community Ministry 16
Family Ministry 6 Property 18
Youth 8 Administration and Stats 20
Worship and prayer 10 2018 Budget 22
Church care 12 2017 Financial Report 26
Our Vision 17

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WELCOME Our Core Values

From Brian Cochran—Senior Pastor We are followers of Jesus – We
acknowledge Jesus as Lord of
I don’t know if you realise but you are part of the great church! our life and together we ensure
Sure, it is not perfect, it’s full of people! But from my perspective it that we continue to grow in our
is full of good people on a journey of following God and serving him spiritual lives. We acknowledge
as best as we can. that lifelong faith is not solely
taught in church programs, but
As you read this report you will come across stories and facts and rather is caught from a lifestyle of
figures that actually only tell a small part of what our people are faith.
doing in and around our community.
We are family – Christian
I want to thank our staff and exceptional team of ministry leaders community is an integral part of
for their service and good work. It has been such a pleasure to being a follower of Jesus. We
work with dedicated and faithful people. celebrate diversity of ages,
ethnicities, and backgrounds. We
I also hope that as you read through the report you will also see recognise that ‘it takes a village to
something of the future vision for each ministry. If you think that raise a child’ - We want to be that
this is something that you would like to be part of, don’t be shy in village and help people nurture
stepping forward and contacting the ministry leader or myself. We faith in their whanau.
promise not to over work you!!
We are missional – We make a
Sadly in this annual report I say goodbye. As Gay and I complete commitment to be a mission
our time here at the focused church. We see the
church, we find measure of a missional church is
ourselves thinking of the the level at which each member
friends we have made engages in meaningful
and the work that has relationship with unchurched
been done. We remain people. In order to influence our
confident that Otumoetai community, we need to
Baptist will continue to understand it and be in it. We will
be a place where people go beyond giving aid, to giving
strive to Live like Jesus, ourselves. The phrase we want to
to Love without hear is “you were there for me”.
measure, to Learn our
faith and to Lead to We are a people of grace – We
make a difference. strive to have a reputation of
generosity, not just with money
Yours in Christ, but also with time and love.
Brian Cochran
“And what does the Lord require
of you? To act justly and to love
mercy and to walk humbly with
your God.” Micah 6:8

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Our

We strive to Live like Jesus

Jesus is our ultimate role model so we
acknowledge him as Lord of our life. Because
of this we believe that wholehearted submission
to God's will and His word is the starting point of
the Christian faith and the foundation of all
spiritual growth.

Our desire is to Love without Measure

We exist to share the life and love of Jesus with others who
want to know about him and help grow fully devoted followers
of Jesus. We acknowledge that being in community is an
integral part of being a Christian. We want to be a people of
Grace and follow the words of Micah 6:8 - To act justly and to
love mercy and to walk humbly with our God.

We recognise that together we are on a
journey and need to Learn our Faith.

There is nothing comfortable about the bible,
nothing easy about our faith. We should never
cease to question the bible or be questioned by
it. For most, understanding our faith is, and should
be, a struggle because it challenges every part of
our being. Let's learn our faith together.

We want to Lead to make a difference.

We believe that every follower of Jesus is called to mission. We
as a church strive to be intentional about sharing our personal
spiritual journeys with those outside the church. This means the
focus of the church is not so much on what goes on inside the
building on a Sunday, but what our people are doing throughout
the week.

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Elders Report

2017 provided numerous opportunities to reach into the Community and we know many people’s
lives have been touched by all the ministries we have at Otumoetai Baptist.

Remaining under stable leadership over the last few years has seen our church congregation be
effective in what God has called us to do, to Live, Love, Learn & Lead.

With the news of Brian’s departure to a new ministry opportunity we will see some change as we
move into 2018 and beyond. Change brings forward opportunity to continue to expand the ministries
of Otumoetai Baptist, and with clear purpose from Eldership and the wider Ministry teams within our
congregation, our Leadership are committed to ensure we keep a clear view of what God’s path
forward is for the church. We have an experienced team of people all committed to ensuring we
move forward under stable leadership into the future. Selecting a new leader will be done with care
and attention to the needs of the congregation. While not ignoring the past, we will look to the future
to ensure we have the Leadership needed to move forward in all our ministry opportunities before
us.

We thank Brian for his commitment to our congregation, and to Brian & Gay for their future ministry,
we wish them well as they take this next step in their lives after hearing God’s desire for them in the
years ahead.

We also acknowledge and give thanks for the prayer support and care provided to all who have
suffered poor health this year and remember fondly those who have passed away.

We thank the wider ministries of Otumoetai Baptist, from seniors ministry, home groups, Pastoral &
office team, worship members, mainly music, Wednesday communion, hospitality, flower arranging,
ICONZ, crèche, children, zero gravity and youth ministries, pastoral care, the prayer chain, hospital
visitation, kitchen volunteers, cleaners and the many other people involved in making our church
function. Without all the commitment of so many we could not meet the needs of our community as
we do on an ongoing basis.

Families arriving into our community continue to provide great opportunity for us to focus. Wonder
kids, Jigsaw, Flipt & Zero Gravity Youth activities are ministering to increased numbers each year
partly as children of church family age and also as we reach into the community. As a church of
various age groups our challenge is continually to meet the needs of all ages in our community as
best we can, which we are constantly striving to do.

Our thanks is extended to the faithful givers of their time and resources to enable Otumoetai Baptist
to achieve its full potential to Live, Love, Learn & Lead.

Jeremiah 29 v 11. God has a plan for you, they are plans for good and not for
calamity to give you a future and hope.

