In This Issue

George & Pauline’s Itinerary
Mission Development Donations
National Leadership Team
What’s Happening Around New Zealand - LINK Hutt City
MOVE ’08 (Convention)

George & Pauline’s Itinerary

In July we will be in Australia from the 3rd to the 25th, we are attending Hillsong Conference and spending time with Andrew Ball and team at Churches of Christ New South Wales. We are looking forward to that time of input and refreshing. To top it off we are having a week’s holiday at the end.

We have just had an awesome weekend at Mairangi Bay Church. Kylie, our daughter, Pauline and I took a Spiritual Gifts weekend. On the Sunday evening the meeting was divided into 3 groups practising using our gifts. In one of the groups, a young man sat in the chair in the middle of the group and it was getting near the end of the evening. Different people had spoken into his life then I felt led to pray for him; in the middle of praying I stopped suddenly as God gave insight that I shared with him. After the meeting he came over to me and asked how I knew I was right in what I said, I told him I didn’t, sometimes I’m wrong but I say it by faith trusting it is from God. I asked him if he was a Christian, “no”, would you like to be, “yes” was his response. As Peter Anderson (Pastor) and I prayed for him, we saw new life come into him. God is awesome!

Top

Mission Development Donations

The National Leadership Team wish to express our grateful thanks to all the churches and individuals who have supported George and Pauline during the past year. With one month to go in the financial year we have received $44,000 in donations, compared to only $14,600 for the whole of the year before! It is awesome to see God’s provision, and I know this has been a huge encouragement to George and Pauline. For the first time in the four and a half years they have been with us we will be able to cover expenses. Please join with us in giving praise to God for this and continue to pray for ongoing provision and the effectiveness of their ministry amongst us.

Top

National Leadership Team - May/June Report

For our May meeting we invited Andrew Ball, from Australia, to come and share with us from his wealth of experience as Executive Ministry Director of our NSW churches. His insight was very helpful and he has left us with lots to ponder on.

We also met in Nelson on 4th June, Brent started the day with a devotion from Ps 136 and we then looked at where we are as a Movement on the “P” Scale (see Mission of a Movement Paper), we see us as a “P3”. To move us to the next level we have decided to further investigate ways that we can work with Andrew Ball from NSW as his expertise in church development is invaluable and he is willing to help New Zealand in anyway he can.

Our web page is working well with new information being added to it regularly so keep checking it out. Riverside Church (formerly Ingestre Church of Christ) in Wanganui, & LINK Church, Hutt City have agreed to trial the new online reporting system that we hope to have up and running in the near future. We will let you know when it is available; it will be a more efficient method of gathering our statistics and will allow churches to receive up-to-date reports on their growth.

Move 08 details were finalised; it’s going to be a great few days of empowering and networking, check out the information below for the details. Registration forms will be posted to you shortly.

Our next meeting will be July 2nd, the last one before Move 08.

Thank you for your continued support and prayer for us as a Team.
God Bless
The National Leadership Team

Top

What’s Happening Around New Zealand - LINK Hutt City

Joshua and Karen were called to pastor ‘Lower Hutt Church of Christ’ (now ‘Link Hutt City’) in February 2007. The past fifteen months have been a roller coaster of highs, lows, challenges, incredible satisfaction, joy, loneliness, frustration and absolute awe in the grace of God. Below are some of the details of their journey to date.

Being our first sole pastoral role everything has been a steep learning curve. In times of strong opposition from the enemy it has been tempting to walk away from it all; but we remember the call of God to come to this city and this people. So even though we may not have amazing ability we do have the power of God working through us as we have daily surrendered in obedience to what He wants to do. We align ourselves with Paul when he said in 1 Corinthians 15:10 “But by the grace God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them – yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.’

We have been seeing the incredible hand of God in our midst over the last year. In particular we have seen Him miraculously heal eight of our people. One of the healings a few weeks ago was a youth who had her severe short sightedness healed totally. This girl’s life has been radically transformed through God healing her. She is now able to play sport and do many activities that she had been withheld from doing. We give God the praise!

Every week there is a story of God’s power in someone’s life. This is giving God the glory and He is revealing His power!

Recently all those who had given their lives to Jesus Christ in the last year were asked to stand during the offering time. Over quarter of the church stood to their feet. It was a ground-breaking moment in our church as we all applauded what God was doing among us.

We were reminded recently through Brent Liebezeit at a Pastor’s training day of the fact we are here to win souls. It has had a direct impact on us as we endeavour in everything we do to keep this goal forefront. We are a soul winning church which the devil does not like. We will continue to break new ground and take territory for the Kingdom of God! We will ‘proclaim His salvation day to day’. His grace is having huge effect in the Hutt City through LINK.

Church is the hope of the world and when church is fully functioning as it should be nothing compares. Broken hearts are healed, hope is restored, and the Kingdom of God is declared!

Top

MOVE ’08 (Convention)

This years Move 08 is going to be an opportunity to create a building of momentum within our Movement like never before. We are focussed on where we are going, what we are hoping to achieve and now seeking a larger team to help us achieve it.

Could we team together to embrace the future of a Movement that is not settled with the status quo, but be willing to participate in the future of such a movement as Christian Churches New Zealand?

We are therefore looking for existing and future Senior Pastors, Associate Pastors, Youth leaders, Children’s leaders, Elders, Managers, Administrators and Small Group leaders, to accept this invitation of call to be a part of Move 08. August 20 – 22 [Senior Leaders from 19 August].

This year we have the privilege of having with us Pastor Sam Monk from Equippers Church, Auckland. We have asked him to speak as he has been in the process of revolutionising a larger movement, the Apostolic denomination.

Held in sunny Nelson at the Annesbrook Church, also the location of National office for Christian Churches New Zealand you will be embarking on a journey that will inspire, motivate and challenge you to reach for all that God is calling you to reach for.

Senior Leader/Spouse [Tuesday Lunchtime 12 Noon – Wednesday 7pm + Dinner Friday Night] $125.00
Standard Convention [Wednesday 7pm onwards] $55.00

Accommodation options and details are included in the registration form being sent out shortly and include billeting or staying at a nearby motel - Saxton Lodge $100 per room per night.

Top