In this Olympic year it seems appropriate to draw inspiration from Hebrews 12 in which the journey of faith is likened to a long distance race. Perhaps Team BUGB can be inspired by the athletes in Team GB as they prepare to win gold at the London Olympics…

Begin with the End in Mind

No one just turns up on race day without having imagined crossing the finish line for months and years beforehand. In the same way we need to be clear about our purpose and use this to inspire us. I’m a big fan of BU motto “Encouraging Missionary Disciples” – it seems to me to fully encompass our purpose as churches, and as a Union. This is the vision that needs to guide all that we do, and the goal against which we need to honestly evaluate our progress.

Have a Strategy

Ever since London was awarded the 2012 Olympics we’ve been aware of Team GB’s strategy to win as many gold medals as possible. There has been targeted funding and interim goals along the way for athletes to aim towards and be accountable for. Sometimes difficult choices have been made to ensure the team as a whole made the desired progress. BUGB needs to be similarly strategic in the way that it uses the limited financial resources at its disposal. For example, why not use Home Mission funding to support those innovative individuals and churches that are willing to go to strategically identified groups of un-churched or under-churched people within the UK population?