Certainly in our church the number of children attending is growing. We have so many children. Some of them their parents don’t even come to church! And that is a very good sign.
Resources must be geared towards that ministry to ensure that it does not become a future story where the children will grow up and say ‘oh I was in Sunday School’, but rather that they would find the church to be relevant and not to grow up to say that the church is irrelevant.
CT: This is a big year for the Baptist family and you have a Europe-wide 400th anniversary celebration in Amsterdam coming up. What are you most proud of as a Baptist?
KA: I think our major achievement has been our emphasis on the word of God. And even though every Baptist Church has an independent form of leadership and governance we are still very strong because we are united through associations.
Something that makes me especially proud as a Baptist after 400 years is that only believers are members of the Church. We don’t throw anybody away but before you become a member we will help you to understand the decision that you are making. We as Baptists don’t just add.
That is one of the things that this year I will be emphasising wherever I go – that it is discipleship and that we don’t lose sight of that. Because too many denominations have lost sight of that. As Baptists that is one of our strengths.
CT: In your personal walk of faith, do you feel challenged by the Lord in your new role as President of the BUGB?
KA: The challenge I am facing is the cynicism and that people are no longer daring. Many people are in the church but they have lost their faith … and the ebbing away of the rich tradition of this nation that has helped so many other countries of the world, its own citizens do not believe in it any more. Taking prayer away from school, our children being taught evolution. These are things I find to be very challenging and I am trusting God that he will grant me the courage – it is a daunting task, one man cannot do all of that, it will take the whole Union.
But in the midst of all these challenges I am deeply hopeful because 2 Corinthians 4.18 says we should not look at the things that we see but the things that we don’t see because the things we see are temporal but the things that are not seen see are eternal and the things that are not seen are the graces of God because the grace of God can do it.
So the current swine flu, the current apostasy, the current lack of faith, the current loss of confidence shouldn’t be things that should shake me but I should look ahead to the things that God is able to do.
