One of the most powerful aspects of NAYBA is that we can help churches transform their neighbourhoods wherever they are in the world. And it is thrilling to think that we have passionate people in every corner of the globe already reaching their communities.

Many of those enthusiastic and spirited members of the NAYBA family joined together this month to take part in our Global Gathering. And the passion of those people was spelled out clearly when it came to their timezones!

While some attendees were moving towards bedtime others were starting their day. In fact, while it was 11pm in New Zealand, it was 3am for some of our American friends!

But no matter what time of day it is, everyone at NAYBA – and our collection of amazing family members – knows that there’s no time to waste when it comes to churches reaching their neighbourhoods.

With the pandemic still affecting the world, there has never been a more important time for the global church to make a difference.

Enterprise Catalyst

One of those who took part in the Global Gathering meeting was Geoff Baxter, NAYBA’s Enterprise Catalyst. We are currently helping 30 local churches in the UK and Ireland start The Enterprise Course, which was launched in response to the pandemic.

These programmes will help people who face economic hardship start small businesses. Without help, many people cannot get business ideas off the ground as they cannot afford to buy the services necessary. This is where NAYBA’s Enterprise Course helps.

Geoff explained how those churches who are taking part have access to all the resources and support necessary to make a difference in their neighbourhoods.

Civic Catalyst

Gary Atkins explained how NAYBA is supporting churches to carry out Impact Audits across the globe over the coming months. Four audits are currently taking place in the USA and three in Australia. Other Impacts Audits are being carried out in the Netherlands, Denmark and South Africa.

The NAYBA Impact Audit (NIA) enables churches to work together to measure their community impact and provide grassroots evidence that ‘faith is a force for good’.

It captures and maps resources, needs and expresses impact as the monetary value of time given by churches and faith communities each year. Churches are able to increase their influence, collaboration and resources for community transformation as a result.

Replication Catalyst

We also heard from Madz Deyzel, who is our first Replication Catalyst. One area that churches can spend a lot of time is in copying projects being used by other churches.

The problem with trying to copy is that it can take longer to achieve. And in many cases the effort fails because key insights are missing. This is where NAYBA’s Replication Course helps.

Using NAYBA Recognised Projects churches can dramatically increase the chances of success by replicating a tried-and-tested community project. By offering all the knowledge and resources available, NAYBA Replicate will help more churches transform neighbourhoods than ever before.

If you’d like to know more about Madz and how replication works, we recently spoke to her.

Thanks to everyone who took part in the Global Gathering. If you would like to set  up a NAYBA presence in your neighbourhood and be part of the family, we’d be delighted to hear from you.

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