From the Elders Ian Chitty, Phil Burnet, Rory Birkbeck & Andrew Austin

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I have just completed my eighth year overseeing Family Ministry here at Otumoetai Baptist. As I look
back over that time, one of the areas we have made great progress in is the way we partner with
parents. Here are some of the ways we did this in 2017:

Running faith at home workshops, to encourage and resource parents in passing on their
faith to their children in the home.
Last year Jigsaw did a workshop on service, where the families made blessing bags to pass on
to others.
Wonder Kids looked at my church. Families took home a book to read to their children called
‘What is the Church’ as a tool for teaching their children the importance of faith community.
Crèche parents considered meal time routines, such as Grace, and took home a placemat and
others resources to give them ideas to use at home.
We also had a meeting with the parents of youth, including Zero Gravity, to talk through Easter
camps and how to make the most of this experience when their children return home.

Providing resources to use in the home.
We gave families an Advent tree at Christmas which we also used in our Christmas family

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service. This provided a great link between home and Partnering with
church. parents to create
We were also able to give each family a copy of the connections and grow
devotional book, Thoughts to Make Your Heart Sing by
Sally Lloyd Jones. the faith of
Links between Children’s Ministry and home. our children.
In 2017 we developed a new ‘at home weekly’
resource which informs parents of what their Partner:
children are doing in Children’s Ministry so they can We seek to partner with parents
both prepare and reinforce at home. This is a great and support them in the spiritual
way home and church can work together. We launched formation of their children.
this at the beginning of the year, at a family lunch, and
gave each family a magnetic clip, so they can hang Connect:
this on their fridge. We seek to build intentional
Opportunities for social connection. relationships between children
We continued to provide opportunities for children and and spiritual mentors, to
their parents to develop friendships with other church encourage the development of
families. This is an important part of being church friendships with other children
family. and to foster a sense of
In 2018 we aim to make these more intergenerational belonging to the wider church
by inviting the whole church whanau to join us at these family.
social events held at the end of each school term.
We seek to connect with
I also consider our Sunday morning children’s non-churched children and
programmes to be a vital part of the families in our community.
church/home partnership. Children need other adults to
walk with them on the faith journey and this is a key aspect of Grow:
all our groups. We seek to work with the Holy
Spirit in the spiritual formation of
Thank you to the leaders in crèche, Wonder Kids and Jigsaw. children, providing opportunities
Your involvement with our children is a great blessing to our for them to experience God and
families. I know as a parent that your input into their lives is to deepen a loving relationship
hugely appreciated and is a vital part of their discipleship. with Christ.

A special thank you to my leadership team: Margi Baldwin,
Rachel Keam, Sarah Robinson and Gay Cochran. I always
look forward to my meetings with this team as they provide
me with great feedback, ideas and encouragement.

Thank you also to Julian, for his continued hard work in the
office.

Jan Ozanne

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Flipt Youth is about ‘flipped’ lives for Christ.
When people encounter Christ they should be
‘flipt’ and there’s something different about
them – whether they’re at home, school, work,
church, anywhere. They are meant to make a
difference.
That’s the heart and goal of the ministry and it’s
why we do what we do.
Reflecting on 2017:
I am thankful for a mostly positive year. Thanks to all
my team this year for their passion and dedication to
the ministry. Serving with them and seeing youth
grow in their relationship with Christ and serving
more within youth group and the church has been
very exciting for me.
Some highlights:
Easter camp was a real peak experience once again
for many in the group. This is always a time of build-
ing the group and spiritual growth. My thanks to all
the leaders that did a great job, as well as Shem and Rachel Banbury for being camp parents.

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We spent a term looking at challenging the status quo with a series called ‘Will you live it’? This was
another highlight for the year, along with welcoming in the year 8’s in term four and seeing them
integrate well into the group.

Some challenges:
We have seen some people come and go from the group, which is always difficult. There have also
been some pastoral challenges this year and I’m grateful for all the support and assistance received.

Ideas, Hopes and Vision for the Future:
Paramount for 2018 and ahead is the identifying and developing of leaders both within and outside
the group. We want to equip students to serve and lead wherever they are. And I especially want to
see the youth leadership team stronger and more connected to Christ, each other, and the church
body.

Matt Gordon

Zero Gravity is the year 7, 8 & 9
ministry to intermediate age youth.
We meet on Sunday mornings after
spending time in church for the first
part of the service. We also have fun
activities arranged on a regular basis
at parent’s homes, special trips,
music activities and of course the
Easter e-camp happening again this
year at Finlay park near Cambridge….

2017 has again seen strong friendships being built with Zero Gravity ministry growing each year. We
have gained some music skills this year with Ukulele, Guitar, Keyboard & Percussion skills
developing. Any congregation member who has music skills is welcome to assist us in 2018 as we
develop further. This year we visited retirement homes at Christmas playing Christmas carols and
also played at our Christmas family service.

Our focus in the final term was on service to the community, with some great morning teas provided
to the congregation after the Sunday service. We see this service focus continuing in 2018.

Parents are welcome to assist when they are available and participate in hosting Zero Gravity into
your home as we see this as a valuable part of our activities. We have a great Zero Gravity planned
for 2018. Remember bring your friends as this is a fun place to belong!

