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On Purpose for a Purpose

On Purpose for a Purpose

The Power of a Story What absolute amazing days we live in, on the planet today are 7 billion people with 7 billion stories involving great dreams, paralyzing fears, success, failures, love and brokenness. Like Charles Dickens writes in ‘A tale of two Cities’, ‘It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.’ How often is the manifestation of this quote told in the gripping stories of the individual let alone the truth it speaks to the BIG picture being playing out on a world stage.

I love the story, each story true and gripping, every story with a common thread so visible by one but invisible to all others. Each story revealing raw and unrehearsed living emotions such as, love, hurt, anger, and joy all for one purpose, all to one end. There is One that knows every story and as the great conductor is orchestrating every element towards one beautiful collision.

My story is one of those 7 million stories, a drop in the bucket in the ocean of humanity but purposeful in the eyes of the Majestic one.

‘I shall not die but live and declare the works of the Lord.’ Psalm 118:17

‘For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.’ Ephesians 2:10

INSIDE

1 + 1 = 9

Beautiful Collision

Experiences

Floats my Boat

The Baird Clan

The story of a collision that changed my history and future

The adventure so far

What spurs my soul

The Strong Call

Jason Baird

Work

What have I been doing?

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BAIRD CLAN

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IWe are 6 strong and 3 missing. The story of 1 + 1 begins way before I had any comprehension of who God was and what He had instore for this boy from the ends of the earth (well not quite the ends of the earth but if you stand on the largest hill in Invercargill you can see it from there).

The ‘chance’ meeting happened as I was throwing my travel pack into the car of another team member of our India Mission and the rest, as

1 + 1 = 9

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they say, is history. I moved from Christchurch to Auckland and made Linda wait another 4 years (she will provide exact times) before we married.

Our first adventure as a married couple was driving to Invercargill on our honeymoon and taking up the Youth Pastor role at Cornerstone New Life Church. Linda is mad keen for kids and as a primary teacher couldn’t wait to have our own.

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Over the next 14 years we have had many adventures and grown the family. We have struggled with the loss of three babies through miscarriage including a very dramatic and heartbreaking incident as missionaries in India.

We are blessed to have Kristina Anne Baird, Daniela Beverly Baird, Amy Kathlene Baird and Ethan Bill Clive Baird.

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I was born in 1973 to my young parents who were living in Christchurch. Just over a year later my brother joined the team and my parents shifted to Invercargill.

I grew up with good hard working parents but we always struggled financially with Dad at one time having three jobs and mum working as a cleaner or on night

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shift at a local Motel. I have one brother and two sisters and we are now scattered across this great land.

I am very grateful to my parents for the work ethic they instilled in me. Dad died in his sleep at age 60, way to young, and mum now lives in Hamilton.

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Our extended family used to gather on a Sunday morning at one home and worship together so I had some Christ input but my family drifted from Christ. As I got saved each came back to God and now all with Him.

Growing Up


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I was 18 and had escaped the clutches of Invercargill and a year of absolute waste as I had ended a live in relationship and pulled myself away from a group of friends that loved their ‘dope’ and as a team had caused so much strife we had spent a night in jail.

I was in Christchurch starting a new chapter, an Engineering Degree at University. I was living with an elderly friend of the family and her 40 year old mentally handicap son.

A wider world was opened up and I really enjoyed the atmosphere but was so lonely. I didn’t have the courage to say ‘boo’ to anyone and apart from the odd lab partner that involved me in the odd social encounter I was a loner looking in on the exciting Uni life from the outside.

The lady I was living with had died and I needed to find a place to live, the only opening I could afford was a flat with holes in the floor and 4 other flat mates of which I only met two. We bought our own food, did

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our own cooking and lived in our bedroom. I was failing miserably in nearly every subject especially, calculus, physics, and chemistry (absolute major problem for an engineering student). I dreaded going to lectures and was quickly falling into despair.

I had made up my mind to be more proactive in making friends so decided to strategically sit in the middle of the lecture hall so that I could talk to those who sat beside me. No kidding, in a 300 seat lecture hall nearly full nobody sat beside me, I was sinking.

The word ‘Hello’ saved my life.

As I was sitting through yet another crazy chemistry lecture a fellow beside me starts a conversation with me and invites me to come and hang with him and his mates. The collision between sin and salvation was happening. After a week or two he invited me to church. A no brainer to a lost boy, I sat in the pew of this Anglican Church crying each Sunday for no reason. I remember inviting Jesus into my heart as I remembered

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from Sunday School times. I did it each Sunday because I thought He had gone during the week. I remember when it stuck, when my heart was forgiven, I distinctly remember the feeling that I was saved and ‘not just for myself’.

Within weeks I was singing a song that said ‘Here I am God send me’ I

stopped singing as I didn’t mean the words but the song kept going and going until I had processed the fact that Christ died for me and my only real response was to sing so loud ‘Here I am God send me’. He did. Within months I was on my first mission trip, meeting my future wife and embarking on my lifelong mission….

I love the fact that God is able to orchestrate great collisions of love that alters the course

of a life and provides wholeness and purpose even while we don’t even realize

we need it.

