The following are excerpts of the report submitted by BWA General Secretary Neville Callam at the BWA Executive Committee meeting

Profiles in I

Courageous Christian Witness

By Neville Callam welcome the opportunity to visit with BWA member bodies, to

observe how they are seeking to carry out the mission God has entrusted to them and to encourage and challenge them in their quest for faithfulness to God. In this report, I make reference to four visits. In October 2012, I observed among Baptists in the Australian state of Victoria a resolute effort

Yet, how hopeful was the 38th annual assembly of the Baptist Convention of South Africa, marking the 25th year of their independence as a convention. Repeatedly, a note of joy was sounded, a summons to continuing engagement

in prophetic to develop an effective

response to the demands posed by their multicultural context. By addressing the nature of the witness they offer, and the type of advocacy required, and by developing appropriate forms of ministry, Victoria Baptists are pursuing faithfulness to God’s mission. The presence and involvement of a BWA leader in the Victoria Baptists celebrations marking the 150th Anniversary of their union and contributed to the strengthening of the partnership that exists between our two groups as well as between BWA and Australian Baptists together. My unforgettable visit to Papua New Guinea (PNG) provided

a potent reminder of the possibility of engaging in transformative ministry even when churches live in challenging settings marked by a measure of inter-tribal disharmony, a defective road network and inadequate financial resources. Baptists in PNG maintain a positive outlook and the spirit of daring, based on their faith in God. Their approach to ministry marks them out as worthy of emulation by other Baptist groups. In partnership with the wider Baptist community, they should do great exploits for God. A visit to Nelspruit in South Africa, in December 2012,

presented a telling reminder of the remnants of the evil system of apartheid which placed the local population in segregated communities based on the ideology of separate development.

ministry was issued, and commitment to partnership in God’s mission was reinforced. In what appears to be a highly secularized region of the country, or else a setting in which “traditional religion” holds powerful sway, Baptists attending the South Africa Convention meeting in the eastern state of Mpumalanga expressed determination to seek Christ and to make Christ known. They should be able to rely on our prayers on their behalf. Finally, when representatives from seven Baptist conventions

and unions came together for the Bread of Life conference in Haute Limbe, Haiti, the devastation wrought by the earthquake of 2010 was still on their minds. They were also mindful of the effort Baptists made, and are still making, to help them re- establish their communities. Yet, Baptist leaders in Haiti were quite clear about the serious commitment they must maintain when it comes to their vocation to call the people in Haiti to faith in Jesus Christ. There are more Baptists in Haiti than in all other countries

in the Caribbean combined and their numbers could increase dramatically as locals and their partners continue to collaborate in proclaiming the Gospel both in inspired speech and in Holy Spirit-empowered deeds of love and mercy. The decision made at the Bread of Life conference to form an Alliance of Baptists of Haiti exemplifies the unifying function BWA still fulfills around the world.

Above: BWA General Secretary Neville Callam, right, with former BWA Director Tony Cupit, left, and Mapusiya Kolo, who worked with Cupit in the translation of scripture into the the Kyaka Enga language of Papua New Guinea in the 1970s.

Left: Executive staff of the BWA: From left, Rothangliani Chhangte (BWAid), Meg Pearson (Finance), Emmett Dunn (Youth), Raimundo Barreto (F&J), Eron Henry (Communications), Neville Callam (Gen Sec), Kathe Traynham (P&D), Fausto Vasconcelos (METR), Patsy Davis (Women), Julie Justus (Member Services)

APRIL/JUNE 2013 15