Ian Chitty & Matt Gordon

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2017 Has been a great year for us as a worshipping community at OBC. I feel so blessed to join
together as family to freely worship together each week, It’s a wonderful privilege we have as a team
to lead our church in worship.
It’s been very encouraging to see the church engage in some different ways of worshipping, from
new songs, to our services with different symbolic and creative ways to worship and honour God. Its
been great to sing some more songs in Te Reo Maori, and I hope it encourages you when we get to
sing in the native language of our land, Aotearoa, New Zealand.
The Good Friday service was a particular highlight for me, it was fantastic to have a quiet moment to
reflect together on the Easter Story and Jesus’ journey to the cross.
I want to honour the team who serve us each week with their worship leading, either though singing,
or on instruments, or our technicians who run sound and data. They do an utterly fantastic job, and
have such a willing heart to serve. You all make my job so easy and it is a joy to serve with you.
The big highlight for the team this year was our first annual Thanksgiving celebration. What better
way to spend time together as a team than over lots and lots of food and time just being together as
a worship team. Thanks again to Fiona Mears and co for hosting and making it all run smoothly.
God is such a wonderful God, and I pray that our corporate worship on a Sunday only deepens and
encourages your personal worship, as we seek to honour God through Living, Loving, Learning and
Leading in every moment of our day.
Declan Smith

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Wednesday Communion Service Sunday Evening
Prayer group
The Wednesday Morning Communion Service has once again been
an important part of the life and witness of our church during 2017. Every Sunday Evening from
Although admittedly we are an ageing group we all look forward to 7-8 pm a small but very faithful
our weekly gatherings. We are always glad to welcome new people group of prayers have continued
and God is bringing new folk all the time. to gather together in the Chapel
to share in a rich fellowship of
Thank you for all those who have been happy to take up leadership prayer. We believe that this
responsibility, and also we appreciate our Pastors who take their corporate time of prayer is vital
turn on the speaking roster. for the health of Otumoetai
Baptist with it’s variety of
A very important component of our fellowship is socialising over ministries within the church and
morning tea and coffee after each service, but this last year we have the wider community, and its
had two additional outings as well, which we all enjoyed very much. Missionaries who serve
overseas.
Numbers range between 20 –30 each week and even though it is
quite a big group the dynamics of it operate more like a small group We believe that Church is more
as we care and support each other. than a Sunday morning service
and we acknowledge that there
One highlight was our end of year break up function held at our are many other opportunities for
home, we had a great turn out and it was well catered by Pat and corporate prayer within the
Jean and was very enjoyable. ministries and groups of our
Church, but it is special to gather
We hope many more will come and join us this coming year. together on a Sunday evening
for a time that has been specially
Graham Tucker set apart to spend time with our
Lord and learn how to pray
under His guidance.

Hope to see you there soon !

Graham Tucker

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Family Carers

This ministry is very special.
We have matched those
whose families have grown up
and left home with those who
are still in the thick of it.

This past year has been one with less innovation and with a few members of The purpose is very simple—
the Pastoral Care team experiencing ill health and bereavement. However the to pray and to care for the
faithful team continues to visit and have contact with their ‘regulars’ who are family. It also gets the gener-
generally older and/or unwell. There are individuals and families who have had ations mixing and encourages
significant and acute needs throughout the year. our belief that it takes a village
to raise a child.
The Carers/ Young Families interaction has been very helpful and supportive
for some families in particular, though we are aware that some families feel If you want to be part of this
less supported than others. The main focus of support is on prayer needs – for very effective ministry, talk to
both the family and the carer. Lyn Stanley or contact the of-
fice
We hope that in the coming year we will find more suitable older folk who will
take on the role of carers for our increasing number of young families.
Similarly, as those in the team experience their own needs we are looking to
grow our team in the coming year.

There are aspects of Pastoral Care where there is a need for larger groups of
volunteers … “Many hands…” currently the particular areas are to cook meals
for those in need, and to provide transport for the few individuals who need it.
Obviously the more in the team the less often people are called on. Please call
the church office if either of these areas are where you could be involved.

We are blessed to have a church family that looks out for each other.

Lyn Stanley

Our relaxed and informal breakfasts have continued this
year each month with some memorable, inspiring and
encouraging talks from our men. Aside from the chance
of a hearty blokes breakfast, these mornings remain a
chance to talk with and get to know each other in more
depth than the usual Sunday morning coffee conversation
and get to know how God has impacted our lives and
what he is doing in them now. Speakers are selected
from our own church, Boys and Men of all ages attend
and numbers vary from 15-40. Many thanks for those
who pick up the tongs and “chef-up” as the lack of a for-
mal structure in cooking the breakfast is part of its charm.

1M2ike Carter

Our Life One of the heart cries of our culture is to find a real community that
Groups we can be part of, because we all know that life is better together.

General life groups We have a variety of different groups of people who are doing life or
ministry together. Whatever your interest or stage of life, you are
 Wednesday morning likely to find something that will enable you to enjoy great times with
Communion Service others, establish relationships and grow in your understanding of
Christianity.
 Soul Purpose - for
women You will be able to choose from general life groups , ministry groups
or special interest groups. Whatever your interest, we are confident
 Holmes’ Life Group that there is a group for you to “plug in to.” If we don't have a group
that interests you, maybe you could start one! All of our Life Groups
 Cochran’s Life Group meet on a recurring basis and are led by experienced and trusted
leaders. Times may vary so you may be best served by checking out
 Hudson’s Life Group the newsletter or calling the church for specifics about the group you
are interested in.
 Mum’s Life Group
Matt Gordon and Brian Cochran
 Paine’s Life group
“If the depths of relationships and our
Ministry groups commitment to one another are so
important to God, then small groups
 Missions Prayer
group—BMF must also be important as it is only in
small groups that close relationships can
 Worship Team
develop.”
 Sunday Evening
prayer group

 Global Missions Team

 Children's Ministry

 Flipt Youth Group

 Men’s Breakfast

 Pastoral Care

Community
ministry groups

 Mainly Music

 ESOL– using the bible

 ICONZ Adventure

 Badminton

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Across the street and around the world People we
Support
Our Vision - We are a Church committed to the growth of the
Kingdom of God here and overseas, as we obey Christ's command During this past year we
to make disciples of ALL nations. We have a Global Vision with
particular emphasis upon Asia. supported four missionary

Our Ministries - We are committed to reaching the unreached, couples and three single
therefore all our ministries will have the central purpose of sharing
Jesus and equipping the world-wide Church to achieve that task. missionaries. Some of them

Our Central Aims – are national workers.

