IN THIS ISSUE

Pioneering Leaders ... Part 2 - By Brent Liebezeit

A Pioneering Legacy - By George Langford

Missional Endeavour Grants

Update from the NLT

Ministers Refresher - Renamed "LEADERSHIP SUMMIT 2010"

Events within CCNZ Nationally

Situations Vacant

PIONEERING LEADERS …. Part 2

By Brent Liebezeit

A pioneering leader has been the hot topic of conversation in my realm of ministry life lately … this is really a sequel to my first attempt in the previous newsletter to uncover the hallmarks of such a leader.  Here’s a little ditty that briefly covers last month’s thoughts…

Oh the Pioneer that would embrace beyond today looking to the future with such hope and determination to make things happen.
Oh the Pioneer whose ambition goes beyond selfish desire and ignites with Holy fire setting a community aflame with the love and power of Christ.
Oh the Pioneer who attracts willing followers prepared to change for the sake of the cause.
Oh the Pioneer who loves to lead in the face of uncertainty with an optimism that cannot be shaken.
Oh the Pioneer where are you!

Ta daaa!  Hope you liked that … I enjoyed writing it; maybe I should put some music to it!!

OK, so what to say this time?

A Pioneering Leader cannot entertain a small Church mentality:
Even when others are joining the fledgling flock and constantly enamoured by the smallness of such a beast.  Hey it may be a little cub right now but cubs turn into lions - big, beautiful, strong, kings of the Jungle.  We are on a journey and that journey will embrace more people who don’t yet know Christ.  If there is room in heaven for more lost souls then the Church must prevail and seek and save those lost.  The local Church is the hope of the world.  A pioneering leader will shake that small mentality with a cry from the depths of their soul that sounds much like the roar of the lion.  A pioneering leader will know what that feels like.  Right!!

A Pioneering Leader will establish and maintain a spirit of excellence in every area:
Both in the Church and in their private world.  There is a potential capacity in a pioneering leader that is miraculously expandable beyond all human understanding.  This however only happens as your inner world and ministry life embraces a standard of excellence which then unleashes doors and windows of opportunity.  Be faithful with the little and you will be given much.

A Pioneering Leader keeps people close to them:
This is an important aspect of Church life – relationships.  There is no room for neglect in this area.  Build long term relationships committed to each other.  This is not just about a group of leaders doing a job – we are committed to each other and love what we are doing together as a team.  A pioneering leader gets involved in the world of their leaders, they love them and vice versa. They know when they are hurting and know when they’re happy; they celebrate when they’re up and sympathise when they’re down.  Oh! And they know their kids.  A pioneering leader will find opportunities outside of work time to build relationships to a deep level with their leaders.  Go to the movies, have them round for dinner, celebrate their birthdays, have a good laugh with them.  If they won’t let you get into their life, they will not be the right person to build with both in relationship and in ministry.  A pioneering leader understands this and will move quickly to find those they are able to build with.

TOP

A PIONEERING LEGACY

By George Langford

We have had a very wet weekend in Nelson, but the sun is shining again today, so all is well.  It’s like that in life as well isn’t it?  Things can be going sideways and we don’t seem to be making progress but if we keep pressing on breakthrough will come.  God is amazing in His ways and in His timing.  When you know God has called you to do something it’s worth pressing through.

Something that has captured me is the whole theme of Pioneering.  I recently went to Takaka Churches 100 year celebration of Christian witness from their site in the Takaka Township - it was a great time.  I was asked to share on behalf of my Father, as he is one of the longest standing members of the church.  In doing this I discovered that his Grand Parents were the first members’ baptised in the church, his Father was baptised there, as was he, I was also and my son Corey was.  Christian Heritage means something, there has been something pioneered for you, a trail has been blazed.  There is a cause to be picked up, a journey to be continued and a baton to be passed on. This has encouraged me to look back at a generation earlier to grandparents who came to New Zealand on the Aurora landing on Petone beach in January 1840 - real pioneers.  My Great Great grandmother writes about the difficulties, the dangers, and uncertainties, as you can imagine, but alongside these there is an overwhelming sense of forging out a future not only for themselves and family but being a part of forming a new nation.  There was a great sense of call and purpose that goes way past doing the job; they were totally committed to the cause.

