An Update from our Global Action Team 

Among the many changes which took place in SBC last year, one of the most significant has been the formation of a new Global Action Team.

We are all grateful for the skillful, wise and enthusiastic leadership which Yvonne Campbell provided to GAT over many years. Following her passing in March 2021, it was decided to draw together a new team to consider how SBC can best support and learn from the worldwide church.

One of the delights of SBC is the incredible range of different backgrounds and ethnicities which exist within our church family. When forming our new team, we were keen to ensure that it properly reflected the diversity of our church and that our decisions were informed by a wide range of perspectives. There are eight members of our team: Nana Adu-Kwapong, Michael Barbour, Amy Davidson, Adebola Dada, Su East, Pam Knightly, Trevor Neill and Linda Wright.

One of the most important roles played by GAT is to decide on the allocation of SBC funds to global causes. £4,000 was set aside for giving to global causes and this has been distributed as follows:

• ?£1,000 to Tearfund’s Afghanistan appeal, donated following the crisis last autumn caused by the withdrawal of Western powers.
• £1,000 to Open Doors, supporting and campaigning on behalf of persecuted Christians worldwide.
• £500 to the FEBA, who use media resources to support Christians across Africa, Asia and the Middle East.
• £500 to International Needs.
• £500 to Compass Braille, who provide 125 worldwide projects access to Braille Bibles and books in their own language
• £500 to Mangrove Partners, intervening to provide resources to improve WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene) provision in Nigeria.

However, the role played by GAT is about far more than just financial decisions. We want to encourage SBC to think more about issues such as creation care and globalisation, to understand what a Christian response looks like in a world which is changing rapidly. It’s been encouraging in recent services to hear from voices such as former BU President Dave Gregory and Ruth Valerio, Tearfund’s Global Advocacy and Influencing Director.

If you’d like to know more about GAT’s work, any member of the team would be glad to speak with you. And please look out for more updates from the team in future editions of INSight.