1. Continue financial, prayer and pastoral support of our present John & Jackie Paine
O.B.C. Missionaries. Good Neighbour and
S.I.M NZ
2. Support the work of Tranzsend.
3. Link with national Churches and key personnel as resource Anthony & Dale
Asian Outreach
partners in their outreach and equipping programmes. Malaysia
4. Maintain a high profile for Overseas Mission by encouraging
Julie
church participation in the task of training, equipping and send- S.I.M.
ing people to the Mission field. Nepal/Malaysia

Mike & Glenda
O.M.F.
Cambodia

Tuktar
Thailand

Sukhen & Puspa
Bangladesh

Two Church planters
International Needs
Vietnam

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BMF (Baptist Mission Fellowship) English as a

An average of 20 people meet on the 2nd Sunday of each Second Language
month to learn about our Baptist missionaries and support
them through prayer and giving. We also have a trading Last year we discontinued the conversation
table which blesses both the giver and the receiver. class but continued the Monday class using
the Bible as our text to teach both English
We often have one of the missionaries as a guest speaker and the truths of Jesus’ teaching. Half of
and if not Gay Cochran, who is the Pastoral Care worker for our students knew little about Jesus, most
Tranzsend, has been ’it’ giving us the latest update on our coming from a Buddhist background. Our
people and their studies included “Who is Jesus?”, “Stories
situations and needs. Other speakers have been Andrew Jesus Told”, Easter and Christmas.
Page the Tranzsend Team Leader; Ryan Cameron, a young
MAF pilot who was in Arnhem Land, north Australia and is Each week an average of 10 students,
now in Africa preparing to fly in South Sudan; and two men mainly Korean mums and some from China
from Bethlehem Baptist Church who built an impressive and Taiwan attended. One lady said that
steel goat shed in the north of India to help our workers because her sister had become a Christian
there. Also Ryan and Sophie who are currently she “would like to know more about Jesus.”
learning Bengali. Sophie is a journalist by training and she Please pray that Jesus would reveal
keeps in touch with photos and video clips on Instagram of Himself to her and to others in the class
their two young sons Spencer and Emerson. We get to see also.

the colour, squalor, and simple life of that country without This year we welcomed back a couple of
the smells! And we have joined their team of supporters. students from the early years and said

There are many young people in the mission and romance goodbye to Jennifer who had been with us

is in the air! Joel and Lizzie get married on 5 January and Jo for 5 years. Many like her make a sacrifice

and Charlie (from the UK) mid year. by leaving their home so that their children

We are glad that Janette Fairhall is coming on the can have the experience of studying in an

committee, made up of Judy Tallon, Jill Burnet, Coreen English speaking country….a great

Willis and me. We are glad to serve our God in this way. opportunity for them to learn about Jesus

too

Pat Tucker Roger and Anne Chambers

Safe Surfer We've had good developments at Safe Surfer this past year, and really enjoyed

supporting our community. Over 300,000 families worldwide are connected to our technology every day,
meaning many children both locally and globally are protected, and far less likely to stumble into
pornography both by accident and on purpose. Continuing in our goal - to see every NZ child grow up
without pornography in their childhood.

Here in the bay, a good relationship has been built with local agencies - including the Family Violence
Network. Also this year we will release our kid's book, that will be provided to Bay of Plenty families free
of charge, thanks to the support of our generous funders.

Thank you OBC for your vital support and encourag1e5ment. Rory and Faye Birkbeck

wondering type conversations.

We have enjoyed celebrating theme days

Ministry including Teddy bear picnic, Matariki, PJ day,
and bring your own instrument day, with the
families as well as our key celebrations of:

Easter – We were able to give the families

ICONZ ADVENTURE the ‘God made me’ book based on a popular song
we sing with the kids!

Building kiwi boys into kiwi icons Mother’s day – with high tea, fancy china cups,
blessing the mums with a mainly music designed
Another great year for Iconz Adventure Otumoetai unit ‘mum and me’ colouring book.

We have three great leaders; Brett Worthington, Dean Father’s day - best turn out of Dad’s and Grandads
Bateman, and Sam Wakerley. We had approximately (over 13 best blokes!) to our Best Blokes day with a
10-12 kids. These are all local kids, and about a third building theme!
of these do not come from a Christian home.
Christmas - we blessed the families with Christ-
Numbers were down, but it is all about the kids, not mas advent trees, a ‘C is for Christmas’ book and we
how many we have. However I would like some more!! had Wendy Vowels (our new team member) take
special family photos in the nativity scene and

We had some fantastic events during 2017. Some of presented them to the families as a Christmas gift in a
these include the HUNTA- we went fishing and shoot- special folder with a Christmas verse, nativity graphics,
ing air rifles, PATRIOTZ - we visited the Redoubt, merry Christmas from the team. The photos were well
HELPIZ, WORX, HOBBEEZ, OLYMPIX AND BUSH- received by many families.