As we talk about Pioneering leaders and in our search for them, we also challenge you to become pioneering in your outlook in church life.  It is a way of living; forging forward into the new and not settling for what we have now.  Look for the opportunity to form new ventures, new missional endeavours. We are a pioneering Nation so let’s be a pioneering movement of Churches.

TOP

MISSIONAL ENDEAVOUR GRANTS

As mentioned in the last newsletter the NLT and CEPTB were offering thirty $500 grants as an incentive to assist churches in their Missional Endeavour projects.  If you missed the deadline for this year’s grants make a note as this will be an annual event with applications closing on 31st March each year.

We have highlighted below two of the applications which were received for this round of funding.

Naenae Christian Church, Lower Hutt - How 2 Programme

One of the greatest needs in the Naenae area is to up skill solo parents and other people. The area has an approximate 50% over representation in both solo parents and those who have no post school qualifications compared with the whole Wellington area. With the withdrawal of government sponsored night classes we believed it was a great opportunity to run basic "How 2" classes.

Secondly, one of the greatest needs I have identified as a Church is that we seem to have  disconnected from the community. No community groups use the church. The church did not seem to be in touch with its surrounding community. It seemed to do nothing for the community and was not seen as a helpful or caring place by most of the community.

To over come these pressing and important issues and a result of that assessment,  our planning team approved a "How2" programme for this year.

In February - we ran four weeks on how2 create in MS Word, a poster, a card, edit pictures and make a news letter.
In March - 4 weeks on Home Gardening, how to create and maintain gardens for your use.
In April - we did four weeks on Home DIY, covering  basic house  do ups and fix it’s. How to patch a hole in the wall, prepare and paint with special effects, fix leaking taps, fit a shelf and so on.

The planning for the next quarter is underway now and will include: home cooking simple and cheep meals, Budgeting, Writing your CV.  
All the courses are free and open to the public. The evening is about 1 hour long, followed with a cuppa.  We have distributed 600 leaflets in the community. We have visited homes and door knocked. We are inviting unsaved friends an un-churched people.  To date the courses have been of excellent quality and we have had several community people attending.  Our greatest challenge is to increase the non churched attendance, those who it is marketed to and we are constantly working on this.  

While we are a small congregation we are using the recourses we have to connect again with the community.  The benefits we see is that this programmed is home grown to meet specific needs in our community. It is allowing us to engage the community in a non threatening way. It is run within our capabilities.

We now have a Chill and Chat group on Tuesdays and will soon have a Just Sew group on Wednesdays, to complement our How2 on Wednesdays nights

In the last few months we have had three Baptisms, and a modest increase in attendance at worship. We have prepared the Children's room and fellowship room, with repairs and painting and can enlarge it into one large room all painted to match. We have also repaired the front of the church, and hope to have very much need signage done shortly.

Harvest Christian Church, Te Atatu - Elev8

Elev8 is an after school club for year 4-6 students.  The children are transported from school on Friday afternoons for a 2 hour programme from 3:15-5:15pm.  It was launched in term 4 of 2009 and was very successful with 25 children coming who for many have no defined church background.  2010 began well with 36 children registered.

The programme consists of afternoon tea, a teaching time including a memory verse, songs, games, stories, jokes etc. followed by an elective time where the children can choose from a range of activities.  The choices in term 4 of last year were cooking, gardening, tennis and jewellery making.  These activities will vary each term - 2010 started with Fimo modelling, trolley building, canvas art and painting, tennis and cooking.  The volunteers who help with these are a key to the success of the programme.

