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What comes next is dependent on what comes first

It’s 539 BC. The great Babylonian Empire rules the known world; power unmatched, authority unchecked. Until Cyrus and the Persians crush, confuse, and kill the Babylonians.    The result: A year later in 538 BC Cyrus decrees the people of God can return to their land. Few do, at first (Ezra 8:1). In the weeks ahead we’ll begin leaving our own lockdown ‘exile’... What will we find?   In 538 BC, those who do return find the familiar has become strange, and the new has b...

Prayerfully planning to lead in a post-lockdown world

In Philippians, Paul’s leadership is centred on Christ’s leadership of the Church. Each chapter of the book begins with Paul pointing the Philippians to the Head of the Church, Jesus. Paul continually points the Philippians to Christ out of his dynamic, ongoing experience of the risen Lord, through the gospel from the Scriptures, by the Spirit. A lot of elders and pastors are ministering in this unprecedented moment and asking:'What comes next?' 'What does church look like in Level...

Rest in the tension

David does not hide from the tensions he faces. He names them. He names them all. I'm incredibly grateful for his honesty.  His internal tensions are named: Behind the comfort of the Shepherd's rod and staff is the recognition of David's own sin and idolatry.   His external tensions are named: The valley of the shadow of death, the reality of evil and the presence of his enemies. Each insidious element bores into David’s personal, pastoral, public, and political leadership bri...

Encountering Christ this Easter

'For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.' - 1 Corinthians 1:18 We are Easter Leaders. We always have been but now more than ever. As Easter Leaders we know we encounter our risen Jesus in 'the word of the cross' (1 Corinthians 1:18). In a profound mystery, Jesus meets us in the message of the cross. We encounter the Crucified and Risen Christ when we proclaim Christ Crucified. As le...

Confidence in Christ

Paul and the Philippians Christians face real uncertainty, complexity and difficulty. In chapter 3 Paul is saying Christ is where his confidence starts and finishes. In verses 3:1-10 Paul shows his confidence doesn’t start in religious practices or religious achievements. His confidence starts with Christ’s death and resurrection and his participation in it. Everything else is, to put it politely, refuse. In these days, our confidence doesn’t start with our technology, our reach, ou...

What comes next?

What comes next? In Philippians, Paul’s leadership is centred on Christ’s leadership of the Church. Each chapter of the book begins with Paul pointing the Philippians to the Head of the Church, Jesus. Paul continually points the Philippians to Christ out of his dynamic, ongoing experience of the risen Lord, through the gospel from the Scriptures, by the Spirit.  A lot of elders and pastors are ministering in this unprecedented moment and asking: 'What comes next?' 'What does c...

CCCNZ Board: Letter to all New Zealand MPs on the Abortion Legislation Bill

We know many of you have been advocating for our most vulnerable for some time: Caring for mothers and their babies; supporting women who face unwanted pregnancies; fostering children; and many have made submissions against this legislation, or walked in support of the March for Life. Thank you. The following is a letter sent today to Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and all MPs urging them to vote against the Abortion Legislation Bill at the final reading tomorrow. Feel free to use this lette...

COVID-19: Leading with the reality of Christ

From CCCNZ Ambassador, Mark Grace There is no sugar coating Philippians chapter 1: Paul is in chains, it is a struggle, and he is suffering. The work of the gospel is being opposed in frightening ways. In the same way, we need to be realistic about recent outbreaks of COVID-19. As public health officials have stated, we need to be alert not alarmed. We need to prepare rather than panic. At this stage, we need to be washing our hands and not touching our faces. However, c...

Preparing for COVID-19

What practical ways can we we as churches, admin teams and church leaders be preparing in light of the recent outbreak of COVID-19?  CCCNZ National Administrator Danielle Diprose has consulted with Dr Richard Hoskins (Medical Officer of Health for the Waikato DHB and a member of Hillcrest Chapel) to prepare a document with crisis management questions for leadership teams based on good governance, and a sample plan for churches to use as they prepare for the possibility of COV...

Right people at the right time

In Philippians Chapter 2 the Apostle Paul is in a lock down of sorts. His resources are limited, his movements are restricted and those he’s seeking to support are suffering. How does Paul settle their nerves? How does he speak to his own anxious heart?  He reminds them of three things: In verses 1-4 he reminds them that, because of Jesus, they are the right people at the right time, and therefore they need to serve like Jesus. In these unprecedented days, you, because of Jesus...

Pathways School of Worship Leading Registrations for 2020

Enrolment in the first semester of Pathways School of Worship Leading 2020 is closing this week: 7 February. The School of Worship Leading exists to equip and empower worship leaders, supporting our church communities as they worship corporately in a variety of contexts. Rosie Devery is the School of Worship Leading Coordinator, she says it's a privilege to walk alongside students from a variety of churches around New Zealand as they explore biblical worship: "Our culture lends itself ...

Meet Yvonne: new CCCNZ Worship Enabler

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Ways you can be praying for Australia during bushfire season

We got in touch with Chris Thomas, Teaching Pastor at Raymond Terrace Community Church, a CCCAUS church in NSW, Australia. Chris has also been a speaker at our regional conferences over the past two years, here in NZ.  We asked Chris how we can be praying.  "Here are some general ways you can pray:  Pray for rain and favourable weatherPray for safety for those on the frontline fighting firesPray for believers in the affected zones to demonstrate the gospel in the way they ser...

