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Dear Church,
I'm not the best when it comes to calling out for help but now I feel I have no choice. I need your help. There is so much on my heart but I am bogged down with more than I can handle. And although it is assumed, our staff are not full time and are already carrying a full load. So I need you all to step up!
Here's the challenge...
Do you have a heart for discipleship?
Do you have a heart for outreach?
Are you creative and have a heart to challenge and be challenged?
There are things that are just not going to happen in our church if I do not have your help in making it happen. I cannot do it on my own!
These are the four areas that are on my heart that I believe are important for us to address as a church!
DISCIPLESHIP
We have nothing in place to help people grow in Christ. Nothing other than what we make up on the spot! We have no mentoring programmes, discipleship training, processes to help new Christians in their walk. Nothing.
I need your help!
I want to put together a team of people who will work on putting together a plan for making discipleship happen in our church. Not just anything ad hoc, but something purposeful and intentional. Not just about teaching, though that is important, but also training, mentoring, supporting, walking alongside people at all stages of their Christian journey.
Does this excite you?
Do you want to help out with this?
Please step up.
We need you to make this happen in our church! Even if you just want to be part of the conversation, please put your hand up!
COMMUNITY CONNECTION & OUTREACH
Most business owners and retailers up and down High Street know me. I have worked hard to make sure people know that there is a church on High Street and that we care about them. I am on the board of the South End Business Development Group that was formed to bring businesses together who want to see the South end of High street become more family friendly. I attend council meetings and local community meetings. But. The church is not me. The church is us.
I need your help!
I want to put together a team of people who will work on putting together a plan for investigating and researching our local community and what the needs are. Then work on a plan of how we as a church can better connect and share the Gospel message of Jesus with our community.
Does this excite you?
Do you want to help out with this?
Please step up.
We need you to make this happen in our church! Even if you just want to be part of the conversation, please put your hand up!
There is a ready made opportunity further down if you keep reading...
SUNDAY EVENING SERVICE
We created the evening service as a place and space for people to engage with the Christian journey and life through various means, whether it is through discussion, prayer, reflection or training. I can't keep managing this myself.
I need your help!
I want to put together a team of people who will work on putting together a plan for what we can do on a Sunday evening. To work in partnership with the above two groups and with the ministries in the church to put together a creative, experiential and spiritual experience, different from the morning service.
Does this excite you?
Do you want to help out with this?
Please step up.
We need you to make this happen in our church! Even if you just want to be part of the conversation, please put your hand up!
CHURCH PRESENCE AND APPEARANCE
When you look down High Street there is little to no indication there is a church there! Do people in the mall know that around the corner is Hutt City Baptist Church? When you walk into our building things look stark and clean, which is good, but does it really communicate who we are? What we are about? It all looks a little bland! And what about our social presence? Our website? Facebook? Instagram? Podcasts? Youtube?
I need your help!
I want to put together a team of people who will work on addressing how we can better make ourselves accessible and visible, and putting it all into action. From the website to social media to the way we look on the inside to the way we show ourselves outside.
Does this excite you?
Do you want to help out with this?
Please step up.
We need you to make this happen in our church! Even if you just want to be part of the conversation, please put your hand up!
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Please email me (pastor@huttbaptist.org.nz) if any or all the above is something that resonates with, excites, or even challenges you. I would love to get groups together to begin working on each of the above. The goal is to give direction, put pathways in place, build structures, provide opportunities, share the hope and salvation we have in Jesus, and grow His kingdom for His glory.
I will be spending the next few weeks pushing this so that everyone will have the opportunity to read this, pray about it, and hopefully, step up.
Will you help?
Blessings,
Rob
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COMMUNITY SERVICE OPPORTUNITY
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Cyndi Christensen, the Hutt CBD Development Manager, has asked us for help with the Hot Chocolate Challenge. They are setting up a ‘Design your own’ Hot Chocolate pop up on Andrews Ave in partnership with Quarterpast (Shotts public facing brand) and the South End Business Group.
The pop up will run from 5.15pm – 6.15pm from Thursday thru Sunday for the duration of the challenge (3 weekends - beginning today).
Cyndi is currently working on staffing this activation and wondering if anyone is able to spare a night or two to help out (note its only open for an hour each time so won’t take up your whole evening)
You are needed from about 5pm – 6.30pm.
Here is what you would be doing:
· Help setup and pack down
· Taking the foodbank donations
· Heating the milk/making the hot chocolate base
· Keeping the toppings buffet stocked
If you are keen to help out please let Cyndi know (let her know you are part of Hutt City Baptist Church - I bragged that there would be a whole bunch of our people interested in helping out!!!).