MANS-where we made rafts and had a raft race. We Some big praise points for us this year and thanks go
also did a night of fencing which was great fun. The to:
main Iconz Camp was held at Finlay Park and 7 boys
had a great time.  Zero gravity, who through their random act of
kindness in August (with a BBQ) raised enough

A big thanks to the mums and dads who have helped money for our team to be fitted out in new logo
out this year with transport and activities. We are keen mainly music t-shirts – much appreciated!

to have new leaders, so if you are interested please  Beth, one of our mainly music mums, who is a food
come and see me. blogger with a blog ‘hungry cub’ and Lisa Crowe

Please pray for us as we teach, share and lead the for providing Christmas card making supplies. Both
boys in 2018. these ladies helped us put on a fun ladies night/
mainly music fundraiser to cover Christmas gift

God bless, costs for our local families and to raise money for
Brett Worthington the vulnerable communities initiative through

We have mainly music NZ that provides mainly music to
enjoyed a teen mums/refugee families and takes mainly
great year music to the prisons (connecting children to their
with on parents).

average 23  Leonie (an ex-OBC mainly music helper) who
families made the nativity scene we use each year, this
attending a week (which is on average 32 children)! year instead of just lending it to us she has
The team have had more opportunities to pray for permanently donated it to the OBC church!

some of the families and seen an increase in God/faith

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Prayer needs for the coming year would include new belong too.

helpers on our kitchen team, and for families to want to We are open to opportunities in 2018 to assist children
seek the God space in their lives. For discernment, develop in their learning in all areas.
boldness, wisdom for the team on how we can share

God’s unconditional love and hope with the children and If you would like to assist the trust and are interested in
families in tangible and practical ways.
being involved, please approach Ian Chitty. We are

Katrina Hudson and the mainly music team. seeking additional trustees in 2018 to help with this
community initiative.

Trustees: Ian Chitty & Brian Cochran

The Oasis Trust is a valuable resource

available to assist our Community. We have deposit
capital invested to make available interest free loans
to assist individual & community needs.

The Vision for the trust is as follows;

Linkt Community Trust The Oasis Trust exists for the demonstration of
Christian care in the community. It is an
enabling trust providing interest free loans to
individuals or organisations.

(a registered charity) It will remain sustainable through loan
The Linkt Community Trust was formed in 2010 to work repayments and through charitable donations.

in the Community as follows; The trust will be guided, but not restricted by the
(a) To provide leadership direction and resources following factors;

which will enable the Church to minister to its local  Providing seed funding for Christian activities
community by seeking to meet the social, emotional, that impact the wider community.
physical, spiritual and educational needs of the people
of its local community.  A preference toward the needs of children,
families and young people.

(b) To establish such service centres, programmes  Focus toward the underprivileged in our
and facilities as will enable the Trustees to provide community.
appropriate community social services.
 Support of activities where there is an active
Initially the Trust worked to establish an Intermediate involvement of OBC Church members or
age after school care programme for the local members of any other church that has trust
community. This evolved into peer support for this age involvement.

within another organisation. We have approved a number of previous loan requests
and are available to assist with future enquiries.

In 2016 the Trust established after school Ukulele music Our special thanks goes to John Payne for his valued
lessons on Thursday’s for primary aged children input to the trust over many years having retired as a

alongside the primary age after school programme trustee this year.

operating at Otumoetai Baptist church premises. If you see a need that the Trust can assist in 2018 or
you would like to support the Trust in some way, please
This activity was a self funded initiative with parents approach one of the Trustees.
paying for the tutor’s income. Community funding and

donations are also sought to allow for any expanded Trustees: Gareth Hudson, Trevor Poulgrain,
programme. In 2017 group drum tuition was established Margi Baldwin, Ian Chitty, Brian Cochran

for a Home School group who needed a facility to Community ministries report continued on page 21...

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property I was recently talking to the new
mechanic of the garage across
ministry the road from the church. He
commented on how busy the
church was, there are people and
cars coming and going constantly.
You occasionally hear the

comment from people that church buildings are underutilised – that is certainly not the case for our

buildings. We get regular enquires from the community, most of which we have to say “sorry it is

already booked”.

To keep everything running smoothly takes a fair bit of work from a variety of people, from keeping
the inside clean – thanks Luke, to furniture removal – thanks to various muscular men!!, to making
sure the tech stuff is up to scratch – thanks Dave and Declan, to beautifying the gardens and
arranging flowers – thanks Jocelyn and Pauline, to the never-ending challenge to keep the lawn and
leaves under control – thanks Eric.

Over the last couple of years we have done some significant upgrades on the toilets, both in the
Auditorium and then the crèche, and our upgrade of the sound system. This year we have had a
quieter year. We finished off some painting in the auditorium, had the hall roof painted, and sorted
out a few behind the scene electrical issues, including a replacement data projector when the one in
the chapel died. (Thanks TECT – simply the best!!) But we have been preparing for our next bigger
project – the upgrade of the Hall and replacing the seating in the Auditorium. (although with Brian’s
recent announcement we will probably put this on hold—read details below)

Hall Upgrade.
We have been getting quotes together for this and working through what and how much needs to be
done. The goal is to have a hall that can be used for hospitality, for weddings and funerals etc, but
be functional enough for our children’s/youth ministry and badminton.

The walls need to be reclad and the ceiling needs to be replaced and new lights installed. We have
been considering if we need to replace the window frames at the same time or
just tidy them up. The conclusion (at this stage) is that until we do some long
term property planning, we propose we just tidy them up. And even then before
we start any recladding we need to ensure the hall is compliant with the new
earthquake strengthening rules.