Reaching Kids and Families Through Camping

Karakariki Christian Camp (KCC) is a campsite in Whatawhata, Waikato, with a vision to serve their local community, especially helping the underprivileged. CCCNZ Communications Manager Sophia Sinclair caught up with Camp Managers Eli and Noelle Savill to find out more about their school holiday camps and how they are reaching their local community.Describe what happens during the school holidays at KCC.For 10 days we put on three separate holiday programmes. The first is Impact Camp, w...

Australian Bushfires: Good news in the midst of hard times

Over the next few weeks we’ll be connecting with Australians from the CCCAust churches to hear from them how we can be praying and supporting them as they continue to face bushfire conditions and recovery.  Sophia McCrindle lives in Sydney, Australia. She attends West Pennant Hills Community Church and also helps organise the CCCAust(NSW) THRIVE women's conferences.“We really appreciate your prayers for our country. People in bushfire affected areas have been leaving with the anxiety of...

The Importance of Families in our Churches

By NZ Rally Facilitator Tony FosterOne thing I am beginning to see as I travel New Zealand meeting Rallies is the importance of having whānau as part of our churches. When you stop and think about it, there is NO congregation that exists without a member of a family. Families are part of life—even with DNA you are linked to your family line.We see in the Bible how important family lines are. In Matthew we see Jesus’ family line linked right back to Abraham. Being part of a fa...

Leading a Generational Change: The Continuing Legacy of the Riverside Club

The Riverside Club is an outreach of Tāmaki Community Church (TCC) in Auckland. It started in 1991 after Russell and Dorothy Burt and Geoff and Joy Liddle had shifted into the largest Decile 1A, Māori and Pasifika state housing community in Aotearoa.The two couples lived next door to each other on Riverside Ave and responded to a cry from the community at a public meeting held in the Glen Innes Pub in July 1991: “We heard that the reason for all the junior gangs and trouble ...

Making the Most of a Community Connection

What does good ‘follow on’ look like in Children and Families Ministry? How can churches make the most of opportunities to reach families in their communities when kids come along to programs? These are some of the questions Benji Carey and the team at Onekawa Bible Church have been wrestling with after growing numbers of children from their community are attending their holiday programs. “We started running holiday programs in 2016 and we’ve seen them grow over time. At our la...

The Church that Prays Together...

At Birkenhead Community Church in Auckland, Emily Tyler has just started a new way of connecting generations in prayer ministry for each other. ‘Prayer Guardians’ involves matching up people with the names and ages of children to pray specifically for them on a weekly basis. “It’s new for us, and we’re right at the beginning of it. So far, we’ve got people specifically praying by name for younger people—all the way from kids in creche to teenagers. When they put their...

Church is People, Not Programs

Angie and Dave Wiggins have been serving as Children and Families Pastors at Massey Community Church (MCC) in Auckland for the past year. Their heart is to develop a culture of seeing church as a family, says Angie: “Research talks about how a child’s faith is engaged on all levels with an intergenerational faith community that impacts faith going on to adulthood—serving alongside, talking with, and worshipping together as multiple generations strengthens the body as a whole.” Cultur...

Let the Children Come

There are one million children in New Zealand. Nine out of ten of them have no connection with the church and most have no idea why we celebrate Easter and Christmas. We are two or three generations removed from an understanding of the biblical narrative, where many people no longer know the story of Jesus. We can no longer assume that children in our communities have any knowledge of the Bible, and we can’t assume their parents will tell them. Even when families are connected with a church co...

Something Better from the Bitterness

The Book of Ruth is set in a bleak period after Israel enters the promised land, and before the time of kings. Ruth’s story takes place in the time of the judges and comes just as the Book of Judges ends with a night-long gang rape of one woman and the communal abduction and rape of six hundred women. It’s a time of anarchy and it’s profoundly difficult for women. And yet, Ruth details a redemptive story entirely from the perspective of women. The story begins in Moab at the scene of Naomi...

Congratulations Lui and Ane!

Lui and Ane Ponifasio are pastors of LifeChurch Manurewa, and Lui serves as the APA-CCCNZ Auckland Mission Enabler. Both Ane and Lui were awarded the Queen’s Service Medal for their services to the Pacific community in the 2020 New Year’s Honours.  Lui and Ane established Radio Samoa 1593AM, which is a Samoan language station that also airs Tongan language programmes on the weekends. In addition, they founded the Samoa Times newspaper that circulates not just in New Zealand but also in ...

The Greatest Saviour!

Every year we ask churches how they’re reaching out to their community with the good news about Jesus. It’s always encouraging to see and hear what different churches in all parts of Aotearoa, New Zealand, are up to.  “Christmas provides great opportunities to connect with people,” says Pete Rhodes-Robinson from Onslow Community Church, “…and it is a one of the key cogs in our strategy to engage with our local community.” Every year they put Christmas lights up on the chu...

Jesus Immanuel

This Christmas I am moved to tears by the depths of the grace of God shown to me in Jesus Christ. When I reflect on Jesus’ whakapapa, when I reflect on the spread of the gospel over these islands over the past 200 years, when I dwell on the reality that—under God’s good hand—all of this is part of the fabric of my coming to faith in Christ, I am blown away. As I’ve meditated on Matthew chapters 1 and 2 in the lead up to Christmas, God’s Grace to us ...