Her details are:
Cyndi Christensen
027 656 9224
Cyndi.Christensen@huttcity.govt.nz
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The way Jesus taught in the New Testament is taken for granted today, but in the first century it was something to behold. People had not encountered his unique ways of engaging and teaching before. The power of parables has a way of challenging what we take for granted. Every Sunday at 2pm I will be at the Crooked Elm across from the Hutt City Council building. Join me for a pint and an open and honest conversation around some of Jesus' parables and how they impact us today.
Please understand this is an open group for people who genuinely want to engage with deep and difficult topics. It's not a place where we seek answers, nor is it a place to convert people to your way of thinking. It's place to listen and share and understand and... be challenged.
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Sunday Sermon:
Week 2 of The Last Word
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This week we will be looking at the church in Ephesus.
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This Sunday evening at 6.00pm!
A little bit earlier this week as this Sunday the documentary is 2 hours long (it's the longest one in the series). We will meet in the flexi space to start with and then make our way up to the auditorium. I do encourage you to support Readings and grab some popcorn on the way up!
Sunday, July 5
5 Sundays
I'll be hosting four controversial documentaries and one movie that will explore Christianity and some of the issues that challenge us and sometimes, divide us. My hope is that you may engage with these issues. They might make you uncomfortable, they might challenge your worldview, they might make you think a little. That's the point. For those wanting to, at the end of every documentary I will be facilitating a group discussion around the issues raised.
This first documentary deals with the very basic question, "What is the Gospel?" It is powerful and though there are aspects of it I struggle with, you cannot help being challenged by it. Please note that this is the longest of the documentaries. Most are around the 1.5 hour mark. This one will be over 2 hours.
Documentary: The American Gospel - Christ Alone
Location: Main Auditorium
Sunday, July 12
5 Sundays
I'll be hosting four controversial documentaries and one movie that will explore Christianity and some of the issues that challenge us and sometimes, divide us. My hope is that you may engage with these issues. They might make you uncomfortable, they might challenge your worldview, they might make you think a little. That's the point. For those wanting to, at the end of every documentary I will be facilitating a group discussion around the issues raised.
This second documentary follows Rob Bell and the controversy that surrounds him. Where as the first documentary deals with a movement, this one challenges us with a single person. Heretic or anything but, it's hard to stand in the middle. Many see him as a key figure in keeping the message of Jesus alive into the next century, while many others see him as a dangerous heretic. Ultimately, the question is, how do we grapple with these figures and movements that challenge our orthodoxy?
Documentary: Heretic
Location: Main Auditorium
Sunday, July 19
5 Sundays
I'll be hosting four controversial documentaries and one movie that will explore Christianity and some of the issues that challenge us and sometimes, divide us. My hope is that you may engage with these issues. They might make you uncomfortable, they might challenge your worldview, they might make you think a little. That's the point. For those wanting too, at the end of every documentary I will be facilitating a group discussion around the issues raised.
This third documentary challenges us with one of the most uncomfortable topics for Christians. Hell. The challenge for us is how comfortable are with the doctrine of hell? We may or may not agree with some of the voices heard in this documentary, and that's the point, how do we wrestle with such a difficult topic?
Documentary: Hellbound?
Location: Main Auditorium
Sunday, July 26
5 Sundays
I'll be hosting four controversial documentaries and one movie that will explore Christianity and some of the issues that challenge us and sometimes, divide us. My hope is that you may engage with these issues. They might make you uncomfortable, they might challenge your worldview, they might make you think a little. That's the point. For those wanting to, at the end of every documentary I will be facilitating a group discussion around the issues raised.
This fourth documentary chronicles a three-year journey of 80 interviews with pastors and church influencers from across America. In their journey to find the formula for a fragmented and dying church, the two filmmakers find themselves getting closer to a much bigger answer.
Documentary: The Future of the Church
Location: Main Auditorium
Sunday, August 2
5 Sundays
I'll be hosting four controversial documentaries and one movie that will explore Christianity and some of the issues that challenge us and sometimes, divide us. My hope is that you may engage with these issues. They might make you uncomfortable, they might challenge your worldview, they might make you think a little. That's the point. For those wanting to, at the end of every documentary I will be facilitating a group discussion around the issues raised.
This last one is actually a movie. And it's an opportunity for you to invite someone along. The story is about an up-and-coming journalist who finds his world and faith increasingly challenged when he's granted the interview of a lifetime - with someone who claims to be God.
Movie: An Interview with God
Location: Main Auditorium
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