A Short History of Tweed Coast Community Baptist Church
The first worship service was held in a restaurant in Cabarita Lakes Resort in February 1994. From there the church moved to Ace Plaza at Easter 1995. Later that same year the church purchased land in Cabarita Road for $187,000. A building including worship centre and community hall were subsequently built on this site (our current facility) and completed in 1997. The total cost of building was $450,000. The church was led by Rev. Graham Eggins from it's inception and soon after the construction of the church facility he was joined in the ministry by Marcus Wright. Pastor Graham concluded his ministry at TCCBC in 2005. During Pastor Graham's tenure the church developed a number of significant ministries such as children and youth along with the current Op shop, Second Chance Furniture and over 50's ministry (Minglers).
Some of these ministries and general church attendance declined during the period between Pastor Graham's departure and the commencement of Pastor Russell in November 2010. However a good foundation had been laid for the church to develop and grow by the grace of God.
2011-2017
In 2012 the church set a new vision along with some 5 year goals. The vision was to be a Biblical community, reaching the Tweed Coast and beyond with the gospel of Christ and establishing new Biblical communities when strategic to do so.
New Vision and Goals for 2018-2024
What is Vision? Vision is the bridge between the present and the future. Without it we perish or go “unrestrained,” as the New American Standard Bible puts it. Vision gives pain a purpose. Without vision we spend our lives taking the path of least resistance as we try to avoid discomfort. The level of sacrifice that our vision requires will determine the size of us who follow. Sacrifice separates the small from the not so small.
Vision is what we see, but it is also the way in which we see. Vision is the lens that interprets the events of our life, the way we view people and our concept of God. If we have a scratch on our glasses, it may seem like everybody around us has scratches too, but the problem actually lies with us because our vision is impaired. Jesus said that our eyes are the windows of our heart. Paul prayed that the eyes of our heart would be enlightened. In other words, we perceive with our eyes but we see with our hearts. Our minds receive images from our eyes but our heart interprets these images. Vision is seeing with the 'mind's eye'.
What makes a Vision Godly?
There are 5 simple tests that determine a Godly vision.
1. Is it right for the times we live in? 2. Does it promote faith rather than fear? "Courage is not the absence of fear but rather the presence of faith that is greater than our fear" 3. Will it motivate Gods people into action? "Vision is never satisfied with mere feeling but it always seeks a powerful manifestation of sacrificial love" 4. Does it require risk taking? ie having to depend on God "failure is only permanent when we give up and refuse to try again" 5. Does it glorify God and not us? Ego is empire building--we must continue to die to self that Christ might be glorified.
Our Core Values
Therefore, the things we believe to be true determine the way in which we interpret life. These “things” are called “core values.” Core values are the lens or eyes of our heart. It is important for us to realise the incongruence between what our core values presently are and what we really want them to be. Often, the things we say we believe and the things we actually believe are not the same. We must understand that it is not the truths that we believe in our head that are our core values, but rather the ones we believe in our heart. The things we perceive to be true determine the way we respond to the world around us and to God who lives within us.
What then are our core values?
1. We value God's Sovereignty.
We acknowledge Jesus as the Head of His church and our final authority. We will seek His guidance in all matters pertaining to church and personal life through His revealed Word.
2. We value Godly relationships with all.
We will minister Godly reconciliation primarily through personal relationships, seeking to meet each other's spiritual needs and prayerfully upholding one another.
3. We value healthy Kingdom community.
We will model healthy community seeking to be involved in our church life and encouraging others to participate in church life and community.
4. We value continuous personal prayer, corporate prayer and Spiritual warfare.
We will intercede daily seeking God's guidance and blessing personally, for our church and for those to whom our church family is ministering. We will come together in times of perceived spiritual attack seeking God's intervention.
5. We value evangelism.
We will take every opportunity to communicate the Gospel of God's grace and forgiveness through word as well as personal and corporate demonstration.
6. We value spiritual growth and Christlikeness.
We will promote discipleship (becoming Christlike) through the study of God's Word and mentoring among our church family.
7. We value Godly justice and mercy.
We will act as advocates for the people to whom we minister, speaking on their behalf against that which oppresses them.
Our Vision
True Godly vision consists of foresight, insight and oversight that come from His sight. Foresight is like looking at life through a telescope. This outlook allows us to know what is ahead as it connects us to our future. Foresight is the element of vision that helps life make sense and gives us the motivation that we described earlier.
Insight is like viewing life through a microscope. This perception gives us an understanding of why things happen in life. It also helps determine the underlying motivations of the heart.
Oversight puts life into context. It is like flying over our house in a helicopter. There is a perspective that we can only receive from this vista that helps us understand where we are with respect to where everything else is. The sons of Issachar are great examples of this kind of vision. The book of 1 Chronicles says that these men understood the times and had knowledge of what Israel should do (12:32). People that are blessed with this type of vision often have great wisdom concerning the seasons of life.
His sight assures us that the vision we have is from God. A vision from the Lord creates a mission from heaven. This is illustrated in the life of Moses when he went up on the mountain, received a vision of the tabernacle, and was told to construct it according to the pattern that he had received. (Exodus 24:16-28:43) Visions like this are just “pipe dreams” without some sort of administrative plan to complete them. A lot of people have lofty ideas about things they would like to accomplish for God but they seem to have no sense of how to see the dream fulfilled.
Vision Statement
Our vision is to be a vibrant worshipping and praying church that glorifies God through reaching the unchurched of the Tweed Coast with the gospel of Jesus, discipling the churched to 'Christ-like' maturity, while equipping the churched for both local and global ministry.