It was more busted than I ever thought?


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What do they say, ’It is not what happens to you but how you respond that proves the man.’

The following few experiences are mine, not meant as means to ‘prove myself’ but to show the hand of a great and loving God in the life of one that wants to be moved by Him.

First Mission trip

My first mission trip ruined me forever. How could I be an engineer when the Kingdom is the answer? We had a blast, preaching salvation, laying hands for healing, believing for miracles. This was it, this is my life.

Youth Pastor

Our first real faith venture. Packing up all we owned and heading to the other end of the country for a role they couldn’t pay us for. GREAT. We learnt so much from Dave and Robyn Elder and did our best, taking the group from 6 to about 100

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Pornography

A battle that I was losing and it was causing darkness, secrets and shame in my life. I am blessed with a great wife who stayed and helped, great pastors who did not ‘chuck me out’ and through their help was able to ‘fight the good fight.’

Losing First Baby

It was our second big youth camp, ‘extreme tribes’ that Linda started bleeding. Sitting in the back of the pastors car driving into town praying like a bulldog with a bone, not letting go of life. Dealing with the pain and grief that followed pulled us closer to God. This was not going to be the last time we faced this and for me not the worse either.

University 2.0

We were finished as youth pastors and the next door was yet to open, Bible College I thought, maybe our own church. Instead 3 years at University undertaking a

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commerce degree. Applying my faith to the world. With children arriving and no money we believed God and got through, not just scraping by but even being asked to do honors in three subjects.

India

The biggest adventure yet. Missionaries with a family to India. What a year, children’s home build, youth group established, worship team growing, kids home schooled, rural pastors encouraged, 3 hours of dying of cerebral malaria, losing another baby in rural village, Linda’s Dad dying….. A year that had the lowest of lows and the highest of highs, a year where Linda and I, in the sight of God, made a life long decision to only be involved in that which has eternal significance.

Sticking it out

The last three years have been a test of that promise, of that desire and we continually hold fast.

EXPERIENCES

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Director

Sozo Trading Trust 2010 –

An after hours business to raise funds for continued work in India. Coffee Roasting and design led micro financing manufacturing in India.

Communications Director

Victory Christian Church. 2010 -‐

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Volunteer

Global Task. 2009-‐2010

Building the national profile of Global Task.

Missionary - India 2008-2009

Projects Co-ordinator

Venture Southland. Community, Tourism and Economic Development Invercargill 2005 - 2008

Developing business plans for some of Southlands largest

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public/private initiatives

Retail Sales

Placemakers. 2001 – 2002

Youth Pastor

Cornerstone New Life Church

National Youth Director

NZ Church Missionary Society

WORK HISTORY


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The Kingdom of God advancing in our world. Not building bigger castles in our sandpit but making the sandpit bigger. Engaging the world with the living message of a great God!

That is what does it for me.

It would be the greatest privilege to be a part of the ever increasing advancement of God’s Kingdom in our world at this time. Engaging the world through every means possible, business, education, media, technology and the best way yet, servant hood.

Over the last three years we have had this passion tested and though conventional wisdom suggests we chuck it in we cannot. The Church is the one ‘organisation’ that can make a difference, that carries the heart of God and we must continue to push, dream and thrust our way forward.

I would love to see the church make headway in the realms of trade and business. To use this is a great missionary thrust into all the world.

Seeing men and women discover their purpose, to identify their Ephesians 2:10 – ‘On Purpose for a Purpose’.

The Church is what Christ is coming back for and I have no desire to build anything else.

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What have I learnt thus far?

God is good

I know we should all know this but I didn’t. I knew He was good but only for others yet through it all God has shown that He is indeed good and I cannot be shaken on that point.

There is no other way

In our world of many stories there is still only one way for a man or women to not only reach heaven but have peace now, and that is by accepting Christ. He is the answer. Again not a theological concept but a deep seated truth in my heart.

God is moving

Apart from the odd shake here and there many believe that God has gone dormant. He has not and the church today is stronger than it has ever been, more salvations and miracles are happening across the planet than ever before and God id marching to his prophetic beat towards what He said He will do. I must move with Him.

People are desperate for meaning

The west is waking up to their inbuilt cry for purpose, for true connection for wholeness. While we have much it has come at a heavy price to the human heart and the broken western generation is changing the frequency of their heart searching for a message of hope, love, forgiveness and true purpose. We are the station with the message, keep broadcasting and do not give up.

What Floats my boat?

PASSIONS Building the Kingdom by

engaging the world with the truth, love and grace of the one great God, Yahweh. Being

creative and purposeful about the task before us.

GIFTINGS

Strategic/Vision

Communication

Encouragement

Evangelistic

96 Shetland Street Glen Eden, Auckland, New Zealand 09 550 4969 0277 59 6000 [email protected]

What is your Story?

‘The world has yet to see what God can do through a man or women completely devoted to him.’

That means your story can still make a difference, connect with God and let the collision of forgiveness

change your life. How?

I would love to connect with you and tell you the way.

email me with your story

[email protected]

Jason Baird

Download - Jason Baird

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