We have a great team from church of helpers and the year 7 and older children are able to stay on in the club and become junior leaders and are involved in an on- going training programme.  We had two junior leaders last year and this will grow in 2010 with two more leaders joining the team.

Each term is divided up in to 3 sections. 
Week 1 /2:  Planning and training with the leaders
Week3-7: The club nights
Week 8: Family night where the children show and display all they have done in the term and receive certificates for achievement and recognition of being a part of the club team.  This was very successful in 2009 with some great feedback from families.
Week 9/10: Club leaders evaluation and initial preparation for next term.

As the children come in to their final year and then graduate they are encouraged to join the church youth programme.  Children who accept Jesus will be followed up and visited at home.  They too will be invited to join the Sunday church programme.

TOP

UPDATE FROM THE NLT

The NLT met on 21st April and had another fruitful meeting.  There was great discussion about the momentum within the Team and the Movement as a whole and the future directions of both.

One exciting step in future growth and development within the National Office is the building of our own office space.  Plans have been drawn up and will be submitted to Council shortly with building starting soon after.  For those of you who are interested in a sneak peek we have attached a copy of the proposed plan.

Once the National Office is up and running one of our major tasks will be to scan and computerise all of the CCNZ archives which are currently stored in a shed behind the current office block.  If you have a keen interest in the history of the Movement and would be interested in heading up a team or helping in this process we would love to hear from you.  You can contact us on This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or phone Linda on 03 547 7371 to find out more.

TOP

MINISTERS REFRESHER - RENAMED "LEADERSHIP SUMMIT 2010"

At the recent NLT meeting time was spent discussing our upcoming Ministers Refresher and it was decided to rename this event to "LEADERSHIP SUMMIT 2010”.  With a key focus for CCNZ being on Pioneering Leaders it was decided to widen the parameters a little on who attends this event and it was felt that Leadership Summit better reflected the future of where we are heading.  Leadership Summit is for all Ministers, Elders, Emerging Leaders and their spouses and promises to be a great time of connecting with one another, inspiring input from a great range of speakers and above all a chance for God to reveal more of himself and his plans for individuals and churches within our Movement.

Planning is well underway for Leadership Summit 2010 which is again being held at Bridge Valley Conference and Adventure Centre from Wednesday 18th to Saturday 21st August.  Registrations are being taken now and you will find all the information you need in the Leadership Summit 2010 section on our homepage.  Spaces are limited so be sure to get your registrations in early to avoid missing this opportunity.

TOP

EVENTS WITHIN CCNZ CHURCHES NATIONALLY

If your church is holding an event let us know and we can promote it nationally through our website and newsletter.  Send a quick email detailing the event to Linda on This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Boost 2010 Mens Conference - Legacy of Courage

Annesbrook Church’s men’s ministry ‘Boost’ are holding a conference on Saturday 19th June.  This will consist of fantastic main meetings with worship and messages designed for maximum impact.  Alongside these meetings there will be practical elective sessions targeting real issues plus a variety of great activities.  For more info or a registration form contact the Annesbrook Church on This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or click on their website www.annesbrook.co.nz.

TOP

SITUATIONS VACANT

St Anselm's Union Parish Wellington - Part Time Minister Required
St Anselm's Union Church in Karori, Wellington, is seeking a part time minister. St Anselm's represents a diverse group of Christians, and the Minister may come from any denominational background. The congregation participates actively in complementing the role of the minister. Please refer to the St Anselmn's website www.stanselms.org.nz for general information about the parish and the vacancy or for more detailed information contact Keith Ryan at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

St Paul’s Co-operating Parish, Whangarei – Full Time Minister
St Paul’s Co-operating Parish, Whangarei, is looking for a full-time minister.  Step out in faith with us to make a difference in our community.  For more detailed information contact Rev. Peter Dunn at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .  Applications close 30 June 2010.

TOP