Dreams on a whiteboard: preparing a vision to develop with our elders and then our church.
Have you ever had a feeling like you know something big is coming soon and you've been given the gift of a moment or a season to prepare well for it? Our church planting team is in that season now. To rush headlong into planning and executing a strategy before considering your unique position, your calling, your convictions, and/or your passions could be a critical mistake. And as church planters, if you move too quickly too soon, you run the risk of losing buy-in from the larger group or worse yet "planning God out of the equation." We're currently tackling these issues and loving every moment of it. Soon we'll be presenting a draft vision for our new church to our elders, developing it further with them, and then bringing it to the wider church core group for further input and to brainstorm strategies of how to implement the vision as a church. Your prayers during this process are so important, so please join us in asking God to do His thing!
Nate leads worship at the Multiply NZ Conference.
Multiply Church Planting Conference
Nate and Hamish recently attended a church planting conference in Auckland with church leaders from around New Zealand and guest speakers from Australia, the UK, and Kenya. Nate was asked to help lead worship for the event, which opened doors for more networking among other churches and church planters. The conference came at a perfect time for challenging and refreshing us as church planters in dreaming mode. We have a sense that God is pushing us to increase our faith and to loosen our grip on the controls of how this is going to play out. We know He's called us to plant multiple churches. And it seems He's asking us to take more risks and raise the bar. So pray with us and watch this space!
Church Plant Funding Update
Our Goal:
$270,000
This amount covers start-up purchases as well as operating costs for the first five years, on a diminishing basis. This does not include our salary or personal ministry expenses.
Current Commitments:
$145,000 (54%)
If you are interested in getting involved as a financial partner with a one-time, tax-deductible gift, please visit this website and follow the instructions.
This cutie. Finn loves having a "coffee" with Daddy in this local train-car cafe.
Family Update.
Springtime is always an exciting season around our house. The promise of warmer days and Christmas joy looms in the air as the countdown is updated daily on our family chalkboard. And Halloween dress-ups bring a sense of fun and make-believe. But this year, even royalty came knocking on the door (of our city 😉) as we were paid a visit by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. That's right - we're talking about Harry and Meghan. We did our best to play it cool with the rest of the usually nonchalant kiwi folk as the royals passed by on the viaduct, an arms-length away. It's rather silly, really. They're just people after all. But I must admit it was a bit fun to see the look on our daughter's face as she waved hello to a real-life prince.
Playing it cool and greeting our royal guests in Auckland with friends.