At this stage the costs for the new ceiling and wall reclad is looking to be
$35,000. (Not including earthquake strengthening if required)

Auditorium Chairs.
We have been talking for a number of years that the chairs are beginning to
show the signs of old age (it happens to the best of us!!). Every week or two we

18

have another chair where the back falls off, screws fall out, and they A week in the life of
can only be repaired so many times. Thankfully we have a number
of spares that can keep us going but they are certainly getting past our church buildings
there ‘use by date’ . The cost to replace a seat is $40-$60
(depending on the quality we want and where we get then from) and Monday – OSCAR before
we need at least 400. school, ESOL Bible study,
Kangatraining, OSCAR
The leadership feel that while there is a growing need to replace the after school, ICONZ,
chairs, now is not the time for a fundraising campaign. So we will
delay this and concentrate on the hall. Tuesday – OSCAR before
school, Badminton, Soul
Finances Purpose, Continuing
We have the opportunity to borrow money for the hall at less than education, Fuse Drumming
1% interest over 10 years. With building costs increasing at a higher tuition, OSCAR after
rate than this we suggest doing this as soon as possible. And if we school,
can raise some additional money through special donations and
grants then that will make it even easier. By refinancing our current Wednesday – OSCAR before
loans and repayments, we will actually reduce our annual payments school, Communion
from $15,900 to about $12,000. We recommend we do this and you Service, Learning links,
will see it is included in the budget figures. If you have questions Play Therapy, OSCAR
concerning these proposals then please contact Brian Cochran or after school,
Tim Bloomfield.
Thursday – OSCAR before
Finally, many thanks to those who help make these things possible school, Mainly Music,
through gifts of time and money which makes the church budget go OSCAR after school, Hope
so much further! Centre

If you are able to assist in any way, large or small, to the ongoing Friday – OSCAR before
work of maintaining our church please contact myself or one of the school, Badminton, Mums
Pastors. Group, Play Therapy,
OSCAR after school,
Youth Group

Saturday – Men’s Breakfast
Sunday – Church service etc,

prayer group, Seminars

And of course various one off

bookings for concerts and

functions.

19

The administration aspect of the church continues So while it would have been nice to finish the year
to tick along very smoothly. This is primarily with a surplus we are pretty happy with how
because we have good procedures in place and things have been going, so thanks for your
staff who are well suited to their roles and keen to support and generosity.
serve the church in whatever way they can.
Budget 2018 (see pages 22-25 for full
Tim Bloomfield is the back bone of the financial presentation)
side along with Ashley Birkbeck. This year has The Leadership continues to walk a very careful
had a lot of new reporting procedures to get their line between a budget of faith and a budget that
mind around with requirements for the NZ reflects the reality of last year’s giving.
charities commission. You will see our reporting
format has changed a bit – this is just to make it As you will see there is an increase in the budget
more compatible with these requirements. this year. Most of it is simply cost of living
increases and increase in property insurance,
Lorilee de Jong has been on maternity leave for plus a new area of spending being the
the last half of the year but Margi Baldwin appointment of Luke Stainton as an intern who
seamlessly stepped in to continue the work. will work with both our children and youth as part
Thanks Margi and welcome back Lorilee. of his teacher training.

We sometimes need to remind ourselves that the This all adds up to increasing the weekly
church is still primarily a volunteer organisation budgeted giving from $7,317 to $7,518. We
and at a quick count we have nearly 100 adults realise that this is going to be a challenge that
who serve the church in some way or another. might take some time to reach. However with
That is just those serving within the church, we Brian concluding around Easter, there is likely to
are very aware that there are many volunteer be a gap before replacing him, this will ensure we
hours outside the church. will be able to make ends meet in the interim.
However the bottom line is we still need to lift our
Last year we had a reasonable increase in budget giving if we want to pay the bills and fulfil the
primarily due to employing Matt for an extra day a vision that we believe God has given us.
week. It was very pleasing to see that we coped
with that very well. It wasn’t until the end of the We are in the process of looking at re financing
year that we got a bit behind budget. Fortunately our loans in order to finance the Hall upgrade,
we had been careful with expenditure as well, however if you are in a position to help out with a
underspending in all areas. While we budgeted lump sum gift for the hall upgrade that would be
for a deficit of $7,060, we ended the year with a really helpful!! We know this might be possible for
smaller deficit of $5,072, plus capital expenditure some, impossible for others.
of $6,101.
We will continue to be careful with expenditure
but we hope and pray that we will see God
provide once again.

20

Statistics ...Continued from page 17

For those of you who like statistics, here are some for Reading Club @
you to mull over. Brookfield Primary

Year ending 31/8 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 About 3-4 years ago we were asked if we
could help out with an idea for a reading
Active Partners 147 143 140 138 149 club at Brookfield Primary. The idea is that
a number of us turn up at the school library
Non Resident 10 11 7 9 5 at 8.30am for 30 mins and listen to children
read.
Total 157 154 147 147 154
We currently have about 10 of us on various
Average Attendances 31/8 days of the week giving our time to read
with students. It is just fantastic to walk in to
Adults 143 141 132 152 158 the library in the mornings to see the smiles,
hear the reading aloud and listen to the
Children 46 45 46 44 43 encouraging comments. The school says
the reading levels have improved
Total 189 186 178 196 201 dramatically.

Roll Numbers as at 31/12 They have been so impressed they have
helped set up the same concept at the local
2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 marae—so our ministry is multiplying!!

Crèche 0-2 13 12 11 10 14 This year we also ‘blessed’ the teachers of
the school with a special morning tea.
Wonder Kids 3-5 19 19 18 14 12 Thanks Janette Fairhall for making that
happen.
Jigsaw 6-10 34 38 42 39 43

Intermediate 24 15 14 14 14

High School 33 29 35 23 26

Small/Ministry Groups 118 104 117 121 99
Communion service 31 29 31 30 31

Total Active Data Base427 399 403 389 385

Church Average age 40—Median Age 42

Baptisms – Sadly none this year – let’s hope and
pray that this is just one bad year. Please continue to
share your faith story and pray that people will
encounter Jesus and will want to make this
declaration of faith.

Deaths—We also remember those from the OBC
family who have gone to be with the Lord in 2017;
Margaret Lincoln, Ruby Seaton, Viv Ensor and
Maureen Payne.

