Launching the Year
Dear friends,
February dawns and all our groups and ministries are getting underway over the next week. The church building is coming alive again and is ready to be used every day of the week to reach people with the Gospel and build wholehearted disciples of Jesus. Kidspace and Youth start tomorrow and onwards we go!
At our Staff Launch Day this week, we spoke about the need for clarity in our ministry in 2024. We need clarity about what the gospel is - for there is no other name under heaven apart from Jesus by which people may be saved (Acts 4:12). We spoke about clarity in our expectations of each other. We spoke about clarity for our teams and clarity of vision for where we are heading as a church.
With this in mind, there are a few things I wanted to pass on for your encouragement and strengthening.
First, it is not too late to jump on board with all that is happening in 2024. Our mission is to build wholehearted disciples of Jesus and at the end of last year I encouraged everyone to Support the Work, Join the Work and Grow in the Work. The goal was to finish 2023 well and start 2024 well. Check out www.christchurch.com.au/2024 and get engaged in seeing your faith and love grow in abundance this year.
Second, mission will again be the backbone and heartbeat of our plans as a church for this year. We will be asking the question, “Where does our church fit into God’s mission to the ends of the earth?” Over the next few weeks you will hear more about this from Elliot but key to the way we do mission here is not loading you with more to do, but encouraging you to do what you do more deliberately. We all meet people everyday. Let’s pray for the people we meet. We all chat to people everyday. Let’s listen to the perspectives of the people we meet and then share a Christian perspective and see where the conversation might lead. It’s that easy.
Alongside our efforts in mission, we are continuing to build the Ministry Training arm of our church. We are putting renewed efforts into our Childrens, Youth and Families ministry this year with greater effort in the families space. Both Jesse Baker (Youth) and Pete Oates (Children) are keen to develop our encouragement, training and resourcing in this space.
Third, our Growth Groups are launching next week. On Tuesday morning 6th February at 9.45am and then on the evenings of Tuesday 6th and Wednesday 7th at 7.30pm, and again on Thursday morning at 9.30am, we will be gathering at church for the launch of groups, to hear more about the portrait of a healthy growth group and to pray together. Join us at those events even if you are not yet in a group and we will get you organised for the year.
Finally, early warning of our Annual General Meeting. This is always an important meeting in the life of our church as we elect office bearers, review financial accounts and hear about our Ministry Vision. Join us on Sunday 24th March at 2pm and be a part of all that is happening here at Christ Church.
Well, that’s it for now. If you ever have questions about anything, please just ask.
I look forward to seeing you on Sunday.
