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May-June 2009

  

 

Article from the President

 

Oh my goodness I come empty handed into a world holding only but a smatter of what has been and a dream of what could be. How! I dare to ask myself does one ponder on the future that I perceive to be much larger than the past or the present. Ahh! I respond with such Biblical knowledge as Eph 3:20 God is able to do more than, all things are possible, my God is able… Oh yes! He is….

 

But wait a minute is God going to just bring me what and who I need?  -  Yes He is! Qualified though? - hmmm not always!! Seed form? Yes! More than anything else…

 

We embrace over the next 6 weeks here at Annesbrook another momentous opportunity to hold a miracle offering, we hope to raise on Sunday 14th June a sum of money that will enable us to enlarge the place where we meet… Isaiah 54: 2, Kings 6:1

 

There is nothing more contentious than talking about money in Church but we will not mature in Christ without these frank discussions… Jesus said, you excel in faith, hope etc see that you also excel in the grace of giving…

 

So we stretch ourselves, believing for God to work through us to provide the wonder of provision as we face a supposed financial recession and we wonder if this is either going to be a very exciting trip to take or am I leading a whole lot of people who are going to end up being very disappointed… ahhhh the joys of leadership… How do I know its right! How do I know God is in such exploits! How do I enlarge, stretch and not hold back in what could be such times as this I find myself in the middle of…

 

I don’t play golf but I do enjoy a bit of fishing… I know I’ve got to get the best out of my day, but to do that I need to assess where the fish are, is my gear all good, you know for the big one, did I bring some food with me cause if I don’t get hungry well I know my fishing fan club will( my wife and kids who by the way hate not catching anything) therefore is there enough fuel in the boat to get to where we really need to be (way out in the middle of nowhere) and of course get back home again. Do I have the right bait and the right berley? Is the tide right, is the weather ok. Is the bung in… do I have my cell phone just in case, so much to think about, why bother!

 

Exactly, why not stay home, why not go down the shop and buy some fish, why not just play it safe on the shore! 

 

Do you see where I’m going with this? Maybe not, so let me expound for you…

 

I am believing for a Movement of Churches that really do know how to fish. This is not a simple task and it will take much effort, but the rewards …..Wow!

 

I am believing for transformation of our Churches that embraces all methods and ways of catching fish so that at the end of the day we come home with fish for tea.

 

I am believing for God to surprise us (like He can) with a miraculous catch – being prepared of course to throw our net over the other side when asked.

 

I am believing for Churches to have a culture that embraces change, extends and stretches itself beyond its current borders... Anybody who knows fishing welcomes the thought that although much effort and energy is required, it’s all worthwhile when there's a plentiful catch at the end of the day.

 

Will we truly welcome the next level and stage of Church life that embraces Gods abundance and multiplication of lives that are desperately awaiting the Church, your Church to seek them out and share the good news that is worthy of life itself?

 

Let's keep fishing!

 

Blessings

Brent Liebezeit

President CCNZ

 

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  Most of our May meeting was spent with Andrew Ball who is the Ministry Co-ordinator from Churches of Christ in NSW. 

Greetings once again from the NLT

 

His invaluable insights into church health, church growth and believers spiritually has given us lots to work through. We will be meeting again in June to go over the outcomes for us as a movement. 

The team is meeting less frequently this year therefore it has been decided to cut the newsletter back to three monthly to coincide with our meetings.

Plans for Move 09 are coming together; once again we have an exciting program; hope you are all planning to be there. 

 

God Bless

NLT

 

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Update on Annesbrook Leadership College 

         

2009 is already proving to be a HUGE year for Annesbrook Leadership College! We have 28 Year One students, 14 Year Two students, and two Extension Studies students based at Naenae Community Church in Lower Hutt. What a great bunch of people they are! More than every before, this is a group who are focussed on the goal of knowing Jesus and stepping into His purpose for their life and future

The atmosphere around the Annesbrook campus is enthusiastic and electric as the students gather for prayer and class time. From there they go to spend a day serving the ministry of their home Church and the reports back from their pastors are outrageously positive. Through their serving, new areas of ministry are being opened up, and local Churches are being built stronger!

For the first time this year, ALC - (Annesbrook Leadership College), courses have been offered by Extension Studies for people wanting to do the course who are not based in the Nelson region. This has been a steep learning curve for us, but after some initial hiccups, things are really humming along and the first students are enjoying the early stages of their ALC year.

There has never been a greater need for leaders to be raised up in local Church contexts! Never before have the possibilities been so huge or the challenges so great! There are so many people to reach… so many great and creative ministry ideas to be pursued. I am convinced that as we focus on training and releasing leaders, our Churches will grow… our movement will be stronger… and we will see God move powerfully in our nation! This is a great time to be alive and loving Jesus!

 

Kristen Williams

Principal Annesbrook Leadership College

 

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 Wow, I wasn’t 100% sure of what I was getting myself in for as I embarked on this adventure! Wife to an awesome husband and mother of two beautiful daughters, I thought 'hey I can handle this'…. There has been many challenging, moving, inspiring, rewarding, tearful, thought provoking, questioning moments, even laughing in hysterics at some of Kristen’s comments; these are just some of the life changing experiences along this amazing journey.

Testimony from Student at Annesbrook Leadership College

 

The most powerful thing for me has been bringing myself back to Jesus, completely leaning on Him, leaving all former knowledge at the door, discovering for myself in a greater powerful way to be in the presence of the Holy Spirit, to constantly live in His outstretched arms, to know His love to the core of my spirit, His desire for me to be close to Him, to know Him in such an intimate way.  Being open to everything He has for me now and in the future.

The knowledge that has been given to us through the speakers is life-changing, many times the ‘light bulb’ has gone on for me and such freedom has come into my life. I would like to thank them for faithfully selflessly setting themselves apart to be the hands and feet of Jesus.  It is building a strong foundation in me and my family, and I am very grateful. 

I have also got to know so many different people that I would not normally do life with, they are an inspiration to me, and I have appreciated doing the journey with them. 

Jamie Taylor
38 years old, Resource Coordinator at Annesbrook, Wife, Mother, Loving Jesus, Loving People, Loving Life.

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Church Development

 

Annesbrook Christchurch, Wellsford, Harvest Swanson and Harvest TeAtatu, Mairangi Bay, Revival, Link Hutt City, Naenae Community Church, Connection, Kahurangi, Takaka, LifePoint Feilding and Riverside Wanganui.  Next month they will be visiting the Hutt Valley Churches and also Takaka church.  They are taking a holiday 20th to 27th June. 

Please continue to pray for them and their input into our churches

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George and Pauline Langford have visited the following churches in the last few months;