The Admin Team
Margi Baldwin, Julia Ross, Ashley Birkbeck, Neil
Griffith, Tim Bloomfield and Brian Cochran

21

2017 Finances and 2018 Budget

Budget 2017 Actual 2017 Budget 2018

Income $380,504 $366,420 $390,936
Giving income $12,000 $13,922 $13,008
Facility Hire $11,734 $19,494 $16,652
Other income
$404,238 $399,836 $420,596
Total Income

Less Operating Expenses $37,748 $37,789 $32,747
Mission $5,000 $5,532 $5,000
Global Mission $6,816 $4,502
Self Denial $11,524
Local Mission $15,500 $15,293 $15,516
Baptist Network Support $65,064 $63,116 $64,787
Total Mission
Discipleship $5,004 $4,827 $5,004
Children $2,508 $1,325 $2,504
Youth $2,988 $2,143 $3,084
Adult $4,236 $3,993 $4,252
Worship $14,736 $12,288 $14,844
Total Discipleship
Admin and Facilities $35,560 $35,302 $39,003
Property $21,264 $20,967 $19,164
Church office $15,900 $15,900 $12,000
Debt Service $72,724 $72,169 $70,167
Total Admin and Facilities
$251,914 $252,506 $267,288
Personnel $6,860 $4,829 $6,448
Wages and allowances $0 $0 $4,000
Support costs
Intern $258,774 $257,335 $277,736
Total personnel
$411,298 $404,908 $427,534
Total Operating Expenses
-$7,060 -$5,072 -$6,938
Net Profit/loss
$6,101
Capital expenditure

IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THE 2018 BUDGET PLEASE CONTACT
TIM BLOOMFIELD OR BRIAN COCHRAN AT THE OFFICE

22

Budget comments
Mission

Church Missionary Support

Our desire is be a missional church and to make an impact in the world and we strive to give a high priority to
reaching those outside of the church. While a significant proportion of our ministry is to our immediate commu-
nity, God continues to call our people to serve him outside our local church both here in NZ and
overseas. We have a number of people who are part of our church family, serving with mission organisations
here in NZ and around the world. They include Dale and Anthony (Malaysia/Vietnam), Julie (Nepal), Mike and
Glenda (Cambodia). We also provide support for a couple of national workers; Tuktar in Thailand and Sukhen
in Bangladesh, and give to help in the area of church-planting through International Needs. You will note that
the amount has decreased this year. This is due to moving John and Jackie Paine support into the local mis-
sion budget as they are primarily working locally.

Tranzsend – Self-denial

The Self-denial event is the way OBC joins over 220 other Baptist churches in supporting Missions. By
working with other churches we are able to be part of an effective mission organisation. Tranzsend supports
work around various countries in Asia. Gay Cochran works for Tranzsend with the responsibility of pastoral
care of the overseas workers. While we have a budgeted amount here, it is a goal we strive for (and usually
reach). Whatever comes in during this special appeal is what will be forwarded on. Last year we raised $5532.

Local Mission

This is an area that we are always developing. If we are going to impact our community we are going to need
to put some money into it. Many of our established community outreach ministries are self-funding and only
operate with a huge amount of time and energy from volunteers invested, however it often takes a bit to get
them to that stage. A number of our people are involved with the Good Neighbour Trust and specifically Food
Rescue headed up by John and Jackie Paine. We also support the work of Cool Bananas in 18 primary
schools and we have continued to support the Hope Project. The budgeted amount has increased primarily
due to moving John and Jackie Paine’s support from Global missions.

Other ministries that fall into this category, but don’t necessarily draw any money are; the ESOL group lead by
Roger and Anne Chambers. Mainly Music, a gathering of around 30-40 children with parents and caregivers
involving music, singing and dancing. Other outreach activities include Brookfield Primary Reading club, Iconz
and Badminton.

Each year we contribute to the Tauranga Foodbank and most of our help in this area is coordinated through
this very effective structure. However on occasion there are people within our church family or within our
community who face urgent needs. Food parcels, medical bills, counselling costs and sometimes
accommodation costs, are just some of the ways we are asked to help. We have what we call a Mercy Fund
which enables us to respond to the various needs that come to us. Sometimes it is given as a gift, other times
as a loan. We also support the Hospital Chaplaincy work at the Tauranga Hospital.

Baptist Network Support

We are part of a wider family of Churches, the Baptist Churches of New Zealand and BOP Assn. We benefit
from being part of this family in numerous ways. Being a larger church we are able to help smaller churches
within the Baptist family and together we can make an impact on New Zealand. It was only a few years ago

23

we as a church needed the help and support of this network.

Jan Ozanne works part-time for the BOP Baptist Assn helping and supporting churches in the area and while
David McChesney retired from his role in the Baptist Assn he still is integrally involved in supporting other local
churches. Some of this money also goes to support our training institute, Carey Baptist College. The Baptist
Churches of NZ and BOP Association have recommended an amount based on attendance.

Discipleship

Children’s Ministry

Healthy churches need healthy Children’s ministries. This is a crucial area of ministry and we want to ensure that
it continues to be well resourced. Jan has now been working with us for 8 years and the ministry continues to
strengthen. It is a huge task to prepare a programme that will meet the needs of the different ages and
personalities but the Children’s ministry team strive to develop new and exciting ways to teach the gospel
through the pre and primary school years. Of course behind these excellent programmes are teachers who need
to be trained and parents who need to be resourced.

Youth Ministry

Youth ministry in Tauranga can sometimes have that 2 steps forward and 1 step back feel about it, especially at
the end of the year when a number of our older youth move on for work or study. However, we make the most of
it by investing into our youth, preparing and discipling them the best we can as we send them out to make a
difference in another part of the country. Matt Gordon has been with us 4 years now and he and his team have
built a great foundation to build on. He is always looking for more leaders though so if that is you, have a chat
with him.

