Leadership

The Fellowship is led by a team of Elders, one of whom is acknowledged to be the lead Elder, though we don't normally use this title.

Together the Elders are responsible for teaching, vision, direction and general oversight of every area of Fellowship life.

The Elders are:
  Howard Smith (Lead Elder) 01706 374123
  Alan Reeve 01706 370528
  Wayne Hudson 01706 655974

Wider Roles

Deacons, Youth & Children's Leaders and Worship Leader.

As the name implies these people are chosen to undertake specific functions within the fellowship. They are people whose personal ministry and gifting from God is recognised by the Elders and fellowship to undertake the roles.

  Deacons: Dave Clark, Andy Pringle
  Youth & Children's Leaders: Lucy Hudson, Ruth Pringle, Brenda Whitehead, Janet Smith, Stefanie Smith
  Worship Leader: Dave Clark

All the people appointed to these roles are accountable to the Elders. Each person is CRB checked. Together we work as a team, with unity of purpose but diversity of approaches, to equip, encourage and enable everyone in the fellowship to fulfill God's vision and strategy.

Strategy

God is not a God of confusion and neither should we be! God has plans and purposes for BCF. He has given us a clear vision and the Elders are responsible for ensuring that the strategy aligns to this vision. Everyone is encouraged to share what they believe God is saying and this will be tested in line with input from visiting preachers and teachers.

Membership

Our intentions are to follow Biblical principles whilst recognising that we have to comply with Charity Commission Regulations on certain legal issues.

Being a member of BCF means that the Eldership accept that you are a born-again, practicing, committed Christian who believes that God has called you to be part of this fellowship, practically this means getting involved in the vision, strategy and activities.

People who are not practicing Christians are welcome and encouraged to join us and come to the various activities and church events, however they will not be allowed to undertake specific roles such as teaching, preaching and leading study groups nor will they be allowed to vote on key church issues such as nomination or selection of Leadership and wider roles.

Communion

God encourages us to regularly enjoy communion together and we share the breaking of bread and wine almost every Sunday, as well as other occasions when we meet together. We do not use alcoholic wine in order not to exclude people.

We encourage everyone who has a personal relationship with Jesus to share communion with us whilst recognising the key biblical teaching in 1 Corinthians 11 that we should examine ourselves before we eat and drink and observe that this is about proclaiming Jesus' death and ultimate victory - Now that's worth sharing !

Your ministry

God has a plan and purpose for your life. He wants you to live life to the full and by the Holy Spirit you can do all things. So we encourage every member of the Fellowship to discover and develop their gifts. This means standing alongside people as they discover their true God-given gifts, and giving them every opportunity of developing those gifts. Sometimes it can also mean discouraging people from trying to exercise gifts which are clearly not theirs. Be encouraged to pray about your gifting and to have a chat with the Elders about your ministry.

Finances

It should come as no surprise that God's work and running BCF costs money. The Bible teaches that we are to give in accordance to how God has blessed us and we encourage people to do so.

We don't take collections on a Sunday morning, so what do we do? In order to make life simple for our treasurer we ask people to set up monthly standing orders. People who pay income tax will also be asked to sign a form so that we can claim back tax from the UK government as allowed. However if you do want to give a gift, one-off or regular by any other method then please speak to one of the Elders or Deacons.

In line with the principle of asking people to give to BCF, BCF itself gives away around 15% of its income to other Christian organisations. From time to time we have contributed to organisations such as the local hospice or school. Part of the churches role is to help each other and we will always try and help out members of the fellowship or people they know who may need help, for example by providing a food hamper.

Relationships

God has clear teachings on relationships and we expect everyone to live in line with Biblical teaching. In today's world the big questions are usually around homosexuality and co-habitation. We believe God is clear on both these issues - they are forbidden (1 Cor 6v18, 1 Cor 10v8, 1 Thes 4v3, Heb 13v4).

People who choose to ignore God's stance are welcome to attend BCF services and activities without being condemned. At the same time we will do everything we can to help people begin to live in obedience to God's word.

We understand that the world has largely abandoned God's plans for healthy relationships but it is our belief that if we live in line with God's plans then He blesses us individually and as a family.

Alcohol / Drugs / Smoking

We have various events throughout the year; examples include Community Fun Days, Quiz Nights and Laser Quest, we've even had the Oscars!

2 Corinthians 5:20 tells us that we are Christ's ambassadors and therefore have a mandate of responsibility. Because of this we have the following strict policies for all our activities and group meetings:

  No Alcohol - applies to all Church functions. Although the Bible nowhere condemns the moderate use of alcohol, for a considerable number of people alcohol is a serious problem. We want anyone to feel free to join us at any time, without facing unnecessary temptation.
  No Drugs - Taking of illegal substances is banned at all times.
  No Smoking - this is strongly discouraged and regardless of UK law it would not be allowed in the buildings where we are holding meetings. People who have to smoke must comply with the regulations for the specific building.