Dear Friends,
We see God in the way the church acts. This week I spoke with an eighty year old who said, “I am not connected to the church now.” I knew that fifteen years ago she and her late husband (a church elder at the time) were very active in the church. “But are you still a believer in Jesus?” I enquired. To which she responded, “I am not sure. I don’t know. There were so many problems in the church!”” I felt her pain.
Is it fair for people to see God as the way church members and leaders act? I think it is. And, whether we like it or not – this is the way people do see God. And it seems this is how it is supposed to be. Jesus said that through the presence of the Holy Spirit – believers (individuals and groups) become his body. So if leaders are the body of Jesus – we can expect them to act that way. If a church plant is the body of Jesus – we can expect it to act that way.
How does your church (leadership, ministry, plant, etc) shape the picture that people have of God? If your church (leadership, ministry, plant, etc) is the only picture that people have of God – what is God like?
In this short NEWS there are ‘good news’ stories – and some ‘crazy’ ideas that work. There are ministry ideas that will inspire – and that can be adapted for your planting project.
Be encouraged,
Peter Roennfeldt
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CHURCH PLANTING NEWS – 2 June 06
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In this NEWS …
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CHURCH PLANTING NEWS – 2 June 06
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In this NEWS …
· NEW PENINSULA – A GOOD NEWS STORY WORTH TELLING!
· MIDDELPUNT PLANT SHARES WITH THEIR FRIENDS!
· LIFE GROUP IN A CAFÉ
· MELTON ‘DINNER WITH GEOFF’ – ATTRACTS NEW BIBLE STUDENTS.
CHURCH PLANTS ‘TWIN’ TO ENCOURAGE:
· UNI STUDENTS PLANTERS TO PUSH BEDS DOWN STREET!
· ADVENTIST SYNAGOGUE ‘BETH BNEI TZION’ – ATTRACTS FRIENDS WITH ‘YOUTH MUSIC FESTIVAL!
· NCD REGIONAL GATHERINGS (AUSTRALIA)
NEW PENINSULA – A GOOD NEWS STORY WORTH TELLING! “I just want to pass on a good news story to you,” writes Dale Stephenson – senior pastor of New Peninsula (formerly Mornington Baptist). “Our Community Caring Team has been extending ministry into a tough estate for about a decade. More recently a stronger Christian presence was established with some of the team moving to live in the estate. A broader initiative called COACH has many of the team coaching struggling families for a 6-12 month period and prayer walks through the community preceded the establishment of a worship service. Part of the service is a meal together, a worship service in the round with communion, prayer and ministry to one another. In the space of a few months it has grown to 51 worshippers. I was staggered when Toby Baxter told me that of 26 local adults 8 were illiterate and part of the reason for the challenge this community is facing. People are beginning to make first time commitments to Christ and in the near future we will be having a baptism service as part of this work.” [For more details & ministry ideas check out www.newpeninsula.com.au ]
MIDDELPUNT PLANT SHARES WITH THEIR FRIENDS! “We are organizing a lot of things,” writes Pauline Labega from the Middelpunt plant (in Purmerend, Holland). Recently the Middelpunt core-team spent a weekend with their friends. 55 people attended. “I think 25 percent of them do not yet know God and there were also a lot of seekers,” Pauline says. “It was a real blessing and everybody wants to come next year. I think we will have 100 people by then.” Pauline concludes, “Thanks for bringing us into the world of church-planting!” [See the pictures on www.hetmiddelpunt.com.]
LIFE GROUP IN A CAFÉ: Rather than ask people to ‘come’ to their Life Group (small group) in Llandrindod Wells (Wales) the Meeting Point team decided to ‘go’ to the local café and hold it there. They had met with only limited success holding it in homes so decided things had to be a bit more ‘out of the box.’ The result: three new guests in the first meeting! (UK Church Plant.Info Issue 26)
CHURCH PLANTS ‘TWIN’ TO ENCOURAGE: The Yeovil church plant (Inside Out People – in south England) and the Llandrindod Wells plant (Meeting Point – in Wales) are twinned and have been for nearly two years. The twins organised a retreat in Carmarthenshire countryside to relax, build the teams and have a good time together. Weekend activities also allowed the teams to access their team dynamics when set creative tasks and work through issues. One activity involved both teams designing a package that would protect three raw eggs from breaking when dropped from a height of 6 metres. (UK Church Plant.Info Issue 26)
UNI STUDENTS PLANTERS TO PUSH BEDS DOWN STREET! “We are organizing a service project in Rockingham (on the edge of Perth, Western Australia) which involves pushing beds through the Rockingham town-ship to raise money for the Rockingham District hospital,” writes Sven Ostring – who is in the early stages of planting a church for university students. “The hospital is very excited about this idea.” Sven has been spending a lot of time building relationships with university students. “There is quite a lot of interest in developing a book club, starting off with C.S. Lewis’ ‘Mere Christianity.’"
ADVENTIST SYNAGOGUE ‘BETH BNEI TZION’ – ATTRACTS FRIENDS WITH ‘YOUTH MUSIC FESTIVAL! The Beth Bnei Tzion Synagogue (an Adventist plant in Haifa, Israel) ‘Youth Music Festival’ on Shabbat, May 27, attracted over 120 people – with many friends who “testified that they went away from the Festival with hearts filled with pleasure, happiness and divine contentment.” Jews from different countries and speaking different languages were united as one great family praising the Lord in the ancient Hebrew language. The festival closed with the well-known Israeli song Halleluiah. (Note: If you would like to learn more about sharing faith with Jews – write Richard Amram Elofer, the world coordinator for Adventist Jewish Friendship: [email protected] )
NCD REGIONAL GATHERINGS (AUSTRALIA): If you would like to find our more or participate in a Natural Church Development Regional Gathering – phone NCD Australia 07 3814 4047 or email [mailto:[email protected]]: NSW 22 July 2006 – Greenacre Church of Christ; QLD 5 August 2006- Lake Community Church (with a specific NxCD focus) & 21 October 2006 – Caloundra Christian Outreach Centre and WA 11 November 2006 – Gateway Community Church.
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CHURCH PLANTING NEWS
Peter Roennfeldt
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CHURCH PLANTING NEWS
Peter Roennfeldt
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