Adult Ministry

Discipleship and having fun together is not something only for children and youth. Our vision is to see many
adults come to know Christ and grow to be committed followers of our Lord and Saviour. This is an area that we
are constantly assessing. We need to continue to develop these groups and resource the leaders. The budget
here is for ministry costs, leadership training and resources.

Worship Ministry

Often the worship service is considered the “front window” of the church. It is often the first thing that new people
experience of our church. It is therefore important for it to be a positive experience. Declan Smith has now been
with us just over 2 years and he is very much considered ‘one of us’. It is great to see the stability, support and
resources he has been able to provide into this vital ministry. The worship ministry budget provides the ongoing
support for our weekly worship services and also includes costs for Copyright licences.

Administration Support

Property

These costs encompass a wide variety of expenses related to the day-to-day operations of the church, including
electricity for the church building and offices (peaks at over $1000 per month). It also includes rates and
insurance (a significant increase this year). Basic repairs and maintenance to all our facilities, grounds and
janitorial supplies are included in this budget.

Last year we completed the painting of the inside of the Auditorium and hall roof, replaced a data projector and
completed a few behind the scenes electrical things. This year we need to work on the inside of the Church hall,

24

it is in serious need of attention and we are looking at replacing the church chairs as many of the old ones are
breaking down. The hope is that most of the financing of these projects will be through our maintenance
budget, reworking our loan repayments, fund raising and some help from external grants.

Church Office

This budget item includes accounting services, office supplies, postage, copier costs, telephones, advertising,
and IT. Also, any office equipment and maintenance contracts are included in this category.

Debt Service

Expenses related to this area are for paying interest and reducing outstanding loans related to church property
and facilities. Our main loan is with Baptist Savings which will be paid off after just 3 years. Our 2 other loans
are with BOP Baptist Assn (virtually interest free) which covered the cost of the toilets and the sound upgrade.
We are working at refinancing these loans to help us cover any extra costs of the hall upgrade.

Personnel

The personnel budget is the largest cost in almost any organisation and churches are no exception. The need
to adequately staff a church and the related expenses to support the staff, are a vital part of discipling and
reaching people for Jesus Christ. The increase here is due to moving the office staff to the living wage and the
standard wage increase recommended by the Baptist Union for the pastoral staff.

Current Staff Salaries

This expense item includes the salaries for all paid staff, both full and part time. This budget allows for the
equivalent of 2.8 full-time pastoral positions (spread between 4 people) and the equivalent of 1.0 support staff
(spread between 3 people). Despite Brian concluding and there being a gap before appointing someone else,
we have kept the amount at the full year amount so that we know what we need to be giving when fully staffed.

Allowances

The allowances related to the staff positions include travel, hospitality, superannuation, ministry enhancement,
etc.

Interns

An Internship programme is a great way to help the church and individuals who wish to develop pastoral
leadership skills. This year we have appointed Luke Stainton to this role as intern.

Support Costs

The support costs for personnel include expenses related to staff training, conferences, ACC levy etc and any
Leadership Team costs. It also includes the costs of any visiting preachers.

IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THE 2018 BUDGET PLEASE CONTACT
TIM BLOOMFIELD OR BRIAN COCHRAN AT THE OFFICE

25

Statement of Financial Performance

Otumoetai Baptist Church
For the year ended 31 December 2017

Account 'How was the church funded?' and 'What did it cost?' Audited
Unaudited 2016

2017 352,468
79,535
Revenue 366,420 2,232
Donations, 51,817
Revenue from facility hire, designated giving and other revenue 1,157 434,236
Interest, dividends and other investment revenue
Total Revenue 419,394 241,642
173,890
Expenses 257,335
Personnel related costs 151,229 536
Ministry and Operating expenses 49,564
Debt Servicing Interest BSDS 714 465,632
Depreciation 54,263
Total Expenses 463,541 (31,397)

Surplus/(Deficit) for the Year (44,147)

Note: The Charities commission has required some adjustments to accounting procedures
and changes to reporting. Due to this you will note that some of the figures have changed
from the provisional 2016 figures in last years annual report.

In this report designated giving (money given to other organisations through the church
accounts) and depreciation is taken into consideration.

If you would like to see the full audited accounts please contact the office.

26

Statement of Financial Position

Otumoetai Baptist Church

As at 31 December 2017

'What the church owns?' and 'What the church owes?'

Unaudited Audited

Account 31 Dec 2017 31 Dec 2016

Assets Current Assets 35,787 45,585
Bank accounts and cash 1,837 9,454
Total Debtors and prepayments 704 4,489
Assets Other Current Assets
38,329 59,528
Total Current As-
sets 2,622,015 2,660,229
Non-Current Assets 44,385 54,333

Land and Buildings 2,666,400 2,714,562
Furniture, Fittings and Equipment

Total Non-Current
Assets

2,704,729 2,774,091

Liabilities Current Liabilities 3,598 13,387
Creditors and accrued expenses 19,272 20,514
Total Employee costs payable
Liabilities Other current liabilities 0 0
Current Liabilities 8,828 7,745
Designated Funds 8,828 7,745
Total Other current liabilities
31,698 41,646
Total Current
Liabilities 73,693 88,879
Non-Current Liabilities 73,693 88,879

Loans 105,391 130,525
Total Non-Current
Liabilities 2,599,338 2,643,566

Total Assets less Total Liabilities
(Net Assets)

Accumulated Funds Capital contributed by owners or 2,225,732 2,225,813
members 373,606 417,753
Total Accumu- Accumulated surpluses or (deficits)
lated Funds 2,599,338 2,643,566
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8 Claremont Tce, Otumoetai, Tauranga 3110 | Ph 07 576 2523 | www.obc.org.nz |