Shore Community Church, Auckland, New Zealand
Our first win in November comes in the form of a massive boost in fundraising for our church plant. A church in Shreveport, LA has come to the party with a three-year commitment that has our committed total up to $225K (83% of our five-year church plant need). We'll need to see more of these funds arriving in our NZ church bank account earlier in the piece as our fundraising plan is front-heavy: the need will decrease as we grow and move toward self-sustainability as a young church at year six. If you'd like to learn more about this or help us reach our goal, head on over to churchplant.nz and make a donation. And as always, your prayers are much appreciated. God is providing!
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:
$225,000 (83%)
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.
Winning with Families in the Community
Nate and Henry recently celebrated a championship win with the Hobsonville Point Primary School under 9s basketball team. Coaching basketball has been a great way for us to connect with other families at the primary school. Nate and two other basketball dads pitched in to teach the kids some basketball fundamentals this season. We also took the opportunity to teach the kids respect for each other and for opponents. After our big win last week, we had a chance to catch up and celebrate with the other families in the team. We're hoping to have more and more opportunities like these to be a light in the community and to develop relationships that God can use for His purposes.
🏀 This season's champions of the local under 9's league!
It's a busy time of year. We'll be helping to host and lead this event in our community next Sunday plus two other Christmas events before the big day!
Family Update.
Summertime has arrived in New Zealand. If you're reading this in the northern hemisphere you probably don't want to hear this, but it is warm and glorious. But it's also quite busy...for now. December in New Zealand is packed with events in the race toward Christmas Day. After that, we're all spent and ready for a holiday. So most of January is quiet and calm.
Our family faces new hurdles every year as the kids keep growing up and getting involved in new activities, sporting events, and friendships. We've been juggling swimming lessons, piano lessons, and basketball for the past several months. When you add school and church commitments into the mix, we're at capacity. Please pray for wisdom for us as we navigate and edit life. As a family, we want to choose to give our time to people and causes that make the greatest impact toward God's calling for us in this life.
Prayer Requests.
🔵 Church Plant Venue
The manager at our venue of choice has now been hired! Just a week into the job, the manager got in touch with us and set up a meeting. It was a great first chat and while there are still some key areas that need to be developed before we can sign a contract, the ball is rolling and seems to bouncing in our favour. Keep praying for this please!
Our Teammates
The Taylors Our teammates - Hamish & Molly Taylor - are back in NZ with us, and we're loving getting to spend time with them. They now have 34% of their monthly funding to raise, so please pray that they gain some ongoing financial partners. If you'd like to help, you can find out how here.
Elaine Hutchison (Nate's mum)
Please pray for Elaine as she has been diagnosed stage 4 Mantle Cell Lymphoma. Praise God that she's still in full remission. However, this type of cancer usually returns quickly, so please pray for continued success with her clinical trial.
Church Plant Progress
Continue to pray that God will stir the hearts of the individuals he's chosen to be heavily involved in our NW Auckland church plant. Please pray that we follow God's leading in this, and that He will provide the workers and opportunities we need for the spiritual harvest.
Financial Partnership
Please pray for our financial partnerships to remain strong, that God will provide for what we need, and that we will be good stewards of what He provides. If you'd like to help, you can donate here.
Our Family
Pray for good health and positive friendships.
